Kyrgyz Service
Radio Azattyk is an award-winning, multimedia source of independent news in Kyrgyzstan.
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About the Service
RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, has been a trusted media leader since 1953 that provides essential, independent reporting.
Operating out of its Bishkek bureau, the Service focuses on uncovering corruption, holding power accountable, and providing a crucial alternative to state-controlled media.
Journalists have uncovered Russia’s use of Kyrgyz companies to circumvent Western sanctions, supplying dual-use technologies for the war in Ukraine. They also exposed a Moscow-based app promising to “help” migrants that is, in fact, a surveillance tool for the Interior Ministry.
Radio Azattyk monitors the plight of Kyrgyz migrants facing harassment, deportation, and forced conscription into Russia’s war on Ukraine. Journalists have identified dozens of Kyrgyz migrants forced to fight in Ukraine and collaborated with RFE/RL’s regional project Idel.Realities to report on Kyrgyz children lured to Russia to produce combat drones.
The Service’s investigative reporting has exposed abuses of power that have led to government shake-ups.
Through its popular TV program, Experts Analyze, the Service brings on specialists to examine controversial issues in Kyrgyz society. It also produces the podcast Healthy Living, where journalists discuss modern medicine and public health with experts.
Reaching Audiences
Media Climate
Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks Kyrgyzstan 144th out of 180 countries.
In April 2024, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a controversial bill critics say mirrors Russia’s repressive law on “foreign agents” that Moscow uses to muzzle independent journalism and NGOs.
A separate media bill signed in August 2025 was criticized by human rights organizations for granting authorities “wide powers to deny media outlets registration, obstruct their work, and close them down without judicial oversight.”
Under President Japarov, Kyrgyz authorities have cracked down on independent media, including by shuttering news outlets and detaining journalists for their work.
Kyrgyz government blocked Radio Azattyk’s websites in October 2022, froze its bank account, and removed TV and radio programs from main local affiliates. In July 2023, a Kyrgyz court reversed the government’s block of Radio Azattyk following international outcry.
Latest Updates
RFE/RL President and CEO Jamie Fly Advocates for Azattyk in Visit to Kyrgyzstan
As the Kyrgyz government takes steps to shut down RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, President and CEO Jamie Fly visited Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to advocate for the Service.
RFE/RL Challenges Kyrgyz Government Decision to Block Websites
Today, RFE/RL filed an administrative complaint with Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy.
RFE/RL Responds to Kyrgyz Government Blocking Websites in Crackdown on Free Media
Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy announced it was blocking RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service websites for two months.