Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kyrgyzstan on November 25 for a state visit with oligarchs including Roman Abramovich, Musa Bazhaev and Petr Fradkov in tow.

The welcome for Putin was elaborate and highly choreographed. A grand ceremony featured trained hunting eagles, mounted horsemen, guard dogs and traditional Kyrgyz musical and dance performances.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov – an increasingly authoritarian leader who this week has approved the detention of opponents whom officials allege were plotting to foment mass unrest to secure a change of power in connection with the upcoming November 30 parliamentary election in the Central Asian country – welcomed Putin, saying Russia "has been and will remain a strategic ally, a reliable partner, and a close friend".

Putin said that the relationship between Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic was "successfully developing as a strategic partnership and alliance based on mutual respect and consideration of the interests of the parties".

There is no doubt that Kyrgyz channels have been useful to Russia in terms of evading Ukraine war sanctions introduced by the West. Only last week, it was alleged by Britain’s National Crime Agency that a man who heads up a network operating in the UK that launders cash for drugs gangs, illegal firearm suppliers and people smugglers, purchased a bank in Kyrgyzstan, Keremet Bank, that facilitates sanctions evasion to the benefit of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The two presidents signed an agreement headed "On Deepening Allied Relations and the Strategic Partnership." Russia has a military base in Kyrgyzstan and the country is a member of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

Putin on the visit reiterated that Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom would consider the possibility of building Kyrgyzstan, a country of around 7.4mn people, a small-modular-reactor (SMR) nuclear power station. He also referred to bilateral plans to build a large solar power plant in Issyk-Kul region and a modern thermal power plant (CHP) in the north of the country.

Rosatom, he added, would implement a programme to rehabilitate uranium waste sites in Kyrgyzstan.

Japarov said there was very strong growth in the number of Russian companies setting up in Kyrgyzstan, noting that they now numbered around 1,800, equivalent to approximately a third of all foreign companies in the country.

Putin said the volume of Russian investment in Kyrgyzstan has reached almost $2bn, while Russia's share in Kyrgyzstan's trade turnover was 22%. Trade could be taken to $5bn in coming years from the $4.1bn seen last year, he added, also noting the trade volume grew 17% y/y in January to September.

Japarov said he was fully behind an initiative to create an association of Russian investors in Kyrgyzstan, adding that since the establishment of the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund, it has invested more than $1bn in the Kyrgyz economy and financed more than 3,500 projects in the republic.

Of the oligarchs accompanying Putin to Kyrgyzstan, where he will spend three days in all attending regional gatherings, Bazhaev owns the country’s Zherui gold mine, while Abamovich has, since last year, been subject to speculation in Kyrgyzstan that he has been visiting Bishkek to discuss certain issues with high-ranking officials, Azattyk reported.

Fradkov, meanwhile, is CEO of Russian state-owned Promsvyazbank (PSB), a defence-oriented bank that is described by the US Treasury as a "sanctions evasion hub". It has worked with Keremet Bank, currently subject to British police scrutiny (see above).

On November 23, a TV channel called Nomad was launched in Kyrgyzstan, with backing for it expressed by Vadim Titov, head of the Kremlin's Department for Strategic Partnerships and Cooperation, and Maria Zakharova, the official chief spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Azattyk has reported that the channel is being run by a “close disciple of one of Moscow's main propagandists, Margarita Simonyan”. Simonyan is editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT.

Also opened in Bishkek this week is a Eurasia Center for Russian Language and Culture.

Azattyk also reported that at the opening ceremony of the TV channel, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Edil Baisalov spoke, saying “Kyrgyzstan is a part of the Russian world,” with people receiving information in Russian, thinking in Russian and being educated through Russian literature.

The past year has seen mounting concern across Central Asia over a tough Russian crackdown on labour migrants and their families from the region. On the issue of Kyrgyz migrants in Russia, Japarov said: "It was confirmed [in talks] that both sides are interested in ensuring the legal stay of our compatriots on the territory of Russia, providing them with decent working conditions and the necessary social guarantees. It was agreed to continue working in this important direction along the lines of our competent ministries."

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev told RFE/RL: "We talked about making life easier for our migrants, reducing the registration problem, and [the situation with the] removing [of some of] those who are on the register. Tasks have been given to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and others in this regard. We will actively work on this in the future."

Also discussed on the visit was the issue of Kyrgyz garment makers who in recent months have found that they are unable to deliver their goods to Russia because of huge difficulties faced by freight companies trying to get their trucks through Kazakh-Russian border points. Many of the enterprises have warned they face going out of business.

Instructions have been given to resolve the problem, said Daniyar Amangeldiev, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, in response to a question from RFE/RL.

Putin's visit to Kyrgyzstan will conclude on November 27 after a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Bishkek.

Political analyst Mirzhan Balybaev told Azattyk that Kyrgyzstan is a country geopolitically firmly entrenched under the Kremlin's influence, but there is also a sense that efforts are under way to distance the country from it.

"Whether we like it or not, we are still economically tied to Russia. Our geographical location also forces us to pursue a multi-vector foreign policy. This may be unpleasant and deserving of criticism. However, this is our reality. China is next to us. We are tied to Russia's geopolitical orbit.

“We are, unfortunately, tied to the same energy resources, oil, construction materials, iron and steel, wood, and labour migration. We will not be able to get away from it in the coming years. It may be difficult to find an alternative path immediately.”

Twelve politicians and activists were detained in Kyrgyzstan on November 22. They included Temirlan Sultanbekov, leader of the Social Democratic Party, Kadyrbek Atambayev, the youngest son of former president Almazbek Atambayev, former MPs Shailoobek Atazov and Kubanychbek Kadyrov, businessman Urmat Baryktabasov and Atambayev's former bodyguard Damir Musakeev.