Bayaman Erkinbayev (Баяман Эркинбаев, c. 1967 - September 22, 2005) was a top

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

lawmaker A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

and

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

ary deputy, who was the driving force behind the riots in southern

that led to the overthrow of President

Askar Akayev Askar Akayevich Akayev ( ky, Аскар Акаевич (Акай уулу) Акаев, translit=Askar Akayevich (Akay Uulu) Akayev ; ; born 10 November 1944) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being ov ...

on March 24, 2005. One of the richest businessman in the country, he funded the

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n state's

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

. He had announced his candidacy for the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

in the July 2005 elections, but bowed down long before the vote, when his party supported former security chief and

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Felix Kulov Felix Sharshenbayevich Kulov (russian: Феликс Шаршенбаевич Кулов; ky, Феликс Шаршенбаевич (Шаршенбай уулу) Кулов, Feliks Sharshenbayevich (Sharshenbay uulu) Kulov; born 29 October 1948) ...

. Starting out as a worker at a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

factory in his hometown of

Osh Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош, romanised Osh; uz, O‘sh/Ўш) is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country (e ...

in the south, Erkinbayev made his fame as a

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

, and served in

for a decade. He went on to own "Kara Suu", Central Asia’s largest

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

. Erkinbayev was a key figure behind the March 2005 events, where around 2,000 of his

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

trainees moved across the southern cities of

Jalal-Abad Jalal-Abad (also spelled Dzhalal-Abad, Djalal-Abat, Jalalabat; ky, Жалал-Aбат, ''Calal-Abat/Jalal-Abat'', جالال-ابات, ) is the administrative and economic centre of Jalal-Abad Region in southwestern Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and ...

, Osh, and

Batken Batken (also called Batkent) is a town in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley. It is the administrative seat of Batken Region. Since 2000, it is a city of regional significance, i.e. not part of a district. Howeve ...

, capturing government sites, burning down police stations, and blocking key highways. The protests later moved to the capital, Bishkek, and ousted longtime President

from office on March 24. Erkinbayev gained much support by financing protests, and sending in martial arts trainees to lead the demonstrations. He was a devotee of

Alysh Alysh () is a Turkic term for Central Asian folk wrestling or "belt wrestling" regulated by United World Wrestling. Alysh is an upright wrestling style. Competitors wear trousers, jackets and belts, and must hold on to their opponents' belts at ...

, Kyrgyzstan’s answer to

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

and was also the head of Kyrgyzstan's National Olympic Committee

Erkinbayev was lauded as a hero in his hometown of Osh after the revolution, when some 20,000 people gathered in Osh’s main square to celebrate the regime’s fall. He was reported to exercise strong influence over small businesses in the Osh region, and was widely rumoured to be associated with the criminal world. Erkinbayev operated at the turbulent intersection where

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

and, sometimes, crime meet in post-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Central Asia

The Kyrgyz parliament, however, had refused

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s' attempts to strip him of

legal immunity Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. Su ...

. Erkinbayev survived an

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

attempt on April 28, 2005, in which he was shot at from a car, and sported a bandage over his nose. He believed that the motive was political, but also felt that it could have been an attempt to wrestle control of his business empire. On September 22, 2005, however, Erkinbayev sustained bullet wounds to his neck and chest, when he was attacked by unidentified assailants from behind some bushes after arriving home by car late that day. He died in hospital, aged 38.

References

* Чынайым Кутманалиева
Шарапат Эркинбаева: «Баяман освободил заложников»
«Асман инфо» № 3, 31 March 2011, pp. 8–9 (interview with Erkinbayev's mother)

External links

Khaleej Times Online - Bayaman Erkinbayev
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erkinbayev, Bayaman 1967 births 2005 deaths Deaths by firearm in Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstani politicians Kyrgyzstani legislators Assassinated Kyrgyzstani politicians People from Osh People murdered by Russian-speaking organized crime Kyrgyzstani gangsters