Less Soviet, More Inspiring: Kyrgyzstan Seeks New Anthem

On a global scale, a complete change of the national anthem without a radical change of the political regime is also exceptional (Credit: AFP)

Kyrgyzstan is getting rid of its Soviet-inspired national anthem and has launched an unprecedented public contest to find an alternative.

The mountainous Central Asian country adopted a new anthem in 1992 after independence from the USSR but it is largely based on the Soviet-era one.