Askar Akayev
Encyclopedia
Askar Akayevich Akayev (born 10 November 1944 in Kyzyl-Bairak, Kirghiz SSR, Soviet Union
) served as the President of Kyrgyzstan
from 1990 until his overthrow in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution
.
As late as 1993 political analysts saw Akayev as a "prodemocratic physicist."
workers, in the town of Kemin
, 95 km east of Bishkek. He became a metalworker at a local factory in 1961. He subsequently moved to Leningrad
, where he trained as a physicist and graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics
in 1967 with an honors degree in mathematics, engineering and computer science. He stayed at the institute until 1976, working as a senior researcher and teacher. In Leningrad he met and in 1970 married Mayram Akayeva with whom he now has two sons and two daughters. They returned to their native Kyrgyzstan in 1977, where he became a senior professor at the Frunze Polytechnic Institute. Some of his later cabinet members were former students and friends from his academic career.
He obtained a doctorate in 1981 from the Moscow Institute of Engineering and Physics, having written his dissertation on holographic systems of storage and transformation of information. In 1984, he became a member of the Kirghiz Academy of Sciences, rose to vice president of the Academy in 1987 and then president of the Academy in 1989. He was elected as a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the same year.
and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kirghiz SSR, Absamat Masaliyev
. However, neither Jumagulov nor Masaliyev received a majority of the votes cast. In accordance with the Kirghiz SSR's constitution of 1978, both candidates were disqualified and neither could run in the second round of voting.
Two days later, on October 27, the Supreme Soviet selected Akayev - who was effectively a compromise candidate - to serve as the republic's first president. In 1991, he was offered the post of vice-president of the Soviet Union by President Mikhail Gorbachev
, but refused. Akayev was elected president of the renamed republic of Kyrgyzstan in an uncontested poll on 12 October 1991. He was reelected twice, amid allegations of ballot rigging, on 24 December 1995
and 29 October 2000
.
Akayev was initially seen as a liberal leader. He commented in a 1991 interview that "Although I am a Communist, my basic attitude toward private property is favorable. I believe that the revolution in the sphere of economics was not made by Karl Marx
but by Adam Smith
." ("Akayev: 'All of a Sudden I Become President'", Christian Science Monitor, 10 January 1991) He actively promoted the privatization
of land and other economic assets and operated a relatively liberal regime compared with the governments of the other Central Asian nations. He was granted lifelong immunity from prosecution by the Lower House of Parliament in 2003.
. Over 2,000 demonstrators marched on the town where the proceedings were to take place. According to eye-witnesses, police ordered the demonstrators to stop and gave them fifteen minutes to disperse, yet opened fire before this time elapsed. Five men were shot dead; another was killed on the next day. 61 people were injured, including 47 police and 14 civilians.
Riot police clashed with protesters in Bishkek
in May during demonstrations in support of Beknazarov. Police in the capital's Parliament square kicked protesters and dragged people away to break up the 200-strong crowd. They made several demands including the resignation of Akayev. This was again repeated in November of the same year when scores were arrested as the opposition marched on the capital. Protests continued, albeit on a smaller scale, at various points over the next few years.
had been raised. His son Aidar Akayev and his daughter Bermet Akayeva
were candidates in the 2005 legislative election
, and it was widely suspected that he was going to retain either de facto power by arranging for the election of a close supporter or relative, or perhaps even by abrogation of the term limit
provision in the constitution and remaining in power personally, an allegation which he strongly denied.
The results of the elections were disputed, with allegations of vote-rigging. Two of Akayev's children won seats. Serious protests broke out in Osh
and Jalal-Abad
, with protesters occupying administration buildings and the Osh airport. The government declared that it was ready to negotiate with the demonstrators. However an opposition leader said talks would only be worthwhile if the President himself took part.
Akayev refused to resign, but pledged not to use force to end the protests, which he attributed to foreign interests seeking to provoke a large-scale clamp-down in response.
On 23 March Akayev announced the dismissal of Interior Minister Bakirdin Subanbekov and General Prosecutor Myktybek Abdyldayev for "poor work" in dealing with the growing protests.
and seized control of the seat of state power after clashing with riot police during a large opposition rally. Opposition supporters also seized control of key cities and towns in the south to press demands that Akayev step down.
That day, Akayev fled the country with his family, reportedly escaping first to Kazakhstan
and then to Russia
. Russian president Vladimir Putin
invited Akayev to stay in Russia. There were early reports that he had tendered his resignation to opposition leaders before his departure. However, his formal resignation did not come until 4 April, when a delegation of members of parliament from Kyrgyzstan
met him in Russia
.
The Kyrgyz Parliament accepted the resignation
on 11 April 2005, after stripping him and his family members of special privileges that had been granted to him by the previous parliament. He was also formally stripped of the title of "first president of Kyrgyzstan".
http://www.moscowuniversityclub.ru/home.asp?artId=3557. Together with Andrey Korotayev
and George Malinetsky he is a coordinator of the Russian Academy of Sciences Program "System Analysis and Mathematical Modeling of World Dynamics" http://cliodynamics.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=175&Itemid=43.
, and Andrey Korotayev
in the Russian academic journal “Ekonomicheskaya politika” (December 2010. Issue 6. Pages 39-46http://cliodynamics.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=295&Itemid=1) published «a forecast of the second wave of the crisis, which suggests that it may start in July — August, 2011
».
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) served as the President of Kyrgyzstan
President of Kyrgyzstan
The President of Kyrgyzstan is the head of state and the highest official of Kyrgyzstan. The President, according to the constitution, "is the symbol of the unity of people and state power, and is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, and of an individual and citizen." The...
from 1990 until his overthrow in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution
Tulip Revolution
The Tulip Revolution or First Kyrgyz Revolution refers to the overthrow of President Askar Akayev and his government in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan after the parliamentary elections of February 27 and of March 13, 2005...
.
As late as 1993 political analysts saw Akayev as a "prodemocratic physicist."
Education and early career
Akayev was the youngest of five sons born into a family of collective farmCollective farming
Collective farming and communal farming are types of agricultural production in which the holdings of several farmers are run as a joint enterprise...
workers, in the town of Kemin
Kemin
Kemin is a urban-type settlement in northeastern Kyrgyzstan, the capital of Kemin District of Chui Province. It is located in about 95 km eastward of Bishkek on the left bank of Chu River in Chuy Valley. Kemin was established in 1912....
, 95 km east of Bishkek. He became a metalworker at a local factory in 1961. He subsequently moved to Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, where he trained as a physicist and graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics
Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics
Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, abbreviated as SPbSU ITMO is a leading Russian technical university located in St. Petersburg, Russia. It trains specialists in cutting-edge technologies directed to science and technical...
in 1967 with an honors degree in mathematics, engineering and computer science. He stayed at the institute until 1976, working as a senior researcher and teacher. In Leningrad he met and in 1970 married Mayram Akayeva with whom he now has two sons and two daughters. They returned to their native Kyrgyzstan in 1977, where he became a senior professor at the Frunze Polytechnic Institute. Some of his later cabinet members were former students and friends from his academic career.
He obtained a doctorate in 1981 from the Moscow Institute of Engineering and Physics, having written his dissertation on holographic systems of storage and transformation of information. In 1984, he became a member of the Kirghiz Academy of Sciences, rose to vice president of the Academy in 1987 and then president of the Academy in 1989. He was elected as a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the same year.
Political career
On 25 October 1990, the Kirghiz SSR's Supreme Soviet held elections for the newly created post of president of the republic. Two candidates contested the presidency, President of Council of Ministers of Kirghiz SSR, Apas JumagulovApas Jumagulov
Apas Jumagulov served as the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 14 December 1993 to 24 March 1998....
and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kirghiz SSR, Absamat Masaliyev
Absamat Masaliyev
Absamat Masaliyevich Masaliyev was the leader of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic before it gained independence, and led the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.He began studies at the Mining Technical School in southern Kyrgyzstan in...
. However, neither Jumagulov nor Masaliyev received a majority of the votes cast. In accordance with the Kirghiz SSR's constitution of 1978, both candidates were disqualified and neither could run in the second round of voting.
Two days later, on October 27, the Supreme Soviet selected Akayev - who was effectively a compromise candidate - to serve as the republic's first president. In 1991, he was offered the post of vice-president of the Soviet Union by President Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, but refused. Akayev was elected president of the renamed republic of Kyrgyzstan in an uncontested poll on 12 October 1991. He was reelected twice, amid allegations of ballot rigging, on 24 December 1995
Kyrgyzstani presidential election, 1995
Presidential elections was held in Kyrgyzstan on 24 December 1995. The result was a victory for incumbent President Askar Akayev, who won 72.4% of the vote. Voter turnout reported to be 86.2%.-Results:...
and 29 October 2000
Kyrgyzstani presidential election, 2000
Presidential elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 29 October 2000. The result was a victory for incumbent President Askar Akayev, who was re-elected with over 70% of the vote, in a vote international election monitors described as having failing to meet international standards. Voter turnout was...
.
Akayev was initially seen as a liberal leader. He commented in a 1991 interview that "Although I am a Communist, my basic attitude toward private property is favorable. I believe that the revolution in the sphere of economics was not made by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
but by Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
." ("Akayev: 'All of a Sudden I Become President'", Christian Science Monitor, 10 January 1991) He actively promoted the privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of land and other economic assets and operated a relatively liberal regime compared with the governments of the other Central Asian nations. He was granted lifelong immunity from prosecution by the Lower House of Parliament in 2003.
Protests
The first wave of demonstrations took place in mid-March 2002. Azimbek Beknazarov, a member of parliament accused of abuse of power, was due to attend trial taking place in Jalal-AbadJalal-Abad
Jalalabat is the administrative and economic centre of Jalal-Abad Province in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, with a population of about 150,000...
. Over 2,000 demonstrators marched on the town where the proceedings were to take place. According to eye-witnesses, police ordered the demonstrators to stop and gave them fifteen minutes to disperse, yet opened fire before this time elapsed. Five men were shot dead; another was killed on the next day. 61 people were injured, including 47 police and 14 civilians.
Riot police clashed with protesters in Bishkek
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
in May during demonstrations in support of Beknazarov. Police in the capital's Parliament square kicked protesters and dragged people away to break up the 200-strong crowd. They made several demands including the resignation of Akayev. This was again repeated in November of the same year when scores were arrested as the opposition marched on the capital. Protests continued, albeit on a smaller scale, at various points over the next few years.
2005 Election controversy
Akayev had promised to step down from office when his final term expired in 2005, but the possibility of a dynastical successionFamily dictatorship
A hereditary dictatorship, or family dictatorship, in political science terms a personalistic regime, is a form of dictatorship that occurs in a nominally or formally republican regime, but operates in practice like an absolute monarchy, in that political power passes within the dictator's family...
had been raised. His son Aidar Akayev and his daughter Bermet Akayeva
Bermet Akayeva
Bermet Askarevna Akayeva is a Kyrgyz politician and former MP. She is the daughter of ousted former President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev...
were candidates in the 2005 legislative election
Kyrgyz parliamentary elections, 2005
The 2005 Kyrgyz parliamentary elections were held 27 February 2005 with run-offs held on 13 March 2005. Over 400 candidates ran for the new 75-member unicameral legislative assembly. According to media reports, only six seats were won by the opposition, although most candidates were officially...
, and it was widely suspected that he was going to retain either de facto power by arranging for the election of a close supporter or relative, or perhaps even by abrogation of the term limit
Term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
provision in the constitution and remaining in power personally, an allegation which he strongly denied.
The results of the elections were disputed, with allegations of vote-rigging. Two of Akayev's children won seats. Serious protests broke out in Osh
Osh
Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". The city is at least 3,000 years old, and has served as the administrative center of Osh Province since 1939...
and Jalal-Abad
Jalal-Abad
Jalalabat is the administrative and economic centre of Jalal-Abad Province in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, with a population of about 150,000...
, with protesters occupying administration buildings and the Osh airport. The government declared that it was ready to negotiate with the demonstrators. However an opposition leader said talks would only be worthwhile if the President himself took part.
Akayev refused to resign, but pledged not to use force to end the protests, which he attributed to foreign interests seeking to provoke a large-scale clamp-down in response.
On 23 March Akayev announced the dismissal of Interior Minister Bakirdin Subanbekov and General Prosecutor Myktybek Abdyldayev for "poor work" in dealing with the growing protests.
Downfall
On 24 March 2005 protesters stormed the presidential compound in BishkekBishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
and seized control of the seat of state power after clashing with riot police during a large opposition rally. Opposition supporters also seized control of key cities and towns in the south to press demands that Akayev step down.
That day, Akayev fled the country with his family, reportedly escaping first to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and then to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Russian president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
invited Akayev to stay in Russia. There were early reports that he had tendered his resignation to opposition leaders before his departure. However, his formal resignation did not come until 4 April, when a delegation of members of parliament from Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
met him in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The Kyrgyz Parliament accepted the resignation
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
on 11 April 2005, after stripping him and his family members of special privileges that had been granted to him by the previous parliament. He was also formally stripped of the title of "first president of Kyrgyzstan".
Current Position and Activities
He now works as Professor and Senior Researcher of Prigogine Institute for Mathematical Investigations of Complex Systems at Moscow State UniversityMoscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
http://www.moscowuniversityclub.ru/home.asp?artId=3557. Together with Andrey Korotayev
Andrey Korotayev
Andrey Korotayev is an anthropologist, economic historian, and sociologist, with major contributions to world-systems theory, cross-cultural studies, Near Eastern history, and mathematical modeling of social and economic macrodynamics.Education and career=Born in Moscow, Andrey Korotayev attended...
and George Malinetsky he is a coordinator of the Russian Academy of Sciences Program "System Analysis and Mathematical Modeling of World Dynamics" http://cliodynamics.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=175&Itemid=43.
Successful forecast of the second (2011) wave of the world financial economic crisis
In their article “On the Possibilities to Forecast the Current Crisis and its Second Wave” Askar Akaev, Viktor SadovnichiyViktor Sadovnichiy
Viktor Antonovich Sadovnichiy is a Russian mathematician, winner of the 1989 USSR State Prize. Since 1992 he has been the rector of Moscow State University.-Biography:...
, and Andrey Korotayev
Andrey Korotayev
Andrey Korotayev is an anthropologist, economic historian, and sociologist, with major contributions to world-systems theory, cross-cultural studies, Near Eastern history, and mathematical modeling of social and economic macrodynamics.Education and career=Born in Moscow, Andrey Korotayev attended...
in the Russian academic journal “Ekonomicheskaya politika” (December 2010. Issue 6. Pages 39-46http://cliodynamics.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=295&Itemid=1) published «a forecast of the second wave of the crisis, which suggests that it may start in July — August, 2011
August 2011 stock markets fall
The August 2011 stock markets fall was the sharp drop in stock prices in August 2011 in stock exchanges across the United States, Middle East, Europe and Asia. This was due to fears of contagion of the European sovereign debt crisis to Spain and Italy, as well as concerns over France's current AAA...
».