Rival of Ousted Kyrgyz Leader Takes Power After Mass Unrest

(Bloomberg) -- The rival of Kyrgyzstan’s ousted president assumed power Thursday just over a week after his supporters freed him from prison amid mass unrest in the impoverished ex-Soviet central Asian nation.

The former leader, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, quit hours earlier saying he wanted to avoid violence amid mounting demands for his resignation. Sadyr Japarov, who was confirmed as prime minister Wednesday, told a crowd of jubilant supporters in the capital Bishkek that he was taking over as acting president.

Jeenbekov, who had friendly ties with Russia, said he stepped aside rather than crack down on the protests. “I am not hanging onto power. I don’t want to go down in the history of Kyrgyzstan as a president who provoked bloodshed and opened fire on his own citizens,” he said in a statement on the presidential website.

Russia has watched in the background despite the turmoil in the country of 6.5 million people, a member of the Moscow-led Eurasian Union which hosts a Russian military base. One of the poorest countries in central Asia, two of its presidents have been toppled by popular protests since 2005.

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament on Wednesday confirmed Japarov as prime minister after Jeenbekov gave in to pressure from protesters to appoint him last week. After the vote, Japarov called on Jeenbekov to resign, an appeal the president initially resisted. But as Japarov’s supporters massed for a new rally in the capital Thursday, he relented.

Japarov, who was serving a 10-year sentence for taking a regional governor hostage in 2013 amid protests over a Canadian-operated gold mine, was released from prison by his supporters as protests swept through the capital over the Oct. 4 parliamentary election. The Central Election Commission annulled the results of the ballot and is expected to set a new vote by Nov. 4. New presidential elections are to be held in three months, the committee said Thursday.

Amid the instability in recent weeks, Russia initially backed Kyrgyzstan’s security chief until he was ousted. The Kremlin then dispatched a senior official to negotiate with the various factions.

“The Kremlin can’t send the army there because it will just increase the mess,” said Arkady Dubnov, a Moscow-based specialist on the region. “It will wait until there is a winner and will build relations with them.”

Russia has put on hold aid programs for Kyrgyzstan until the situation stabilizes there, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on a conference call Thursday.

The country remains part of the Russian sphere of influence and any future government will keep close ties to Moscow, said Tabyldy Akerov, a Bishkek-based political analyst.

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