Analysing Russia’s Support for the Arc of Autocracy: A Case Study of Kyrgyzstan

Due to its considerable leverage and linkages with Kyrgyzstan, Russia can better influence its political system than the United States or China. Considering it, does Russia attempt to support autocracy in Kyrgyzstan? Many studies have ignored Russia’s meddling in Kyrgyzstan’s internal political affairs. By studying the impact of Russian influence on Kyrgyzstan’s internal political system in the context of supporting autocracy, this study aims to fill the vacuum in the existing literature. This study demonstrates that Russia supports autocracy in Kyrgyzstan. For a resource-poor and fractured elite state like Kyrgyzstan, Russian ‘aid’ is vital to stabilising an autocratic regime. Anyone seeking to become president must receive approval from the Kremlin. Russia’s state-controlled media is a crucial political tool for autocracy support. Kyrgyzstan’s president aims to secure Russian or CSTO military aid through ‘autocracy support’ if his political existence gets jeopardised due to elite rivalry. However, Russia did not rescue the current president Sadyr Japarov’s predecessors during uprisings. Despite this, Japarov may be successful in his endeavour.