When a parliamentary election resulted in victories for then-President Askar Akayev's family, the Kyrgyz population had had enough. Mr. Akayev had been criticized for years for becoming increasingly authoritarian, corrupt, and intolerant of opposition. He had been in power since 1990, two terms longer than the Constitution permitted.
Protests began in the south and soon reached the capital. Protesters occupied government buildings and rioted in an uprising that lasted weeks. The old parliament collapsed, and as thousands of opposition protesters took over government buildings in the capital, Akayev fled to Kazakhstan. He agreed to resign. The events are known as the "Tulip Revolution," possibly because the tulip is considered the country's national flower.
Kyrgyzstan was the third former Soviet republic to experience a revolution in the span of 18 months.
