Dedicated social media pages spread Kremlin propaganda in Kyrgyzstan

The Kremlin appears to be using several dedicated social media pages and messaging channels to spread its propaganda in Kyrgyzstan, according to a report by the data analysis website PolitKliniK (PoliticsClinic).

The report is based on an analysis of about 5,000 posts carried between January 2022 and February 2023 by the Facebook pages “Salam Kyrgyzstan” (Hello Kyrgyzstan), “Tentek Qyz” (Silly Girl) and “Dve Tochki Zreniya” (Two Viewpoints), and the “Polit Lombard” Telegram channel.

“Every fifth post was aimed at increasing Russia’s influence in Kyrgyzstan and invoking a sense of nostalgia about the USSR,” the report said.

They stressed the importance of the Russia-dominated Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organisation, of which Kyrgyzstan is a member.

The CSTO was portrayed as the only peacekeeping organisation in Central Asia and any ideas about leaving it were strongly criticised.

They promoted the idea that Russia was Kyrgyzstan’s “only strong” political and economic partner.

The report cited a post saying, for instance, that “in the past 30 years, millions of Kyrgyz citizens left for Russia to make a living there, getting a chance to provide for their families and contribute to their country’s economy”.

The accounts, which have been particularly active since the middle of 2021, “idealise” the Soviet Union and are strongly critical of any attempts at new interpretations of Kyrgyz, or Central Asian history, the report said.

Reacting to the Kyrgyz parliamentary bills on rehabilitation of the victims of Soviet political repression, a “Salam Kyrgyzstan” post in January 2023 said: “Do not allow rehabilitation of advocates of fascism!”

The accounts were also used to attack Kyrgyz parliament Speaker Nurlanbek Shakiyev for his initiatives aimed at strengthening the Kyrgyz national identity. For example, his proposal to change the Soviet names of the capital city Bishkek’s districts, and his request to government members to speak Kyrgyz in parliament.

The accounts have been positive about President Sadyr Japarov, describing him as Kyrgyzstan’s “best president”. In one post, Japarov was even likened to “young Putin”.

The posts were also clearly anti-American, with the main message being that the US wants to destabilise Central Asia.

Reacting to Kyrgyz-US diplomatic contacts in April 2022, a post on the “Salam Kyrgyzstan” page said that “Moscow sees the continued talks between Kyrgyzstan and the United States as a stab in the back”.

The posts also promoted the Kremlin’s rhetoric about the war in Ukraine — that it’s been started by the West and Russia is conducting “an operation against neo-Nazism” there.

The accounts were negative about Kyrgyzstan’s involvement with Turkic integration initiatives and say that Turkic unification is “an empty dream”.

The posts also speculated that “the West wants to turn Central Asia into a second Afghanistan” and the recent Kyrgyz-Tajik border clashes were instigated by the West.

“Russia is presented as the only friendly country trying to bring peace to Central Asia. The Central Asian countries, like Kyrgyzstan, are portrayed as weak and unable to defend themselves, and therefore always needing assistance,” the report said.

The posts also slammed the independent Kyrgyz media and non-government groups as being funded by the US and the EU, and wanting to stir up tensions in the country.

A post on the “Tentek Qyz” Facebook page in August 2022 accused Soros Kyrgyzstan of working, together with other NGOs, on creating “an army of informers and traitors” in Kyrgyzstan.

The report also noted that the three Facebook pages and the Telegram channel cited the same “experts” – the most quoted one was Russian political observer Aleksandr Knyazev, who is presented as an expert on Kyrgyzstan.

The said accounts also often refer to Sputnik Kyrgyzstan reports. Sputnik Kyrgyzstan too frequently uses Knyazev’s expert services.

For his 2013 article titled “Is Kyrgyzstan a country of bestial Fascism?” the Kyrgyz authorities barred Knyazev from entering the country.

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