The Jamestown Foundation has a short but interesting article on President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan. While the winter began with the dismissal of the energy minister and fears that there would be unrest (see previous post), apparently the weather has been relatively mild and President Bakiyev seems to have benefited from the situation.

In this context, there is speculation that the presidential election may be brought forward to this year, presumably to facilitate his re-election. Democracy in Kyrgyzstan has been backsliding since the Tulip Revolution in 2005.

There is a nice book describing the Tulip Revolution by Erica Marat. It is called The Tulip Revolution: Kyrgyzstan One Year After.