RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN KYRGYZSTAN REFLECTS GOVERNMENT’S NEED FOR BACKING

Kyrgyzstan
was the last but not the least country in President's Putin tour to Asia.
Having paid official visits to China and India, the Russian president landed
in Bishkek to discuss the current situation in the region with his Central
Asian counterpart Askar Akaev. The Head of the Security Council Vladimir
Rushailo, Defense Minister Igor Ivanov and Science and Technology minister
Klebanov accompanied President Putin in negotiations on establishing closer
Kyrgyz-Russian relations. A number of bilateral agreements on cooperation in
economic, scientific, humanitarian and trade spheres have been signed. However
the main result of the presidential meeting was the establishment of the
Russian airbase in Kant, 20 km from the Kyrgyz capital.

In
mid-1999, the Russian military units which served in the country through the
Soviet period left Kyrgyzstan. At that time, many political analysts were
talking about the political and military vacuum that resulted due to the
redirection of Russia's interests away from the region. Right after the
September 11 terrorist attacks, Russian influence in this part of the world
declined even further as the Uzbek and Kyrgyz presidents turned to the U.S.
for security cooperation. Russian officials were not pleased with the Uzbek
and Kyrgyz leaders as they considered Central Asia to be still in Russia's
sphere of influence. Mr. Putin, however, being a strong supporter of the
anti-terrorist coalition, agreed to the stationing of U.S. troops in the
region.

The
Bishkek newspaper Obshestvenii Reiting explains Russia's move on establishing
closer links and an air base in the Bishkek suburb. Moscow immediately asked
for the Kant airport to become a Russian airbase after it had become known
that the Coalition forces were intending talks on receiving the same base to
expand its presence in the region. A further expansion of U.S.-led forces in
the region that Russia refers to as its backyard is seen by Russian leaders as
a direct threat to its security and pushed Russia to take up a more active
role in the region, reasserting its military presence in Kyrgyzstan. In
return, Mr. Putin promised to reschedule as third of the $117 million Kyrgyz
debt to Russia. At the press conference in Kabar Information Agency, the
Kyrgyz Defense Minister said that Kant airbase will operate under the auspices
of the CST (Collective Security Treaty) that consists of Russia, Armenia,
Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. An airbase will include 700
troops and up to twenty aircrafts.

At
the press conference it appeared that neither the Russian Defense Minister nor
his Kyrgyz counterpart General Topoev see a problem with American and Russian
airbases situated 80 km from each other. Mr. Topoev in his interview to the
newspaper Delo Nomer explained that according to the UN Security Council, the
coalition was created to conduct an anti-terrorist operation exclusively on
the territory of Afghanistan. At the same time the Kant airbase is not created
in order to offend any country, but to "support security and stability in
the whole Central Asian region".

A
great deal of opposition to the stationing of the Russian air base in
Kyrgyzstan came from the Uzbek President Islam Karimov, whose country hosts
3000 anti-terrorist Coalition troops. The Information Agency Akipress reports
that Mr. Karimov doubts that the main purpose of the airbase is to provide
peace and stability in the region. He believes that the deployment of Russian
troops in the region is a part of a competition for military and political
influence which might bear unpredictable and dangerous consequences for the
whole Central Asian region. Mr. Karimov sees no need for another military base
as the security situation has greatly improved. He maintains that the rivalry
among the two great powers will definitely lead to "unhealthy competition
among the regional governments".

The
Head of the foreign affaires committee Mr. Abidmomunov and some other
governmental officials warn that hosting the airbases of two world powers
might turn Kyrgyzstan into a center of confrontation. Some local and
international observers see Akaev's approval of the airbase as a strategic
error that starts the process of military reapportionment of the region by the
U.S. and Russia, and Bishkek at the center of this rivalry. Some observers
advise Kyrgyzstan to stay close to the U.S., as it will yet take a long time
for Russia to recover and assist its southern neighbors in security and
economic issues.

Overall,
the Kyrgyzstani population accepted the news about Russia's military return to
the region cheerfully citing the proverb "One old friend is better than
two new friends". Political observers explain the redirection of Kyrgyz
interests from the U.S. back to Russia by saying that the Kyrgyz government's
hopes about firm guarantees on economic and political stability from
Washington were not realized. The coalition commanders made it clear that they
would not get involved in military or religious conflicts in the country as
they have their main mission: the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan.
Thus Kyrgyz officials turned back to Russia, hoping it can provide more
support than the U.S.. On the eve of Mr. Putin's arrival, the Government
newspaper Vechernii Bishkek declared that there is "no alternative to
Kyrgyz-Russian cooperation. The future of Kyrgyzstan is unthinkable without
the support of Russia".

Such
a big desire of Kyrgyz officials to foster the revival of close Kyrgyz-Russian
relations is also explained by the political crisis that grips the country for
recent months. Demands of the opposition for the President's resignation are
becoming a real threat to Mr. Akaev. While American military presence in the
country does not enhance the stability of Akaev's government, Russian military
presence will certainly help to maintain Akaev's rule. It is also in Putin's
interest to support a pro-Moscow leader in order to have free access to the
main highway that links Russia with its military base in Tajikistan. The
present Kyrgyz government desperately needs the support of "big brother
Russia" in order to preserve political stability. And it got it from the
Russian president during his recent visit.

Maria
Utyaganova, International Comparative Politics Department, American
University in Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek.