At 4,000m above sea level, Kumtor is one of the highest gold mines in the world. It is situated in the permafrost of the Tien Shan mountains of China and Central Asia. BBC: “In pictures: Kyrgyzstan gold mine protests”

An increasing crisis in Kyrgyzstan – moving towards a fallen state

Józef Lang, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich (OSW), 2013-06-12

In recent months the situation in Kyrgyzstan has systematically deteriorated and over the last two weeks violent protests have been held both in the north and south of the country. They have demonstrated the weakness of the central government and the degree to which the country has disintegrated. In spite of this, Kyrgyzstan will most likely not be threatened with another revolution in the vein of those of 2005 and 2010 since the opposition is divided and marginalised at the central level and the interests of influential local actors in the south of the country are not currently under threat. Furthermore, in the long term any further destabilization in Kyrgyzstan or the erosion of the state and the disintegration of the country pose a serious threat to the country and a great challenge for the remaining states in the region.

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