ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Kyrgyz Republic. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Kyrgyz Republic. Populated by nomadic herders and ruled by tribal leaders for centuries, the Kyrgyz Republic was conquered by Russia in the mid-1800s and incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1924. A 1992 law permits the formation of trade unions and the right to bargain collectively. Most workers belong to the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan, the successor to the Soviet-era labour organization. While there is some degree of press freedom in the Kyrgyz Republic, both state and private media are vulnerable to government pressure, which causes many journalists to practice self-censorship.
