The Kyrgyz media holding Vechernii Bishkek (Evening Bishkek) controls three newspapers, Rubicon, an advertising company as well as the country's newest publishing house. In the past, the regimes of former presidents Askar Akayev (1990-2005) and Kurmanbek Bakiyev (2005-2010) have tried to get their hands on it.
After the second Kyrgyz revolution in 2010, a new (but, for all intents and purposes, the same) elite made promises – freedom of expression, democracy and the protection of private property – to the country. President Almazbek Atambayev's assurances ahead of parliamentary elections in October, however, have so far proven hollow.
Illegal rulings
Attempts to control large-scale business (including media) were common under Askar Akayev, independent Kyrgyzstan's first president. Indeed, it was back then that Adil Toygonbayev, Akayev's son-in-law, decided to take control of Vechernii Bishkek.
