Report on the Cinematization of the Kyrgyz Republic. Document No. 69 (October 1927)
FROM THE REPORT OF THE MAIN POLITICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF THE KYRGYZ ASSR ON THE CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE REPUBLIC
Frunze, October 31, 1927
Before the revolution, in the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan, there was only one privately owned cinema in the city of Pishpek (Frunze) with 400 seats, which became the only nationalized theatrical venue under the management of the ONA in 1918, albeit in a completely dilapidated state. Until the end of 1924, this venue changed hands frequently, with the organizations that owned it (the military department, the disabled, the [Union] of art workers) pursuing the sole goal of replenishing their meager coffers, resulting in the venue and its equipment falling into complete disrepair.
After the national demarcation of Central Asia and the establishment of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Region, the Regional Political Education Department managed to obtain this cinema as its rightful property and began organizing the film industry in the region ....
In the summer of 1925, the Regional Political Education Department began construction of a special open-air venue for 1200 seats in the city of Frunze, which, despite the complete lack of funds and a series of legal proceedings that remain unresolved to this day, was completed and is now the only specialized cinema in Kyrgyzstan, reasonably well-equipped, although its emergence has resulted in undeniable debts of 11,000 rubles plus a disputed amount of 22,000 rubles.
The emergence of this cinema attracted the attention of the Middle Volga branch of "Sovkino," and from that moment its supply of films improved, and it was included in the list of commercial cinemas, i.e., "Sovkino" began to take it into account, although it raised (apparently for de jure recognition) the rental fee to 35% of the gross, instead of the previously guaranteed almost 25 rubles per program. From that moment (October 1926), cinema work began to be established in the city of Frunze, and its achievements spread to the cantons, where chaos still reigned, which has not yet been eradicated...
The average monthly attendance of the theater in the city of Frunze over the past year is 18,000 paying viewers and up to 1,000 free viewers (Red Army soldiers, unemployed, students), with a total population of 34,000 in the city.
The cinema in the city of Frunze is the main material base of the Department of Spectacle Enterprises in the film industry of the republic, and due to its profits per year; 1) the theater itself was renovated (a new projector was purchased, a piano was bought, and the winter venue was thoroughly repaired); 2) a new summer cinema "Tokmak" was opened through the complete renovation of a closed cinema in Tokmak with 500 seats in summer and 250 seats in winter; 3) a new cinema "Regulator" was opened in the working part of the city of Frunze with 500 seats in summer and 250 seats in winter; 4) 2 new installations of the TOM system and film projectors of the GOZ system were purchased from "Sovkino," which were sent to the cantons; 5) a new cinema was opened in the village of Dmitrievka with the close participation of the Department of Spectacle Enterprises - the center of the remote Talas canton; 6) a new cinema is in the process of opening in the center of the most remote canton - in the city of Naryn; 7) local film production has begun: 3 ethnographic films "Soviet Kyrgyzstan" - 700 m. (northern cantons of the republic: their life, ethnography, city of Frunze, the Constituent Congress of Soviets, the III Regional Conference of the VKP(b)), Karakarin Fair - 400 m. and horse racing - 200 m., and this work continues; 8) certain relations have been established with "Sovkino," resulting in the opening of an agency of "Sovkino" in the city of Frunze and a reduction in the rental fee to 25%; 9) a preliminary plan for the cinematography of the republic has been developed, which proposes to increase the number of mobile cinemas to the number of volosts, the creation of a society of [friends] of Soviet [cinema] and the training of cinema mechanics; 10) the issue with the management of the cinema network (regarding its development) has been regulated through the issuance of a corresponding decree by the SNK of the Kyrgyz ASSR on this matter, and the unification of all cinemas and existing mobile cinemas under the management of the Department of Spectacle Enterprises is underway....
Since the establishment of the "Sovkino" agency in the city of Frunze, the issue of supplying films has been resolved, and cases of interruptions are rare. The character of the films received is 50% of Soviet production, and the quality is quite satisfactory. The release dates of the films include: "The Wind," "The Decembrists," "The Peasant's Wings," "Mother," "41 Years," "The Soloist of His Majesty," "A Cup of Tea," "Jackals-Ravats," and the film "The Poet and the Tsar" has arrived. ...
CGA KR. F. 688. On. 1. D. 67. L. 377-382 Copy.
Everyday Life of the City of Frunze. Documents No. 66 - No. 68 (March - August 1927)
