About Kyrgyzstan

In the northeast of Central Asia, the powerful ridges of the Tian Shan stretch for hundreds of kilometers, one of the greatest mountain systems on the planet. Here, landscapes of eternal snows coexist with the scorching deserts of Asia, flat plains give way to sharp snowy peaks. In the valleys, the Central Asian sun transforms into clusters of grapes, the ruby flesh of pomegranates, quince, and figs, and fragrant melons.

The dazzling white mountain peaks in an emerald wreath of alpine meadows, wheat fields, and cotton plantations — this is today’s Kyrgyzstan, a Republic of unseen contrasts.

There is another contrast here, immeasurably more striking than all those created by nature. It is the contrast of times, the contrast of life, created by people. Just recently, terrible poverty, hunger, and disease condemned the Kyrgyz people to extinction. Perhaps, there is no brighter way to reflect the past of the Kyrgyz people than in the proverb: “Where you tie your horse, there is your pasture; where you light a fire, there is your home.” A yurt and a horse — that is all the poor Kyrgyz had. The people invested their art, culture, and history into the epic "Manas."

In the torrent of centuries that make up the history of the Kyrgyz people, significant political events occurred just over a hundred years ago: Kyrgyzstan voluntarily joined Russia. This contributed to the people's introduction to a more advanced culture and the developed economy of a vast state.

If we were to define the truly most important historical milestone that marks the boundary between the past and the present, it would be the year 1991, when the Kyrgyz SSR became an independent sovereign Republic.

The chronicle of Kyrgyzstan's history is full of achievements that have astonished peoples around the globe. In a historically short period, the Kyrgyz people made a giant leap from a patriarchal-feudal system to democracy.

The centuries-old backwardness of the people was overcome during the cultural revolution: illiteracy was eradicated, a national writing system for the Kyrgyz people was created, and science, culture, and art developed at unprecedented rates.

In all these profound transformations, the Kyrgyz people received immense help from all the peoples of our country, especially the Russians. The Soviet state allocated funds, sent qualified workers, engineers, technicians, irrigators, teachers, doctors, and scientists to help the laborers of Kyrgyzstan build factories and cities, lay roads and canals, and share their knowledge and experience with the local population.

Many enterprises from Russia and Ukraine sent their representatives as specialists to Central Asia. Thus, during the first five-year plan, 8,000 people arrived in Kyrgyzstan from the European part of the country. At the same time, workers from Kyrgyzstan were sent to enterprises in Moscow, Leningrad, Kazan, and other cities, where they received professions and improved their qualifications.

With the help of the Russian Federation, 102 enterprises were built in Kyrgyzstan during the pre-war five-year plans.

The patronage of workers from Leningrad played a significant role in the formation and development of the economy and culture of the Kyrgyz people. The Leningraders provided practical assistance in the development of Kyrgyzstan's resources, electrification of cities and villages, and sent highly qualified specialists in industry, science, culture, and agriculture to work in the republic. The city of Lenin made a significant contribution to the education of the Kyrgyz intelligentsia. Approximately 600 delegates received higher and secondary education in its educational institutions before 1941.

Speaking about the development of the industry of the republics in the 1920s and 1930s, one cannot overlook the great fraternal international assistance that the international proletariat provided to the Kyrgyz people, particularly the workers of Czechoslovakia, who organized the cooperative "Intergelpo." The Intergelpo members built a wool factory, a leather factory, a furniture factory, machine-tool and casting workshops, and a power station in Frunze, which provided the first electricity to the city.



The mutual friendship born in the early years of Soviet power became a law of life. And we in Kyrgyzstan are proud of and cherish this friendship. A vivid example of the cooperation of peoples was the construction of the Toktogul Hydroelectric Power Station. Leningrad supplied powerful turbines for the HPP. People from Kyiv, Odessa, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk sent lifting mechanisms, transformers, bulldozers, while workers from Minsk sent powerful dump trucks — BELAZs and MAZs. More than 5,000 workers from all Soviet republics worked on this giant construction project.

Humanity knows no other examples where such close cohesion of more than a hundred nations and nationalities has been achieved over a vast territory within a single state. As the national poet of Kyrgyzstan, K. Malikov, vividly expressed about the great union of Soviet republics:

... And just as you cannot stop the wind's run,
So you cannot destroy with lies and weapons
The friendship that has united us all in the Union forever,
The tested Leninist friendship.
Look around!
Look around!
We do not borrow wealth from others.
It is the sacred work of our hands,
The fruit of true equality and brotherhood.

(“Kyrgyzstan, my native land”)

It took the life of just one generation for Kyrgyzstan, thanks to the fraternal assistance of the peoples of the USSR, to make the transition from feudalism to the heights of socialism.

A lot was born in these 70 years. The first newspaper, the first theater, the first book, the first artist... Almost everything is first. Therefore, in many facts and examples on our site, the reader will repeatedly encounter the words first, for the first time...

An ancient truth states: “Comparison is the best way to knowledge.” The comparison of old, pre-revolutionary Kyrgyzstan with present-day Kyrgyzstan eloquently testifies to the remarkable achievements of Kyrgyzstanis in all areas of the economy, science, and culture.

If before even a kerosene lamp was a luxury, today the annual production of electricity in Kyrgyzstan is two and a half times higher than in all pre-revolutionary Russia.

Only the Toktogul HPP has provided the Central Asian economic region with 12 billion 435 million kWh of electricity in recent years.

Kyrgyzstan is an important livestock base for the country. The total production of wool in physical weight increased from 4.7 thousand tons in 1913 to 34 thousand tons in 1990, or almost 7 times!

Agriculture is a relatively young sector of the republic's economy. Only in its southern regions (Osh region) does it have a millennia-old history. In the territory of Kyrgyzstan, grain, fruit, vegetable crops, cotton, sugar beet seeds, and tobacco are grown.

Water — the source of life in conditions of irrigated agriculture — has been put to the service of the people. Kyrgyzstan has built a wide network of irrigation canals. It is enough to say that the length of the irrigation canals supplying life-giving moisture to the fields exceeds the distance from Bishkek to Moscow by more than 7 times.

The Uch-Kurgan HPP built in Kyrgyzstan, with a capacity of 180 thousand kW, is connected to the Fergana energy system of Uzbekistan. The waters of the Toktogul reservoir irrigate the cotton plantations of the Fergana Valley, and the sugar beet seeds grown in Kyrgyzstan are sent to the fields of Russia and Ukraine...

Today, our republic is a land of complete literacy, where the transition to compulsory universal secondary education has been completed. Every third person in Kyrgyzstan is currently studying in 1,735 general education schools, in 10 higher and 45 secondary specialized educational institutions. In terms of the number of students per 10,000 population, Kyrgyzstan has surpassed not only the countries of the foreign East but also many developed socialist countries. This indicator in Kyrgyzstan (152 students per 10,000 population) is higher than 2.5 to 4 times than in India, Iran, and Turkey.

With the deepest respect and gratitude, the republic honors the names of academicians A. P. Karpinsky, V. L. Komarov, A. E. Fersman, K. I. Skryabin, D. I. Shcherbakov, and other remarkable Soviet scientists who dedicated their strength, energy, and knowledge to the development of science in Kyrgyzstan. In the land of an illiterate people who had no writing system, there now exists an Academy of Sciences. It comprises 18 scientific institutions, employing more than 1,500 staff, including about 600 doctors and candidates of sciences. Kyrgyz scientists make a significant contribution to the development of modern science. Today, the spiritual life of the republic cannot be imagined without books. Dozens of publishing houses operate in Kyrgyzstan. Approximately 260 titles of books and brochures with a total circulation of 1 million copies are published by the "Kyrgyzstan" publishing house alone.

In the Kyrgyz language, more than 60 republican, regional, and district newspapers are published with a circulation of 768,000 copies, and 16 magazines and other periodicals with an annual circulation of 9 million copies. In Kyrgyzstan, there are nearly 4,000 libraries, housing more than 50,000 volumes. “Dizzying rise,” “rapid leap” — these are the enthusiastic words used by foreign guests to characterize modern Kyrgyz literature and art.

The fate of the national poet of Kyrgyzstan, Hero of Socialist Labor Aaly Tokombaev, is remarkable. By the will of history, he, a former laborer, found himself at the cradle of national written literature. This happened just about 90 years ago. On November 7, 1924, the first issue of the first Kyrgyz newspaper was published. It was named “Erkin-Tuu” — “Free Mountains,” and it published the poem by A. Tokombaev “The Epoch of October.” This marked the beginning of national literature. Poet A. Tokombaev recalls this: “I was twenty years old. I held in my hands the first newspaper in the history of the Kyrgyz. I read it! I, who learned to read at seventeen. Isn’t it a miracle? — I thought. And this feeling of wonder remains in my heart to this day.”

A curious fact: in the year of Chinghiz Aitmatov's birth, Kyrgyz written literature was not even five years old. What a tremendous qualitative leap must have occurred for literature to rise to world heights from the mere appearance of an alphabet!

Chinghiz Aitmatov became a laureate of the Lenin Prize and later several State Prizes, a Hero of Socialist Labor, and a national writer of the republic. His works have been translated into 80 languages of the peoples of the world.

In the republic, where only the traditions of Kyrgyz national art (the art of manaschi, akyns, komuz players, decorative and applied art) were previously developed, various unions now exist that unite the creative intelligentsia: the Union of Cinematographers, the Union of Artists, the Union of Composers, and the Theatrical Society.

The outstanding Czechoslovak journalist Julius Fuchik vividly and figuratively represented the past and future of Kyrgyzstan, having visited it twice in the 1930s: “... It turned out that the country, where for centuries several rich bai and manaps lived only because hundreds of thousands of poor people led a semi-barbaric, beggarly existence..., turned out to be not poor at all, but on the contrary, rich, boundlessly rich, and soon it will become one of the richest republics. Mines will penetrate the depths of its mountains, swift rivers will provide energy to powerful power stations, next to which giant factories will arise. In the beautiful valleys of Tian Shan's Switzerland, modern cities will grow, where now only paths can be traversed by ibexes and mountain rams, sanatoriums, schools, clubs, and theaters will emerge...”

Here are some impressions from our contemporaries. Danish Mette Høver: “We are very pleased with our stay in your wonderful republic.” Frenchman Georges Beruite: “Kyrgyzstan has a promising future that many foreigners are not even aware of.” These reviews are a testament to the recognition of the greatest achievements of the Kyrgyz people. As of the end of 2012, there are 1,929 enterprises operating in the Republic, generating a total output of 133,822.9 million soms. The number of people employed in industrial production is 158,000.

Currency - som. (The national currency was introduced on May 10, 1993.)

Economy (main sectors and directions). Leading sectors of industry: electric power, non-ferrous metallurgy, telecommunications, mining, light, and food industries.



State structure. The Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) is a sovereign, unitary, democratic republic built on the principles of a legal, secular state. On August 31, 1991, Kyrgyzstan was declared an independent state. On May 5, 1993, the first Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic was adopted as an independent sovereign state.

State symbols.

The flag of the Kyrgyz Republic was approved on March 3, 1992, at the 8th session of the Jogorku Kenesh, and on March 5, it was ceremonially raised over the Government House. The red monochrome of the flag symbolizes valor and courage, the golden sun bathing in its rays represents peace and wealth, while the tunduk is a symbol of the homeland, in a broader sense of the world as the universe.

The coat of arms of the Kyrgyz Republic was approved by the Jogorku Kenesh on January 14, 1994. The coat of arms features: a mountain eagle — generosity, vigilance, and high aspirations of the Kyrgyz people inhabiting the land of mountains. The water surface of the lake symbolizes the beauty of nature, the source of life and energy. The sun rising over the mountains, ears of wheat, and cotton embody the wealth and prosperity of this beautiful mountainous country.

The highest state authority in the Kyrgyz Republic is represented and exercised by:

The President of the Kyrgyz Republic - the head of state, the highest official. He is elected by popular vote for a term of five years and no more than two consecutive terms. Currently, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic is Almazbek Atambayev.

The Jogorku Kenesh - the parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic - is a representative body that exercises legislative power. It consists of two chambers: the Legislative Assembly, which permanently has 60 deputies, and the Assembly of People's Representatives, represented by 45 deputies, working in sessions. Deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh are elected for 5 years by equal, general, secret, and direct voting.
The Government is the highest executive state authority of the Kyrgyz Republic. The executive state authority includes ministries subordinate to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, state committees, administrative departments, and local state administration. The activities of the Government are led by the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic. The governing body of the Government consists of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, ministers, and chairpersons of state committees. The National Bank ensures the implementation of monetary and credit policy.

Local state administrations exercise executive power in regions, districts, and cities.

The court and justice. In the Kyrgyz Republic, justice is administered only by the court. The courts of the Kyrgyz Republic include: the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the High Arbitration Court, local courts: courts of regions, Bishkek, districts, cities; arbitration courts of regions and Bishkek, military courts.

Political and social organizations. More than 800 public associations are registered with the Ministry of Justice, including creative unions; socio-political movements; women's organizations; political parties and other public associations. The mass public organization Assembly of Peoples of Kyrgyzstan operates, which includes all national and cultural centers of the country. About 30 political parties are officially active in the republic. Members of political parties have the right to nominate their candidates for deputies — they are allocated 15 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Parliament. In the last elections to the Jogorku Kenesh, the following parties won in the voting by party lists: the Union of Democratic Forces, the Communist Party, the Women's Democratic Party, the Party of Veterans of the War in Afghanistan, Ata-Meken, “My Country.”

Main mass media. About 500 mass media outlets are registered in Kyrgyzstan. Of the total number, approximately half are published in the Kyrgyz language, 45% in Russian. In Kyrgyzstan, publications are also issued in Uzbek, German, Turkish, Dungan, Uighur, English, and other languages. The largest circulations are held by the newspapers “Vecherniy Bishkek,” “Slovo Kyrgyzstana,” “Delo №,” “Erkin Too.”

Thus, our path lies in Kyrgyzstan. A modern comfortable airplane can lift us high, above the mightiest peaks. But it is not necessary to fly by plane. We have a more “operational” means of transport at our disposal — our guide. It will allow us to ascend to the cloud heights, instantly descend into the gloomy depths of a gorge, or walk to a narrow ledge of a glacier amidst the chaos of cracks and ice blocks. It will transport us hundreds of kilometers from north to south and from west to east in an instant. And what is very important: the weather, so capricious in the mountains, will always be summer for us.

Our main goal is to somewhat satisfy the interest in our republic. If, after reading our notes, you wish to get acquainted with literature about Kyrgyzstan, and even better — to visit there, we will consider our task accomplished, and our work not in vain.