The Development of Art During the Patriotic War in Frunze
During the war, the capital was the center of scientific thought in the republic, and the science and culture of Frunze provided assistance to the front, dedicating all their strength and knowledge to the Motherland. Teams from 18 research institutions shifted their focus to developing topics of defense and national economic significance. In November-December 1941, an evacuated biological department from Moscow arrived in Frunze, consisting of 5 institutes and 255 scientific staff led by Academician A. N. Bach.
From this time, intensive research into Kyrgyzstan's natural resources began. Scientists discovered and transferred 21 mineral resource deposits for industrial development. On August 13, 1943, based on a decision by the union government, the Kyrgyz branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was established in Frunze. It included 4 institutes: geological, biological, chemical, as well as departments for language, literature, history, economics, a geographical group, a botanical garden, a national culture museum, and a scientific library. Academician K. I. Skryabin was elected as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Kyrgyz Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and Japar Shukurov was appointed as the Deputy Chairman.
Frunze concentrated a large number of artistic intelligentsia: writers, poets, composers, and artists, including dozens of writers and poets evacuated from Moscow, Leningrad, Ukraine, the Caucasus, and frontline areas. At the same time, among the writers from Frunze, Mukai Elebaev, Dzekshen Ashubayev, Uzakbay Abdukaimov, Jusu Turozbekov, Nikolai Chekmenyev, Temirkul Umetaliev, and Yasyr Shivaza fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. During the war years, 9 collections of short stories, about 30 plays, and over 30 prose songs and poems were published.
They called for unanimous action to defend the Motherland, to take revenge on the enemy for the burned cities and villages, for the tears of mothers, children, and widows.
During the Great Patriotic War, art continued to develop in Frunze. The opera and ballet theater, Russian and Kyrgyz drama theaters, the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic, and the House of Folk Art were operational. Additionally, the symphony orchestra and the state choir of the USSR were evacuated.
Film art gained particular significance. In 1942, by a decree of the republic's government, a republican studio for documentary films was established in Frunze, producing over 100 newsreels under the general title "Soviet Kyrgyzstan," which reflected the creation of combat reserves for the Red Army, the construction of the Big Chui Canal, assistance from the population to the front, and more.
Cultural and educational institutions in the city—libraries, museums, and clubs—played a huge role during the war years. Houses of folk art were also significant.
The Republican Public Library named after Chernyshevsky played a special role in meeting the spiritual needs of the people. Its book collection in 1943 numbered 808,000 volumes of various literature in 85 languages of the peoples of the USSR and 10 foreign languages, with over 128,000 readers, compared to 66,000 in 1940—almost doubling. However, as noted at a meeting of the executive committee of the city council, the library was in urgent need of fiction and textbooks. Many books had fallen out of use due to wear and tear, and restoration was not carried out; 5,400 books had not been returned by readers. On March 18, 1946, the executive committee of the city council determined measures to improve the library's operations.
The arrangement of evacuated children in Kyrgyzstan who were left orphaned by the fascist invaders
