Sultan Ibraimov

Sultan Ibraimovich Ibraimov was born on 20 September 1927 in the village of Alchaluu, in the north of what was then the Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic of the Russian SFSR.

Ibraimov also made himself known at the national level as a maverick within the party, on one occasion openly criticising Internal Affairs Minister Nikolai Shchelokov during a meeting of the Supreme Soviet in Moscow, while General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev was in attendance.

"[1] On the night of 4 December 1980, Ibraimov, was fatally shot in his sleep while staying at his state-provided mansion in Cholpon-Ata, on Issyk-Kul in northern Kyrgyzstan.

The specialised garrison for protection of government officials within the Kirghiz SSR was on leave, and the two policemen who were meant to be guarding the mansion were not present at the time.

Next, the intruder moved upwards to the second floor before shooting Ibraimov twice in the head while he was sleeping, before jumping out of the window and fleeing the scene.

The assassin was not known to have any personal relations to Ibraimov, but was instead suspected of being a Russian ethnonationalist due to writings in his notebook which professed violently anti-Kyrgyz views.

Here, the case ended, but discontent in the Kirghiz SSR mounted, as many suspected that the assassination had been planned by First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kirghizia Turdakun Usubaliev, out of a desire to maintain his position.

[3] Following his death, Ibraimov's popularity in Kyrgyzstan surged, and he has since been held in high regard by the Kyrgyz people and political leaders alike, and has become known as a patriotic figure.

His son Ermek served as the Kyrgyz ambassador to Turkey, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, and Estonia.