# Welcome Back. Kyrgyzstan is gearing up for elections this Sunday - the first parliamentary elections to be held in the Central Asian country. Kyrgyzstan is of strategic importance to Russia and the United States - both countries have military bases there. But the poll is being overshadowed by fears of renewed violence in the ethnically diverse country. The ouster of former president Kurmanbek Bakieyev sparked clashes in June. An estimated 2000 people were killed - most of them were minority ethnic Uzbeks in the south of the country. Security is tight with fears that the election could plunge the country into a new round of violence.