In March, during the fight for control over Megacom, two prominent Russian politicians visiting the Kyrgyz Republic accused Mr Babanov-and by extension the new government-of trying to defraud Russian investors. Mr Atambayev flew to Moscow to assure the Russian leadership of his loyalty and returned promising to bring the Kyrgyz Republic into the customs bloc comprising Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

On April 28th Russia announced that it was imposing high export tariffs on its fuel (see The domestic economy), on which the Kyrgyz Republic relies heavily. Russia has threatened this action at least three times in the past year, in what has been seen as an attempt to expand its influence on Kyrgyz politics. However, this time the move seems to have been dictated by a domestic petrol shortage in Russia. In 2010 Russia's sudden increase of tariffs added to public anger against the previous Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and rioting led to his ouster in April 2010. In recent months Russia has also responded angrily to nationalist rhetoric by some Kyrgyz politicians seeking to de-Russify place names and promote the Kyrgyz language at the expense of Russian-moves that Russia sees as a threat to the dwindling ethnic Russian minority in the Kyrgyz Republic.