Nationalization as a Legal Institute and Political Tool in Kyrgyzstan

Pamira Sainazarova
Magomed Saaduev

Before the April 7, 2010 events, the term “nationalization” sounded somewhat archaically in Kyrgyzstan. It was mostly associated with the Soviet history lessons, classic works of Marxism-Leninism, and the revolution of 1917. But over the last year, nationalization in Kyrgyzstan became trivial. Literally, within just a few months (from May to December 2010), there have been nationalized dozens of assets, including industrial enterprises, houses, land plots, shares and interests in major companies, and other things. Perhaps, today many people would like to know what nationalization means, what goals it is pursuing, what conditions it is subject to, and what positive and negative consequences it might have. This information can be useful to know in order to understand the ongoing processes, assuming that nationalization occurs within several days but its effects last many years if not decades to come.