August 1991 — The Kyrgyz Republic declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
October 1991 — Askar Akayev, appointed president by the legislature in 1990, wins a second term in direct elections.
May 1993 — A new constitution is adopted.
December 1995 — Akaev is elected to a third presidential term.
February 1996 — Voters overwhelmingly approve constitutional amendments strengthening the powers of the president.
December 1997 — Two media laws are adopted, the Law on Guarantees and Free Access to Information and the Law on the Protection of the Professional Activities of Journalists.
March 1998 — Prime Minister Apas Dzhumagulov resigns shortly before Parliament convenes to investigate why the company given exclusive rights by the government to buy the country's gold and sell it abroad has been exempted from taxation.
July 1998 — The Constitutional Court rules Akayev can run for a third term as president in 2000.
October 1998 — Voters approve constitutional amendments allowing private land ownership and restricting Parliament's powers over the budgetary process and deputies' immunity from prosecution. The fairness of the referendum is called into question by the structure of the ballot, which did not allow voters to approve or reject each amendment individually.
October 1998 — The Kyrgyz Republic joins the World Trade Organization.
December 1998 — Several top officials, including three deputy ministers, are arrested for embezzling state funds and taking bribes.
April 1999 — Security forces raid the offices of the independent newspaper Asaba and erase all computer files. A Ministry of National Security investigation concludes the erasure was the result of a computer virus, not a break-in.
June 1999 — Parliament passes a new law on nongovernmental organizations that separates NGOs from other kinds of political/social organizations and eases registration requirements.
June 1999 — Within the span of several weeks, three members of Parliament are arrested and charged with corruption offenses including embezzlement, smuggling and tax evasion.
July 1999 — Police in Naryn arrest two parliamentary deputies who were discussing politics with citizens in public and charge them with holding an illegal gathering. Both are subsequently fined.
March 2000 — Parliamentary elections in February and March are marked by numerous irregularities, including voter intimidation and lack of impartiality by the judiciary and election administration.
August 2000 — International press freedom organizations decry the government's harassment of the private weekly Delo No and its staff, some of whom were detained and interrogated at the Ministry of National Security for an article they had written about Felix Kulov, leader of the Ar-Namys (Dignity) opposition party. Kulov, one of the country's leading opposition voices, had been acquitted of corruption charges earlier that month, but in September the court annuls the acquittal.
October 2000 — Akayev is elected to a third term as president.
June 2001 — President Akayev approves a new code of ethics for government employees. The new rules forbid civil servants from being members of political or religious organizations, securing jobs for friends and relatives and discussing their work with anyone outside the government.
January 2002 — President Akayev fires Interior Minister Tashtemir Aitbayev because of mismanagement and failure to achieve progress in the fight against corruption.
January 2002 — Leading opposition deputy Azimbek Beknazarov is detained on abuse of power charges. His supporters claim this is a politically motivated retaliation for his criticism of the government's plan to transfer disputed land to China and Kazakhstan.
May 2002 — The government of Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev resigns after a state commission rules that senior officials were to blame for the death of five civilians protesting the imprisonment of Azimbek Beknazarov in March. Nikolay Tanayev is appointed prime minister. Beknazarov is given a one-year suspended sentence and released.
May 2002 — Kulov is sentenced to 10 years in prison for abuse of office while national security minister. He is released in March 2005.
February 2003 — Voters approve constitutional amendments readjusting the balance of power between the president and Parliament and also vote to allow President Akayev to stay in office until his term expires in 2005.
June 2003 — The lower house of Parliament passes a bill granting President Akayev lifelong immunity from prosecution.
June 2003 — The cumulative effect of government libel suits forces the closure of independent newspaper Moya Stolitsa-Novosti, which frequently accused various high-ranking officials of corruption.
December 2003 — The Kyrgyz Republic signs the UN Convention against Corruption.
August 2004 — Parliament passes a new law on asset declaration of politicians and their close relatives. The law requires politicians and senior executives, including ministers, to publish their income in media sources annually. Since the law does not create a mechanism to check the accuracy of the published income, doubts are raised after President Akayev declares his monthly income to be US$300.
February 2005 — Most opposition and independent candidates are barred from participating in parliamentary elections. Prior to the elections, the government interferes with the operations of several independent media outlets.
March 2005 — Following the second round of elections, protestors seize government buildings and demand President Akayev's resignation. Akayev flees the country and resigns the following month. Kurmanbek Bakiev is appointed acting president and prime minister.
June 2005 — Prosecutors issue an international arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev on charges of illegal transfer of public funds. They also issue an arrest warrant for Adil Toigonbayev, former President Akayev's son-in-law, who is wanted on charges of corruption involving his fuel company, which supplied an American military base outside the capital of Bishkek.
July 2005 — Bakiev is elected president. Kulov is named prime minister in September.
February 2006 — More than 100 NGOs submit an open letter to the president and prime minister protesting the government's announced plan to closely supervise civil society groups. In July, it is reported that two U.S. diplomats were expelled from the country for "inappropriate" contacts with NGOs.
April 2006 — Thousands turn out in the streets of Bishkek to protest the government's failure to stop widespread corruption. Both President Bakiyev and Prime Minister Kulov make surprise appearances at the rally.
September 2006 — Opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev is arrested at Warsaw airport when heroin is found in his luggage. He is released after saying that the drug was planted.
November 2006 — Parliament adopts amendments to the constitution which limits the powers of the president and enhances the role of Parliament. Kyrgyz Parliament votes on December 30 to adopt new amendments reinstalling some of the presidential powers given up in November. President Bakiyev signs the changes in January 2007.
January 2007 — Azim Isabekov becomes prime minister after the Parliament rejects President Bakiyev's candidate Felix Kulov.
March 2007 — Government resigns and opposition leader Almaz Atabayev becomes the new prime minister.
April 2007 — A week-long demonstrations demanding President Bakiyev's resignation are held in Bishkek.
May 2007 — A medical report confirms that Prime Minister Atabayev is poisoned with a toxin. The prime minister believes the poisoning is related to his government's privatization plans.
September 2007 — Authorities drop charges of obstructing justice and contempt of court against Bermet Akayeva, the daughter of the Kyrgyz Republic's ousted president, due to lack of evidence. Akayeva was accused of pressuring a regional court to overturn its April decision barring her from running in a parliamentary by-election.
October 2007 — The BBC reports, "Voters in referendum approve constitutional changes, which the opposition present as a step towards authoritarianism. Monitors criticise conduct of the vote. Bakiyev dissolves parliament, calls fresh elections."
Kyrgyz Republic's Prosecutor General's Office insists on the extradition of Aidar Akayev, the elder son of the former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev, from Russia. He is charged on several articles of the republic's Criminal Code, but has found refuge in Moscow since the Akayev family fled the Kyrgyz Republic soon after Askar Akayev was ousted by protesters on March 24, 2005.
December 2007 — The president's Ak Zhol party wins the most seats in the parliamentary election. Meanwhile, the opposition wins no seats. Western observers say the poll is a clear example of fraud.
February 2008 — After Tair Jankirbayev and another Kyrgyz national are killed in Russia — making them the ninth and tenth Kyrgyz nationals to be killed in Russia this year — a protest against hate crimes in Russia is held in the capital of Kyrgyz, Bishkek. The campaign is organized by Maksim Kuleshov, leader of the non-profit Peace is the Light of Culture (Mir Svet Kultur) and the Tokmak Human Rights Resource Centre, and is attended by members of political parties, civil society activists, young people and active citizens. As part of the campaign, protesters delivered petitions to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and the Russian embassy, calling on the Kyrgyz and Russian leaders to show their political will and to take every necessary measure to prevent all forms of racial discrimination and xenophobia.
March 2008 — The United States government, represented by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Office of Africa, Asia, Europe Programs, calls for applications from qualified U.S. organizations with the requisite capability and experience to support rule of law in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa. The aim of the organizations is to provide legislative drafting and technical expertise to multiple governments, for the purpose of strengthening law relating to the judiciary and to criminal law and procedure. Kyrgyz Republic will receive up to US$174,000 in grants.
A semi-underground Kyrgyz revolutionary committee, which was set up and is led by former MP Azimbek Beknazarov, names 42 people whom the opposition wants to put on trial as responsible for the Aksy tragedy — clashes between demonstrators and police claimed six lives in southwestern Dzhalal-Abad Region's Aksy District in March 2002.
July 2008 — President Kurmanbek Bakiyev claims that corruption at the highest level has been beaten , but calls on the people in the country and civil society to be more actively involved in the fight against corruption at the lower levels.
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