Marco Polo commented on the height and beauty of the Tien Shan and Pamir mountain ranges; Kyrgyzstan's average elevation is approximately 9,000 feet above sea level, or 4,000 feet above Denver. Once part of the Great Silk Road, Kyrgyzstan still occupies an uncomfortable place between empires. Its leadership must struggle to maintain a difficult balance, attending to the various and sometimes conflicting demands of its neighbors.

President Askar Akaev, a former physicist, is the only leader in the region without a Communist past. Kyrgyzstan is one of the most tolerant and democratic countries in the region: journalists and human rights activists face libel charges and trumped-up criminal accusations, not torture and death squads. Outside observers have noted a continuing trend toward further repression, and these limited freedoms may be further eroded in the future.

2,000 years ago raids by the ancestors of today's Kyrgyz led to the Great Wall. Today, China fears invasion by Islamic radicals. Kyrgyzstan is home to a small but vocal Uighur population; in 1992 they were denied the right to form a party seeking the ultimate formation of a "Uighur Republic" from Kyrgyz and Chinese territory. The Kyrgyz government regularly arrests and extradites Uighur whom China considers "terrorists" or otherwise linked to Uighur separatism in the bordering Xingiang region. This cooperation has earned Kyrgyzstan criticism from groups who point to China's dismal human rights record in the region. In any event, it is not clear how much choice Akaev has in the matter.

While most Russians fled Central Asia after the fall of the U.S.S.R., fully 20% of Kyrgyzstan's population is ethnic Russian. The Kyrgyz government has taken several steps to ensure their rights and avoid the "brain drain" which resulted elsewhere in the region. Russian is recognized as an official second language, and Kyrgyzstan has invited Russian border guards to take care of the Chinese border. This has earned the Kyrgyz government good will, but Moscow has not wanted too much economic involvement in the small and resource-poor country.

Relations with Uzbekistan are more problematic. There is a sizeable Uzbek population in Kyrgyzstan, mostly in the contested Fergana Valley area. Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's president, has declared himself leader of "all Uzbek people" and could intervene on their behalf via military or other means. On several occasions Uzbekistan has shut off gas and oil shipments to Kyrgyzstan to express their displeasure. Akaev has worked hard to root out Islamic militants and cooperated with Uzbekistan as with China; there is still continuing ill will between the two countries. There is also tension between Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Tajikistan, as the instability and continued fighting in that country threatens to spill over the Kyrgyz border. Kyrgyzstan has recently begun rounding up and deporting illegal Tajik and Afghan immigrants, and is fearful of a massive influx of refugees if a major war breaks out in Afghanistan.

While the transition from Soviet Republic to independent state has not been entirely smooth, Kyrgyzstan has generally been one of the area's success stories. With all that it is still difficult to see what the future holds; so much depends on the actions of other, larger powers. Ironically, Kyrzygstan’s limited resources may prove a blessing; there’s no untapped reservoirs of gas or oil to tempt would-be emperors.