The eternal flame is seen with the background of a newly-married couple setting free doves at the Victory Square in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, Sept. 12, 2009. It is a tradition for many Kyrgyzstan's newly-married couples to come to the Victory Square to pray for happiness in their life.(Xinhua/Sadat)
Kyrgyzstan’s Eternal Flame Dies -- The Telegraph
The Eternal Flame in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, has flickered, faded and died after a utilities company cut off the gas to the World War Two memorial.
Kyrgyzgas justified turning off the gas supply to the monument, built during the Soviet Union to honour the millions who died fighting Nazi Germany, by claiming it was owed nearly £6,000 by the authorities, the AP news agency reported.
The image of an extinguished Eternal Flame is an embarrassing blow for Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest of the former Soviet states in Central Asia. It has few mineral resources and little arable land to develop.
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My Comment: Russians hate reading stories like this one .... and not surprisingly .... this cut-off is big news back in Russia.