The weekend’s presidential election in Kyrgyzstan resulted in the victory of the Kremlin-friendly Prime Minister, Almazbek Atambayev.  Within one day of his election, the President elect has already stated that the Manas air base used by the US, to the irritation of Russia, will have to close.  Putin’s Eurasian Union idea conveys the importance of enveloping the former soviet states, among them this central Asian nation, which is an important geo-political crossroads.  But just how Russia-leaning is the new President?  Russia Profile considers:

But though experts agree that Atambayev is undoubtedly pro-Russian, they said there’s more to what meets the eye. Erica Marat, a security expert at the Washington D.C.-based Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, said the newly minted president realizes the consequences that may come from getting too close with Moscow. “He’s ideologically pro-Russian – not only in terms of economic and political interests,” she said. “But even though he will be very pro-Russian, he will still try to maintain some contacts with the West, because he understands that unless he has a balanced foreign policy, the Russians will always have the upper hand.”