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Kyrgystan: An Overview Foreign observers often cite the press in Kyrgyzstan as a shining example of Central Asian democracy, but the constraints on independent media in Kyrgyzstan are every bit as strong as, for example, in Kazakhstan. The main printing press in the country, in Bishkek, remains in government hands; TV transmitters and frequencies are also entirely governmental. The economic situation is even worse, with paper prohibitively expensive and other printing materials also in short supply. The independence of the press is in large part a legacy of successful local opposition to Kyrgyzstan Communist Party chief Masaliev’s presidential bid, as a result of which present President Akaev was elected. Criticism of the Party and the USSR was allowed and even encouraged during that period. The glasnost-style reformism engendered by the campaign manifested itself in, among other things, an early proliferation of “free” newspapers, meaning newspapers which attacked Moscow’s local appointees. The independent press continues in this mold, subsisting for the most part on criticism, which has replaced reporting as a benchmark for independence both domestically and in foreigners’ views of the local situation. Examples of breaking free from the traditional advocacy role of Soviet journalism are few and far between. As a result of the need for patronage to avoid destruction by the subjects of the criticism, most newspapers have become identified with a political camp and usually even with the support of one or another powerful figure. Geography presents great challenges to this small mountainous republic of four million people. Mountains split it into northern and southern halves, and though differences between them are historically based, severe transportation difficulties exacerbate the differences and prevent the development of a common information space. This regionalizes the republic’s newspapers, making it almost impossible for press to circulate republic-wide. Mountainous terrain effectively does the same for television and radio. Eric Johnson |
Last Updated: 11/20/99 |
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© 1999 Post-Soviet Media Law &
Policy Newsletter |
