Page "Askar Akayev" Paragraph 6

Akayev was initially seen as a liberal leader.

He commented in a 1991 interview that " Although I am a Communist, my basic attitude toward private property is favorable.

I believe that the revolution in the sphere of economics was not made by Karl Marx but by Adam Smith.

" (" Akayev: ' All of a Sudden I Become President '", Christian Science Monitor, 10 January 1991 ) He actively promoted the privatization of land and other economic assets and operated a relatively liberal regime compared with the governments of the other Central Asian nations.

He was granted lifelong immunity from prosecution by the Lower House of Parliament in 2003.