Kyrgyzstan's 'Eternal Flame' Out Due to ... Unpaid Gas Bill

The $9K bill has gone unpaid for 3 years
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 25, 2012 1:14 PM CDT
Kyrgyzstan's 'Eternal Flame' Out Due to ... Unpaid Gas Bill
People lay flowers at the Eternal Flame during Victory Day celebrations in Bishkek on May 9, 2011 in commemoration of the end of WWII.   (Getty Images)

When is an "Eternal Flame" not eternal? In Kyrgyzstan, it's when you don't pay the gas bill. A utilities company in the economically struggling former Soviet nation has turned off the gas supply to a major war memorial in the capital, Bishkek, after city authorities failed to clear a $9,400 debt. The bill has been outstanding for three years. Despite confusion over who exactly is meant to pay it, Kyrgyzgas say it hopes the flame can be reignited by May 9, when most ex-Soviet republics celebrate victory in World War II. (More Kyrgyzstan stories.)

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