Kyrgyzstan’s eternal flame turned back on

GlobalPost

Kyrgyzstan's "eternal flame" is back on, Radio Free Europe said.  

The World War II memorial in Bishkek had been turned off earlier this week as its unpaid bills reached $9,400. 

The city hadn't been paying its bills for three yeas, the state-owned energy company Kyrgyzgas told Associated Press

Kyrgyzstan is one of the poorest former Soviet states and has been hit especially hard by political strife and the European financial crisis. 

More from GlobalPost: Kyrgyzstan sill on edge after election 

Kyrgyzgas had been pushing for a payment the eternal flame's overdue bills but eventually gave in and agreed to covered the debts itself. 

The company wanted the flame back on for World War II victory celebrations scheduled at the site for next month.

More from GlobalPost: Promises, pitfalls await investors in Burma’s frontier economy

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.