ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the personal experiences of the author during his time in the government of Kyrgyzstan during 1994-8. Kyrgyzstan is a good example of a transition country undergoing institutional change with some grass-roots movements to combat corruption. The Kyrgyz Kaganate was formed in the sixth century but broke into smaller units when Genghis Khans forces invaded. Russian expansion brought the territory now known as Kyrgyzstan into the Russian Empire. Kyrgyzstan has enjoyed some years of high economic growth, but major structural reforms, such as those to stimulate employment, have failed. The adoption of the Governance Reform Strategy, National Anticorruption Strategy, and the National Government Decentralization Strategy has signaled that the Kyrgyz Republic envisions improving federal governance. Kyrgyzstans performance in combating corruption does not meet Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) criteria. According to international organizations, such as World Bank, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Transparency International (TI), Kyrgyzstan consistently is among the countries with high levels of corruption.
