Elena Skochilo

I am photojournalist from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Email Elena Skochilo

Latest posts by Elena Skochilo

Kyrgyzstan: The Die is Cast

  1 November 2011

Today the Central Elections Commission confirmed that Kyrgyzstan's election is valid. Over 51% of Kyrgystanis have voted across the country (a little over 3 million voters). Elena Skochilo reports.

Kyrgyzstan: There Is No Silence Day in Internet

  30 October 2011

Yesterday, October 29, was the so-called “Silence Day” in Kyrgyzstan, the last day before the presidential elections. At this day any political agitation is prohibited in the traditional media. But the law has no hold on Internet. The main representative of the Russian newspaper “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” Igor Shestakov said [ru]:...

Kyrgyzstan Sets Up the Anti-terrorist Centre

  18 July 2009

15, July, the President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev gave interview to the American New York Times. During the interview, he told [ru] that Kyrgyzstan was going to set up the anti-terrorist centre at the south region of Kyrgyzstan. The representatives of the Kyrgyz and the Russian Ministries of Defence are...

Does Global Financial Crisis Affect Kyrgyzstan?

Slon.ru writes [ru] that global financial crisis started in the February, 2007. That month Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) stopped the buying-out the subprime mortgages. A lot of American and European banks take up the lead of Freddie Mac in Summer, 2007. It leaded to the bankruptcy in...

Kyrgyzstan: Government Acts to Prevent Swine Flu

  1 May 2009

The import of all types of meat products from the United States and Mexico is banned in Kyrgyzstan now. Deputy Director of the Department of Veterinary Kubanychbek Musakeev explained [ru], that the government imposed this restriction because of the worldwide spread of the swine flu. According to Musakeev's words the...

Kyrgyzstan: Lame Ad Design Spurred Nationalist Debates

  25 April 2009

On April, 22, a deputy Askarbek Shadiev criticized the advertisement billboard of the Swiss Office for Cooperation [en] during the session of the faction “Ak Zhol” party. Deputy was outraged by the placing the white cross image on the flag of Kyrgyzstan by unknown designer. There is a big poster...

Kyrgyzstan: No Rest For the Internet

The head of the State Patent Department [en] Ulan Melisbek told [ru] that this department will try to take control of the service registration of domain names in the .kg zone. Ulan Melisbek is sure that the .kg zone represents the national interests, and its administration should be under state...

Kyrgyzstan: Photo-roundup with not a word about politics

A winter time is ending, and Kyrgyzstan is waiting for the hot spring: the rallies, protest actions and so on. But let's talk about beauty, not about the endless politic. What was the photowinter in Kyrgyzstan? Livejournal user doctormoro posted the unique photos of the famous Kyrgyz actor Suymenkul Chokmorov....

Kyrgyzstan: Back Count for the U.S. Airbase

  23 February 2009

On February, 19th, 2009 nearly all Krrgyz MPs approved a motion denouncing the agreement between Kyrgyzstan and the USA about the American airbase at Manas. Of 89 total MPs, 78 voted for, one against, and two abstained: The government, in the name of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, after signing...

Kyrgyzstan: The U.S. Air Base Shutdown

  6 February 2009

The president of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev declared that American airbase will be called off Kyrgyzstan. Political intrigues around the airbase began when Bakiev became the president of Kyrgyzstan. The question about the base withdrawal was raised [en] before every trip of the Kyrgyz president to Moscow. However, this February trip...

Kyrgyzstan: What Did the President Mean?

  30 January 2009

On January, 27th the President Kurmanbek Bakiev addressed to citizens of Kyrgyzstan. In his speech the President declared that created strategic documents must be realizing more actively. He also identified national interests and told about creation of two new structures (Secretary and Institute of the Strategic Analysis). In addition Bakiev...

Kyrgyztsan: New Head of Administration or Next President?

  16 January 2009

On 13th January Daniyar Usenov was assigned as the head of the president’s administration. The previous chief of the president’s administration Medet Sadyrkulov left his post voluntarily. He said that “he has completed the task of the recovery of the state mechanism”. A lot of people called Medet Sadyrkulov a...

Kyrgyzstan: From Sorrow to Happiness

Early in June a sorrowful groan was heard from the Kyrgyz blogosphere: the great Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov died. Almost all Kyrgyz bloggers wrote about the death of a famous writer in their blogs. Erne_raj wrote [ru]: Chingiz Torekulovich is no more… But he left his scent in minds, hearts...

Kyrgyzstan: First Summer Events

There was a recent Miss Tourism Kyrgyzstan pageant, held on the eve of summer. Some bloggers have visited this contest and published photos of the event. The chosen Miss Tourism and other participants of the contest didn’t impress Kyrgyz bloggers. Blogger baisalov wrote [ru]: Miss Tourism looks like Filipino and...

Kyrgyzstan: Someone is Relaxing, Someone is Fighting

Undoubtedly, the meeting of the Kyrgyz bloggers became the most under discussion event of the Kyrgyz blogosphere in the second half of May. 27 bloggers met and even the bad weather didn’t prevent their nice communication. Mr_carlson wrote [ru]: “To be honest, I was afraid that the participants of the...

Kyrgyzstan: A Slow Time

The May month traditionally comes to Kyrgyzstan with the holiday days. 1st May is the Labor Day, 5th May is the Constitution’s Day and on 9th May Kyrgyzstan celebrates Victory’s day. These day the life of Kyrgyzstan is rather quiet and slow. On 1st May, the Communist’s party held the...

Kyrgyzstan: An Anxious April

  30 April 2008

A next to last week of April started from the unexpected fall of temperature. A lot of bloggers posted the photographs of the frozen greenery and the trees under snow. Yanagi presented the beautiful photos of the leaves under snow in her blog. red_ptero called [ru] this fall of temperature...

Kyrgyzstan: Time to Solve Problems

  21 April 2008

The first week of April started with the ambiguous opinions of Kyrgyz bloggers about the Marie Claire magazine article by American journalist Erin Finnerty with photography by Rena Effendi and the provocative headline “Kyrgyzstan: From Silk to Heroin” about the problems of women in Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan. For instance,...