Kyrgyzstan profile - Timeline

8th century - Arab invaders conquer Central Asia, including what is now Kyrgyzstan, and introduce Islam.

10th-13th centuries - Kyrgyz people migrate southwards from the Yenisei River region in central Siberia to the Tian-Shan region.

1685 - Kyrgyz people settle in the area that is now Kyrgyzstan; area conquered by the Oirats, a Mongol people, after centuries of Turkic rule.

Traditional Kyrgyz berkutchi (eagle hunter) launches his bird in village of Tyup, May 2011
The tradition of hunting with eagles is still kept alive

1758 - Oirats defeated by Chinese Manchus and Kyrgyz become nominal subjects of Chinese empire.

Early 19th century - Kyrgyz come under the jurisdiction of the Uzbek khanate of Kokand, to the west.

Russian rule

1876 - Russian forces conquer the khanate of Kokand and incorporate what is now Kyrgyzstan into the Russian empire.

1916-17 - Russian forces suppress anti-Russian rebellion in Central Asia

1917-23 - Civil war breaks in the wake of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia.

1920s and 1930s - Soviet land reforms aimed at creating large state-owned farms upset the traditional Kyrgyz way of life, which is based on nomadic livestock-herding; Kyrgyz Communist Party established as the sole legal party; many members of the Kyrgyz intelligentsia who express dissent are imprisoned or executed.

1920s - Many formerly nomadic Kyrgyz resettled as part of land reforms; improvements in literacy and education made.

Traditional Kyrgyz yurt
Kyrgyz nomads live in tent-like dwellings called yurts

1921 - Area of present-day Kyrgyzstan becomes part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

1924 - Kara-Kirgiz Autonomous Region (renamed Kirgiz Autonomous Region in 1925) formed, corresponding to the borders of present-day Kyrgyzstan, after the Soviet authorities delineate new territories in Central Asia along ethnic lines.

1926 - Kirgiz Autonomous Region upgraded to an ASSR.

1936 - Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) - also known as Kirgizia - becomes a constituent republic within USSR.

1990 - State of emergency imposed after several hundred people are killed in interethnic clashes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz around the southern town of Osh; Askar Akayev, a liberal academic on the reform wing of the Kyrgyz Communist Party, elected by the legislature to the newly created post of president.

Independence

1991 - Kyrgyzstan acquires its present name, dropping Kirgizia, and declares independence; Mr Akayev joins Russian leader Boris Yeltsin in openly resisting the anti-Gorbachev coup by conservative Communists in Moscow; Mr Akayev wins another term in direct elections in which he stands unopposed; Kyrgyzstan joins Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

1992 - Kyrgyzstan joins the United Nations and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the predecessor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); economic reform programme launched.

1993 - Russian rouble replaced by som as unit of currency.

1995 - President Akayev re-elected with more than 70% of the vote.

1996 - Referendum overwhelmingly approves constitutional amendment which concentrates more power in the hands of the president while limiting the powers of the legislature.

1998 - Moratorium on death penalty announced.

1998 July - Constitutional Court decides Mr Akayev should be allowed to run for third term as president in 2000.

1999 August/September - Troops sent in to free numerous hostages seized by Islamic militants near Tajik border.

2000 November - Askar Akayev re-elected president for a further five years. International observers describe the elections as flawed.

2002 January - Leading opposition deputy Azimbek Beknazarov is after criticising the government's planned transfer of disputed land to China and Kazakhstan.

2002 May - Leading opposition politician Felix Kulov is sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was arrested in March 2000 for alleged abuse of office while national security minister, acquitted in July 2000, but later re-arrested.

Government of Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev resigns after a state commission blames senior officials for the death of five civilian protesters in March. Nikolai Tanayev appointed prime minister.

Azimbek Beknazarov is freed after being given a one-year suspended sentence for abuse of office.

Parliament ratifies border deal with China.

2002 November - Scores arrested as opposition protesters march on capital, demanding president's resignation.

2003 February - Referendum approves constitutional change Akayev says is intended to hand some of his powers to parliament, but seen by some as an attempt to consolidate the president's hold on power. International observers report widespread irregularities.

2003 October - President Putin opens Russian air base at Kant, near a base used by US forces.

2005 February - Parliamentary elections spark wave of protests as numerous independent and opposition candidates are barred from standing.

2005 March - Mass protests against President Akayev escalate following second round of parliamentary elections, spreading from south to capital Bishkek. Mr Akayev leaves for Russia. Parliament appoints opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev acting president prime minister.

Opposition leader Felix Kulov released from jail and charges against him are dropped.

2005 April - Askar Akayev, still in Moscow, resigns as president.

Bakiyev poll victory

2005 July - Kurmanbek Bakiyev wins a landslide victory in presidential polls.

2005 August - President Bakiyev inaugurated, nominates Felix Kulov as prime minister.

2006 February - Parliament speaker Omurbek Tekebayev resigns after row with President Bakiyev, goes on to become opposition leader.

Mass protests demand constitutional reform and more action against crime and corruption.

2006 November - President Bakiyev signs a new constitution that limits his powers in response to mass in Bishkek demanding his resignation.

2006 December - Government resigns, paving the way for early parliamentary elections.

President Bakiyev pushes revisions to November constitution through parliament reinstating some of his powers, particularly over government appointments.

2007 January - Azim Isabekov becomes prime minister after parliament twice rejects President Bakiyev's bid to reinstate Felix Kulov.

2007 March - Government resigns and moderate opposition leader Almaz Atabayev named prime minister in the face of planned opposition plans protests.

2007 April - Police use force to disperse a week-long demonstration in Bishkek demanding President Bakiyev's resignation.

2007 May - Medical report says Prime Minister Almaz Atabayev was poisoned with a toxin of unknown origin, in an incident he says is linked to government privatisation plans.

2007 October - Voters in referendum approve constitutional changes, which the opposition present as a step towards authoritarianism. Monitors criticise conduct of the vote.

Bakiyev dissolves parliament, calls fresh elections.

2007 December - Parliamentary elections. The president's Ak Zhol party wins most seats in parliament, the opposition none. Western observers say the poll was marred by fraud.

2008 October - Major earthquake in southern province of Osh kills at least 65 people.

2009 January - President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announces the closure of the US air base at Manas, after Russia offers Kyrgyzstan more than $2bn in loans and other aid. US officials deny having been notified of the decision and say talks on the base's future continue.

2009 July - President Bakiyev signs into law a deal to allow the US to continue using Manas airbase to support troops in Afghanistan, after US agreed to more than triple the annual rent it pays for the base to $60m (£37m).

President Bakiyev wins re-election in a vote described by European monitors as "marred".

Kyrgyzstan tentatively agrees to allow Russia to establish a second military base.

2009 October - PM Marat Kadyraliyev and his government resign after President Bakiyev calls for sweeping reforms. Mr Bakiyev appoints close ally Daniyar Usenov as new PM.

2009 December - Journalist Gennady Pavluk is murdered in Kazakhstan. He had been planning to establish a new opposition newspaper.

2010 January - Former defence minister turned opposition leader Ismail Isakov is sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption, sparking opposition hunger strikes.

2010 April - Opposition protests spread from northern Kyrgyzstan to capital Bishkek, sweeping President Kurmanbek Bakiyev from power. Opposition leaders form interim government headed by former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva. President Bakiyev resigns and is given refuge in Belarus.

2010 May - Roza Otunbayeva becomes interim president.

2010 June - More than 200 people are killed in clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnic communities in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad. Hundreds of thousands of people flee their homes.

More than 90% of voters in a referendum approve a new constitution reducing the powers of the presidency and turning Kyrgyzstan into a parliamentary republic.

2010 July - Interim leader Roza Otunbayeva sworn in as caretaker president to prepare for new elections in October 2011.

2010 September - Uzbek rights activist Azimjon Askarov sentenced to life in prison. Kyrgyz ombudsman and international rights groups condemn case as fabricated, politically motivated.

Parliamentary republic

2010 October - First parliamentary elections under new constitution fail to produce an outright winner.

2010 November - Exiled former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev goes on trial in absentia for shooting of protesters during his ouster in April, along with 27 other officials.

2010 December - Social Democratic, Republic and pro-Bakiyev Ata-Zhurt parties agrees to form coalition government led by Social Democrat and Otunbayeva ally Almazbek Atambayev following November parliamentary elections.

The Kumtor gold mine in the Tien Shan Mountains, about 350 km southeast of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek
Foreign ownership of Kyrgyzstan's largest gold mine, Kumtor, has proved controversial

2011 October - Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev wins presidential election with more than 60% of the vote. His two main challengers refuse to accept the result. OSCE observers report "significant irregularities".

2012 June - Kyrgyzstan agrees to allow Nato to use its territory for evacuating vehicles and military equipment from Afghanistan.

2012 September - President Atambayev tells visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin that lease on US military base at Manas will not be renewed when it expires in 2014.

2012 October - Three MPs from the opposition Ata-Zhurt party are arrested and charged with attempting a coup after joining a rally calling for the nationalisation of the Canadian-owned Kumtor gold mine. Supporters launch a protest campaign involving sit-ins and periodically blocking the main north-south road.

2013 February-March - Courts sentence former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his sons Maxim and Zhanysh to long prison terms in absentia for corruption and abuse of office. They all live abroad.

2013 May - Protestors blockade the Canadian-owned Kumtor gold mine for several days, demanding a greater share in profits for Kyrgyzstan.

2013 June - Ata-Zhurt protests force the governor of Jalalabad to flee his office as anti-government protests continue.

2014 April - Reformist Joomart Otorbayev is elected prime minister after the previous government collapses as a result of corruption allegations.

2014 June - US closes its air base at Manas, which served as the main transit centre for military operations in Afghanistan.

2015 July - Kyrgyz authorities says they have prevented two attacks by Islamic State militants, killing six IS fighters in two raids in Bishkek.

Kyrgyzstan says it is tearing up a long-running cooperation agreement with the US after the US State Department gives a human rights award to jailed ethnic minority campaigner Azimjon Askarav.

2016 April - Prime Minister Temir Sariyev resigns amid a corruption scandal.

2016 May - Altynbek Muraliyev, the son of former prime minister Amangeldy Muraliyev, is jalied for 12 years for state treason.

President Almazbek Atambayev dismisses the police chief after the arrests of politicians suspected of plotting a coup.

2016 August -A suicide car bomb attack near the Chinese embassy in Bishkek kills the driver and wounds three local embassy staff. The government blames Uighur jihadists in Syria for masterminding the attack.

2016 October - Government resigns after President Almazbek Atambayev's Social Democratic Party quits the ruling coalition after failing to get backing for constitutional reforms.

2016 December - Kyrgyz voters approve a raft of constitutional changes in a referendum which strengthen prime ministerial powers.

2017 August - Opposition leader and presidential hopeful Omurbek Tekebayev, one of the president's most outspoken critics, is given a prison sentence weeks before the presidential election.

2017 October - Sooronbay Jeenbekov is elected president.

2020 October - Parliamentary elections are annulled after opposition protests and allegations of vote rigging. President Jeenbekov resigns after appointing a prime minister acceptable to the opposition.

2021 January - Sadyr Japarov wins presidential election, equipped with enhanced executive powers endorsed by a constitutional referendum.

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