Problems of national security in the modern Russian-language historiography of Kyrgyzstan

Panaev Nikita Sergeevich Graduate student; Department of Post-Soviet Countries; Institute of Eurasian and Interregional Studies of the Russian State University 125047, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Miusskaya pl., 6, building 6 nicksivan.@icloud.com

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the involvement of modern Kyrgyzstan in ensuring the stability and security of the Central Asian region. At the same time, the solution of these tasks depends, first of all, on the effectiveness of the national security policy of each of the countries in the region. It is significant that the Astana Declaration of the Council of Heads of SCO Member States of July 4, 2024 emphasized the role of Central Asia as the core of the SCO and emphasized the importance of the efforts of sovereign states and their competent authorities in countering terrorism, separatism and extremism. At the same SCO summit, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov put forward a proposal to establish a Center in Bishkek to counter international organized crime, thereby emphasizing Kyrgyzstan's potential in countering modern security challenges in the region.

In this context, it is of considerable interest to study the history of the formation of the state policy of Kyrgyzstan in the field of national security, the provision of which in this case is closely related to the issues of countering external threats of religious extremism, international crime, primarily drug trafficking, and a number of other phenomena that have been undermining stability in the region for decades ^{[1, p. 4; 2; 3]}.

To date, an international complex of scientific literature has developed, reflecting various aspects of this topic, primarily within the framework of the development of the national historiography of Kyrgyzstan. The study of this historiographical material allows us to see how the reflection of the security issues of the state and society of Kyrgyzstan in the scientific literature developed and transformed, as well as to show by this example some general trends in the development of political science and historical science of the country at the beginning of the XXI century.

It should be noted that the historiography of the history of the Kyrgyz Republic as an independent research area is in the process of formation. Most publications of the historiographical genre are devoted to publications on the history of Kyrgyzstan of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods ^{[4; 5; 6]}, which determines the scientific novelty of the undertaken research. At the same time, historiographical reviews on the security of the Central Asian countries, including Kyrgyzstan, are presented in a number of works by Kyrgyz and foreign authors devoted to various aspects of international relations, geopolitical and socio-economic processes in the Central Asian region ^{[7, pp.25-39; 1, pp.96-99]}.

The purpose of this article is to identify the features and results of the development of the problems of national and regional security by the humanitarian science of modern Kyrgyzstan. Among the tasks of the work are the identification and analysis of the content of historiographical materials, the definition of the socio-political and scientific information context of their creation, the understanding of the contribution of Kyrgyz scientists to the formation of the theoretical foundations of the state security policy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the 2000s - early 2020s.

Russian Russian-language monographs and articles, as well as individual English-language publications and articles in Kyrgyz, accompanied by annotations in Russian or English, are used in the work. The research based on Russian-language publications is justified by the fact that the Kyrgyz Republic in the period under review retains a high index of the use of the Russian language in scientific communication, second only to Belarus in this indicator among the CIS countries ^{[8, p. 88]}. Accordingly, the publications involved fairly objectively reflect the historiographical situation as a whole.

Discussion. The topic of security of the state and society has been relevant for Kyrgyzstan since the first years of independence. During the 1990s, the country maintained a high level of socio-political instability due to the difficulties of the transition period, which were aggravated by contradictions between the poor North and the more prosperous South, cronyism and weakness of government, corruption, and the ambiguous influence of the activity of Western non-profit organizations on public sentiment in Kyrgyzstan ^{[9, pp.157-158]}. In addition, the threats and risks associated with the situation in neighboring countries have worsened, primarily in Afghanistan, which during this period is a constant source of concern for the countries of Central Asia. Afghan refugees, the flow of drug trafficking, the concentration of militants from among the radical political opposition of the CAR countries and international terrorist Islamist organizations in Afghanistan – all these phenomena together have become a serious threat to Kyrgyzstan and its neighbors, which was clearly manifested in the so–called Batken events of 1999-2000 - the infiltration of militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) into the territory of the Osh region), a series of terrorist acts in 2002, etc. ^{[10, p.490]}.

At the turn of the XX – XXI century, the first monographic studies by Kyrgyz authors were published, in which attempts were made to comprehensively analyze threats to the national security of Kyrgyzstan, their causes and possibilities of overcoming. At the same time, several perspectives of studying this problem are being formed, among which the study of external threats to the country's security prevails. In particular, information and analytical works by A. Zelichenko on the implementation of the UN Anti-drug project "Osh Node" ^[11] and Ch. Dzhakupova on the refugee situation in Kyrgyzstan in the 1990s ^[12].

The Afghan theme in the modern history of Kyrgyzstan was revealed in the fundamental monograph "The History of the Afghan War of the 1990s and the transformation of Afghanistan into a source of threats to Central Asia" (Bishkek, 2002) and in other studies by orientalist, historian and political scientist A.A. Knyazev. It should be noted that the professional formation and a significant part of the creative biography of the scientist currently working in Russia are connected with Kyrgyzstan and with the Kyrgyz-Russian (Slavic) University. The books he published in Bishkek and Dushanbe in the 2000s reflect the growing threats to the security of the Kyrgyz state and society such as radical Islamism ^{[13, 7]} and organized crime ^[14]. In the research of this author, attention was also paid to the ethnopolitical aspects of the Afghan problem (the presence in Afghanistan of communities related to the titular ethnic groups of Central Asia). The scientist negatively assessed the US military presence in Afghanistan and the CAR, seeing in it evidence of Russia's withdrawal from its traditional spheres of influence, a potential threat to China, provoking military activity of India and Iran, etc., that is, a factor of increased geopolitical competition and growing turbulence in the region. O.A. Moldaliev's monograph "Modern Security Challenges of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia" (Bishkek, 2001), prepared in the same years, is devoted to the threats of religious radicalism and international crime from the perspective of the interconnectedness of the security problems of Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Central Asian countries.

In 1998, Kyrgyzstan promulgated the doctrine of "Silk Road Diplomacy", which proclaimed the rejection of international terrorism, extremism and drug crime. In May 1999, the Security Council of the Kyrgyz Republic approved the Concept of Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Policy aimed at developing international cooperation, strengthening peace and security in the Eurasian region. In addition, the beginning of the 2000s was marked by an increase in the attention of the Kyrgyz authorities to security issues, which was expressed in the Concept of National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic (approved by the decree of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 13, 2001 The next step was the adoption of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic" on February 26, 2003. The appearance of these documents was an incentive for a broader discussion of the geopolitical aspects of Kyrgyzstan's security.

The works of M.N. Omarov, in which the concept of the foreign policy strategy of independent Kyrgyzstan was put forward, deserve special attention: "The foreign policy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the era of "strategic uncertainty" (Bishkek, 2005), "A new game in Greater Central Asia. Myths and Reality" (Bishkek, 2005), etc. In M.N. Omarov's doctoral dissertation, Kyrgyzstan's foreign policy was studied in the context of global security problems, which the author associated with uncertainty in the field of international relations at the beginning of the XXI century. The scientist introduces the concept of an "associative" security system, which has been forming in Eurasia since the mid-1990s. Due to the simultaneous functioning of many international organizations, the tasks and powers and areas of responsibility of which partially overlapped and overlapped. Consistently defending the principle of multi-vector foreign policy, the scientist saw the development of a "relatively equal" ^{[15, p.36]}. cooperation with the United States, Russia and China, with a wide range of international organizations – from the OSCE and NATO to the CSTO and the SCO – is the basis for ensuring Kyrgyzstan's security, including for countering international terrorism, drug trafficking and extremism. M.N. Omarov, in particular, put forward the thesis that the events in the United States on September 11 2001 had a special impact on the geopolitical situation of Kyrgyzstan, placing it at the center of the interests of the leading powers of the world as a member of the international anti-terrorist coalition. M.N. Omarov's monograph "The States of Central Asia in the era of Globalization: the search for a development strategy" (Bishkek, 2008) predicts the growth of the geopolitical importance of the Central Asian Republic and Kyrgyzstan itself in the system of international cooperation and security.

In the publications of Kyrgyz authors in subsequent years, emphasis is placed on the strengthening of threats from international religious extremism and terrorism, which receives support from internal radical forces in Central Asia ^{[16, p.231]}, as well as on the prospects for ensuring collective regional security, the need for the formation of a vertical of power in Afghanistan, free from the influence of international crime and corruption ^{[17, p. 88]}.

At the same time, the scientific community of Kyrgyzstan has been discussing for a long time the role of the great powers and international blocs in solving security problems in the Central Asian Republic. For example, a number of authors prefer the United States and NATO as political and economic partners, believing that the economic and military power, unity of goals and approaches to international relations inherent in the NATO bloc provide better guarantees for solving the problems of the CAR than cooperation programs within the CIS, CSTO or SCO ^[18]. Proposals are also being put forward to strengthen coordination between NATO and the CSTO countries in a bilateral format ^{[19, p.115]}.

Kyrgyz scientists have repeatedly acted as organizers and participants of scientific and informational events dedicated to the problems of international security in Central Asia. In particular, international conferences "International terrorism: problems of security and cooperation of the countries of the Central Asian region" (2006), "Afghanistan, SCO, security and geopolitics of Central Eurasia" (2008), "Afghanistan - 2014: prospects for the development of the situation in Iran, challenges and threats to security in Central Asia in the context of withdrawal ISAF" (2013) and others.

In the 2010s, centers for the study of international and national security issues were formed at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, the Kyrgyz National University named after J. Balasagyn, the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic. The predominant form of approbation of the results of the research is scientific articles published in peer-reviewed periodicals of Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

During this period, more attention is paid to strengthening the legal and institutional framework of the state policy of countering terrorism and extremism, which is reflected in the publications of A.A. Salimova, U.A. Mamatbai, P.S. Vorobyov, etc., the theory of national security of the Kyrgyz Republic is being developed ^[20]. An additional incentive for the development of this research area was the approval on July 13, 2012 of the new Concept of National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The role of law enforcement agencies in solving the country's security problems was discussed in the book by M.T. Kongantiev, T.I. Imankulov and A.V. Zhaglin "Internal Affairs bodies in the national security system of the Kyrgyz Republic" (Bishkek, 2010).

In the late 2000s – 2010s, a thematic area of research related to information policy and information security in Kyrgyzstan was also developing. Thus, in 2007, a monograph by A.A.Temirbaev and R.N. Sagynbaev "Information security of the Kyrgyz Republic" was published, which raises the question of contradictions between information requests of society and high risks associated with informatization, the need for certain restrictions on access and dissemination of information. In subsequent years, the topic of information threats and ensuring cybersecurity in Kyrgyzstan is considered in the works of N. Muratalieva, J. K. Urmanbetov and others. Based on the provisions of the Information Security Concept of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2019-2023, the authors of the latest publications on this topic pay special attention to the possible destructive influence of a number of media and social networks on the worldview of citizens, the dissemination of ideas and values. alien to the people of Kyrgyzstan ^[21].

An independent group of scientific publications consists of research on the problems of economic security of the Kyrgyz Republic. This topic began to be actively developed after the release of the Decree of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic dated September 19, 2002. "On the state of economic security of the Kyrgyz Republic and measures to further ensure it," although references to serious economic risks are found in many works devoted to the national security of Kyrgyzstan. Most Kyrgyz and foreign authors pointed to the poverty of the population and other social problems, the unresolved nature of which in the 1990s and 2000s repeatedly caused internal instability, created favorable ground for the spread of radical religious and political ideas, and criminalization of society ^{[22; 23]}. The key issues of economic security of Kyrgyzstan, based on the geographical location and climatic characteristics of the country, is the development of cooperation with neighboring countries of the Central Asian Republic in the field of water supply and energy, transport logistics and "healthy cross-border relations" ^{[24, p.82]}, which largely depends on the general state of the international climate in the region. At the same time, Z.B. Osmonov and other authors emphasize that the economic security of Kyrgyzstan requires further strengthening of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and cronyism, and the implementation of financial and technological modernization programs ^[25].

Conclusions. The study of scientific publications on security issues prepared within the framework of the humanitarian scientific space of the Kyrgyz Republic suggests that the national historiography of this topic is an interdisciplinary historiographic complex with a predominance of research in the field of political science, universal history, the history of international relations and foreign policy of Kyrgyzstan.

The study of the national security issues of the Kyrgyz Republic has been constantly present in the orbit of interests of Kyrgyz scientists since the late 1990s, reflecting the desire of the intellectual forces of the country to find ways for its peaceful and stable development in conditions of social instability and external threats, economic and logistical dependence on neighboring states.

Throughout the period under review, in the historiography of Kyrgyzstan's security, the authors' attention has been drawn to the problem of countering religious extremism, terrorism and drug trafficking, which is considered in conjunction with the geopolitical dynamics both in the region of Central Asia and Eurasia, and in a global format. Most of the works on the topic of national security of Kyrgyzstan associate the solution of tasks in this area with the development of relations with world powers and the establishment of a stable international situation in the Central Asian Republic. Coverage of the topic of Kyrgyzstan's foreign policy strategy in the 21st century as a security factor is debatable, since along with the concept of multi-vector foreign policy of the Kyrgyz Republic prevailing in the literature, there are also works that give priority to orientation towards the United States and NATO, or Eurasian integration and the development of cooperation with Russia, China, the CSTO and the SCO. Most Kyrgyz authors conduct their research based on the theoretical work of leading scientists from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, American and European historians and political scientists.

The topic of internal social and ethnic conflict, the activities of opposition movements, including during the March 2005 so-called "tulip" revolution and the April 2010 events, were only indirectly touched upon in the context of the country's national security problems. At the same time, the political struggle and revolutionary transformations of power in Kyrgyzstan are an independent thematic area of international and Kyrgyz historiography that requires separate consideration.

In the 2010s, research on the security problems of Kyrgyzstan increasingly highlights the topics of strengthening national statehood and law and order, socio-economic modernization of the country, support for traditional culture, which are studied, including in the context of countering the threats of religious extremism and modern challenges related to informatization. During the same period, the formation of university scientific schools in Kyrgyzstan is traced, actively conducting research in the field of history and modernity of the state security policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, which suggests the appearance in the near future of new monographs and dissertation studies of a generalizing nature on this issue.