RFE/RL correspondent Venera Djumataeva says Kyrgyzstan's interim leadership knows that it doesn't have much time to prove to the people of Kyrgyzstan that they are different.
The institution of marriage is ideally meant to bring a sense of comfort and security to its partnership. But a rise in polygamy among increasingly devout Central Asian Muslims is changing the rules about family life -- and leaving many women vulnerable and betrayed in the process.
Relations between longtime allies Russia and Kyrgyzstan seemed as close as ever when Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev announced that the U.S.-run, Manas air base outside Bishkek would be closed. But a year later, the two are in open disagreement.
Kyrgyzstan today is still a place where people of different ethnicity live together peacefully. But in the summer and fall of 1989, it really seemed as if things could turn out far worse. I don't think we realized the danger of the fire we were playing with.
Aziza Abdyrasulova of Kyrgyzstan is a fearless human rights defender who's been arrested, jailed, and beaten for her activism.
