BISHKEK – President Sadyr Japarov issued decrees on Tuesday dismissing Kamchybek Tashiev, his longtime ally and Kyrgyzstan’s second-most powerful figure, as head of the State Committee for National Security and deputy prime minister.
Tashiev had held these key roles since 2020, when he and Japarov seized power amid protests over alleged election fraud. Japarov’s office cited the move as aimed at preventing societal divisions and bolstering unity across government agencies.
Several senior security officials under Tashiev faced dismissal as well, with no immediate response from Tashiev, who local reports say is receiving medical treatment in Germany. Japarov named Jumgalbek Shabdanbekov as acting security chief pending parliamentary approval.
Context of Power ShiftThe mountainous nation of 7 million, closely aligned with Russia, faces Western criticism for aiding Moscow’s Ukraine war sanction circumvention. Supporters credit the Japarov-Tashiev duo with ending years of turmoil through elite alliances spanning north and south.
Critics accuse them of stifling dissent and media in Central Asia’s formerly most democratic state, where Tashiev often defended the regime on state TV from his southern power base. The shakeup raises questions about internal frictions in their once-unshakable partnership.