FADED TULIPS
Born out of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the young and fragile Kyrgyz republic is undermined by poverty, corruption and chronic political instability. Freedom of expression is minimal and more than 40% of the population live below the poverty line. This explosive mixture is what pushed the country towards its recent bloody events.
In March 2005, the “Tulip Revolution” brought hope and a promise of democracy to Kyrgyzstan when the Kyrgyz people overthrew the authoritarian regime of President Askar Akayev and elected in his place Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The international community broadly welcomed this uprising, seeing it as a major step towards democracy. But in a few years time, hope was fading. Faded Tulips is a social portrait of Kyrgyzstan 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
