Independence: Kyrgyzstan recognizes August 31, 1991, the date on which Kyrgyzstan declared its separation from the Soviet Union, as its official day of independence.

Public Holidays: New Year’s (January 1), Russian Orthodox Christmas (January 7), Kurban Ait (Feast of the Sacrifice, movable date according to Islamic calendar), International Women’s Day (March 8), Nooruz (Kyrgyz New Year, March 21), Labor Day (May 1), Victory Day (May 9), Independence Day (August 31), and Eid al Fitr (end of Ramadan, movable date according to the Islamic calendar).

Flag: The flag of Kyrgyzstan has a red field with a yellow sun in the center,

whose rays represent the 40 Kyrgyz tribes; in the center of the sun is

a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized representation of

the roof of the traditional Kyrgyz yurt.

RECENT NEWS ARTICLES

Kyrgyzstan Missionaries  -  24 Oct 2006
WTVY,...past year and a half. They've been in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan seeing the needs of the Kyrgyzs people. They over-see church planning ...

Making a Regional Water Deal Work  -  24 Oct 2006
Institute for War and Peace Reporting,Central Asiaâ€™s water will only be shared efficiently if the concerns of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the two countries where the bulk of water sources are ...

Environment: Four Black Spots Out of 10  -  24 Oct 2006
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty,WASHINGTON, October 24, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Three cities in Russia, one in Kyrgyzstan, and Chornobyl in Ukraine are listed among the 10 most polluted places in ...

Centrasia Mining Corp.: Sampling at Severny Returns 48 Metres of ...  -  24 Oct 2006
CCNMatthews (press release),...to announce assay results from its surface sampling program at the Severny Porphyry Cu/Au prospect ("Severny") on its Bulakashu Property in northern Kyrgyzstan ...

Minor earthquake takes place in Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 23, 2006
Gazeta.KZ,BISHKEK. An earthquake measuring 4 on the Richter scale in the epicentre has been registered in Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergencies reports. ...

A look at US deaths in Afghan fighting  -  Oct 23, 2006
Jordan Falls News,The military lists these other locations as: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan ...

The government of Kyrgyzstan got 10 days to reform the country  -  Oct 22, 2006
Neweurasia.net,For the past year that was packed with different rallies and protest, we in Kyrgyzstan got used to the fact that all rallies mainly bring chaos with no ...

The United States will pay Kyrgyzstan less than it promised  -  Oct 20, 2006
Ferghana.ru,Referring to information from the Kyrgyz Security Council and government, Maripov disclosed the sums of the US gratuity Kyrgyzstan was to receive for the AF ...

Kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan? Evidence casts doubt  -  Oct 16, 2006
Newsday,BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- New details have emerged in the case of a US Air Force officer who disappeared mysteriously last month while serving in the far-flung ex ...

Kyrgyzstan: Deputy Alisher Sabirov demands security for lawmakers  -  Oct 17, 2006
Ferghana.ru,A series of contract killings rocked Kyrgyzstan in the eighteen months that passed after the March 2005 revolution. Assassins shot ...

Senate ratified treaty on coop between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 19, 2006
Kazinform,Makulbekov/ - At a plenary sitting Senate of Kazakh Parliament adopted the law On ratification of an agreement on cooperation between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan ...

Kyrgyzstan backs SCO agreement on education cooperation  -  Oct 17, 2006
Kazinform,BISHKEK. October 18, 2006. KAZINFORM. /Vladimir Dobrovolsky/ Kyrgyz PM Felix Kulov signed a resolution on a draft law On ratification ...

Kyrgyzstan Declares War on Imams  -  Oct 18, 2006
AINA,The National Security Service (SNB) of Kyrgyzstan has developed a special plan on strengthening the control over the republic's Islamic clergy. ...

Poll in Kyrgyzstan: Majority of Kirghiz and Uzbeks supports ...  -  Oct 17, 2006
Regnum,47.5% of the respondents consider Kirghiz to be the most important language for life and work in Kyrgyzstan; 40.0% â€” Russian; 0.3% â€” Uzbek. ...

Media freedom worries in Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 19, 2006
ISN,The opposition in Kyrgyzstan is pressing the government to investigate a recent arson attack which put the countryâ€™s only independent nationwide television ...

Grain harvest to total 1.6 mln tonnes in Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 16, 2006
Agrimarket Consulting,Grain harvesting campaign is coming to the end in Kyrgyzstan. Yield totaled 2.66 tonnes per hectare. Gross grain crop totaled 1.607 ...

Member of city council shot down in Osh, Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 16, 2006
Gazeta.KZ,Aibek Alimzhanov, member of city council, Chairman of the Uzbek Cultural Centre, was murdered in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan Today correspondent reports citing ...

Freedom of speech protest held in capital of Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 11, 2006
RIA Novosti,BISHKEK, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - About 200 people gathered Wednesday in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, to support freedom of speech in the country ...

Update: Protesters in Kyrgyzstan stop rally after talks with ...  -  Oct 11, 2006
RIA Novosti,BISHKEK, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - Protesters who gathered Wednesday in the capital of Kyrgyzstan to support freedom of speech in the country stopped their ...

Senior official beaten in Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 11, 2006
Reuters.uk,Kyrgyzstan, home to a US military base, has been unstable since long-serving leader Askar Akayev was ousted in a coup last year. ...

MOSCOW BEEFS UP SECURITY TIES WITH KYRGYZSTAN  -  Oct 13, 2006
Eurasia Daily Monitor,Russia has moved to boost security ties with Kyrgyzstan in a perceived bid to guarantee the loyalty of the Central Asian state, once considered to be among ...

UZBEKISTAN WELCOMES COOPERATION WITH KYRGYZSTAN DESPITE ...  -  Oct 12, 2006
Eurasia Daily Monitor,Roughly 1,600 kilometers are disputed between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the large Uzbek minority living in southern Kyrgyzstan demands more political rights ...

Iran, Kyrgyzstan implementation of MoU discussed  -  Oct 8, 2006
Persian Journal,According to a report released by Iranian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, at the meeting, Japarov said that the high-ranking officials of the two countries are willing ...

Kyrgyzstan: Still Talking With Uzbekistan Over Gas  -  Oct 13, 2006
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty,BISHKEK, October 13, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The head of Kyrgyzstan's national gas company today said no final agreement had been reached yet on the volume and price ...

President of Kyrgyzstan supports the idea of joining HIPC program  -  Oct 12, 2006
Ferghana.ru,Provided the terms are reasonable, I'm prepared to back the initiative of joining HIPC," President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev told James McHue of the IMF ...

Kyrgyzstan: Opposition leaders will explain the forthcoming ...  -  Oct 15, 2006
Ferghana.ru,Representatives of all diplomatic missions accredited in Kyrgyzstan were invited to a meeting with the opposition leaders scheduled for October 18. ...

BTA plans to infuse USD 100 mln into Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 15, 2006
Kazinform,Ablyazov made public the BankÐ¢s plans to invest up to USD 100 mln annually into Kyrgyz national economy at the meeting with Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek ...

Uzbek gas will become much more expensive for Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 11, 2006
Ferghana.ru,Uzbekneftegaz PR Department reports that natural gas imported from Uzbekistan will cost Kyrgyzstan $100 per 1,000 cubic meters as of January 1, 2007. ...

Altimo is going to sell Sky Mobile (Kyrgyzstan).  -  Oct 9, 2006
Analytical Information Agency,Altimo is going to sell Sky Mobile (Kyrgyzstan) that has a right to operate in GSM standard on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, Altimo's General Director Alexey ...

Iran, Kyrgyzstan to expand economic, trade ties  -  Oct 11, 2006
Islamic Republic News Agency,Head of Iran-Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Friendship Group Mohammad Qomi in a meeting with Kyrgyz Ambassador to Tehran Avazbek Agakhanov called for expansion of ...

Reforms of the mental health system in Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 14, 2006
Neweurasia.net,On the very same day in Kyrgyzstan it was officially announced that the upcoming month would be devoted to fighting psychosis and depressions among the ...

Womenâ€™s veils is becoming a political issue in Kyrgyzstan  -  Oct 14, 2006
Neweurasia.net,Many respondents who were asked to address this issue in our mini poll mentioned that Kyrgyzstan is a secular state and that the rule of secular law should ...

Kyrgyzstan must combat child labour issue  -  Oct 9, 2006
Scoop.co.nz (press release),Brussels, 9 October 2006 (ICFTU Online): Kyrgyzstan, one of the Central Asian states formerly in the Soviet Union, must do more to ensure workers' rights and ...

Government of Kyrgyzstan Rejected Request of Some Women NGOs to ...  -  Oct 10, 2006
ÐŸÑ€Ð°Ð²Ð¾ Ð’Ñ‹Ð±Ð¾Ñ€Ð°,Government of Kyrgyzstan rejected request of some women NGOs to allow religious women taking photos in headscarves. â€œRequest contained ...

The authorities of Kyrgyzstan intend to erect a monument to a ...  -  Oct 11, 2006
Ferghana.ru,Mayor of Balykchy (Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan) is determined to erect a monument to Rysbek Akmatbayev. Leader of the so called ...

This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.