E. A. Abakirov - First Secretary of the Osh City Committee of the Party from 1970 to 1971
Abakirov Emilbek Abakirovich
E. A. Abakirov served as the First Secretary of the Osh City Party Committee from 1970 to 1971. Despite the short time in this position, he has fond memories of Osh.
Celebrating its glorious anniversary, Osh, this ancient and eternally youthful, beautiful city, occupies a special place in the history, economy, and cultural life of Kyrgyzstan due to its significance and role. Firstly, the city of Osh is one of the most unusual, colorful ancient cities in Central Asia; secondly, it is the largest, after the capital of our republic, densely populated, multinational, industrial, trade, and cultural center of southern Kyrgyzstan; thirdly, it is home to remarkable workers, responsive, very modest, and hospitable people; fourthly, Osh serves as a link between Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the development of our diverse connections, cooperation, and friendship; fifthly, the city of Osh arose and stands on the now-reviving Great Silk Road, connecting with great China and India. All this has firmly predetermined the special place, important role, and influence of Osh on all aspects of life in Kyrgyzstan. Especially now, when our republic has become sovereign and independent, the role and significance of Osh will continue to grow significantly.
E. A. Abakirov considers himself fortunate and is grateful to fate for being among very hardworking, modest, kind, and good people after graduating from the Kyrgyz State University in 1953. He worked at the Osh Pedagogical Institute, in the regional Komsomol, and then in party work for a total of more than 18 years. He is convinced that he was formed and tempered as a person, specialist, and leader precisely among the Osh residents dear to his heart.
At that time, the Osh Regional Party Committee was headed by Ibraimov Sultan Ibraimovich—a talented, prominent statesman, kind, open, and big-hearted person. In late April 1970, Sultan Ibraimovich offered E. Abakirov the position of Secretary of the Osh City Party Committee, drawing his attention to the main point: one must constantly feel a huge responsibility towards the people, work hard and honestly, be fair, and show principledness, not allowing dishonest people to surround oneself. To establish oneself more quickly, it was necessary to work hard, get acquainted with the situation in the city, learn on the go, and delve into economic work.
Soon after E. Abakirov was elected as the First Secretary of the Osh City Party Committee, Sultanov Abdrazak Kadyrmatovich was elected as the Chairman of the Osh City Executive Committee, also a bright personality, a highly qualified specialist, decent, open, straightforward, courageous, cheerful, and kind-hearted person. It was very pleasant and easy for these two leaders to work together.
As is known, work in the city is multifaceted and always associated with many unresolved and constantly arising problems. Therefore, it was necessary to consult more with experienced leaders and specialists and not rush into making decisions. Special attention had to be paid to the development of industry and capital construction, especially since a large directive construction of the Osh cotton mill had been completed. The efforts of the townspeople were directed towards the swift completion of its construction and full utilization of production capacities. E. Abakirov believes that the construction of the cotton mill significantly changed the appearance of Osh. In addition to the largest textile mill, a thermal power plant, a lot of housing, and social and domestic facilities were built, a large number of mud-brick houses were demolished, and new streets and squares were planned and laid out.
E. Abakirov characterizes the work of the city builders, who successfully coped with the construction of the cotton mill complex, with kind words. This was a great joy not only for the residents of Osh but for the entire republic. For many years, the cotton mill was headed by E. E. Fisher, an experienced leader who systematically and persistently organized the construction of this large, complex facility, skillfully uniting the efforts of numerous subcontractors.
A very important task during those years was the construction of housing, schools, and hospitals. The city already had its own housing construction combine, and many construction organizations were created. The ongoing construction faced the acute problem of demolishing old, adobe housing and dilapidated buildings in the city, requiring significant additional capital investments. The republican organizations provided great assistance to the city in solving these problems, allocating part of the rain-fed and irrigated lands from the surrounding farms of the Karasuu district for individual housing construction. As a result, new microdistricts of the city emerged. Only the significant development of individual and state housing construction made it possible to timely free up territories for new construction and, most importantly, significantly improve the living conditions in the city.
E. Abakirov recalls that, as always, there was a lack of budget funds for the improvement of the city, so he, as the new leader, turned to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the republic, A. S. Suyumbaev, with a request for the allocation of funds to the city from the reserve fund. He knew all the problems of the city well, as he had headed the Osh Regional Executive Committee and the Regional Party Committee for many years, and after a detailed conversation, he decided to allocate about one million rubles. In those years, this was a huge amount of money that went towards the improvement of the city. In 1970, the Osh dairy plant was successfully completed and put into operation, which fundamentally improved the supply of high-quality dairy products to the residents of the regional center.
A significant contribution to establishing work at the new dairy plant belongs to its director, Roza Urumovna Tenisbayeva, who united the team that successfully mastered the new production capacities. For good performance in dairy production, she was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
In addition to the construction and reconstruction of industrial enterprises, many general education schools, kindergartens, clinics, administrative, and other buildings were built in Osh in the 1970s. The reconstruction of the famous Osh market began, as well as the design of a trolleybus line and station. The city leaders had to work very seriously to free up the territory in the center of Osh for the construction of the Osh Kyrgyz Drama Theater. This required enormous efforts to demolish hundreds of adobe yurts and buildings, and to provide modern, well-equipped apartments for the families living in them. Today, the Kyrgyz and Uzbek Drama Theaters and the adjacent squares and parks that adorn the city are cultural centers of Osh. The efforts of the townspeople have improved and landscaped residential areas, streets, parks, and the banks of the Ak-Buura River, which have now become places for recreation and walking for people.
It is well known that the residents of Osh have long been distinguished by their unique way of life, morals, and stable traditions. They have never lost their dignity, maintained strong friendships, kinship, and family ties, and showed respect for the elders. They are unmatched in hospitality. Even during the period of mass atheism, they continued to adhere to some norms and requirements of Sharia. The residents of Osh noticeably differ in their manner of dressing, behavior in society, speech, vocabulary, intonation, taste, etc. In their free time, the residents of Osh usually love to gather together in a teahouse, especially on the banks of the Ak-Buura River, in parks, to talk about endless everyday topics, discuss news, cook shorpo, pilaf together, drink tea, and relax. In short, the residents of Osh have their own traditions, culture, and norms of behavior. All this gives the city a special color.
E. A. Abakirov recalls that in the 1970s, for the townspeople, in addition to their complex problems and tasks, one of the very important and responsible duties was to assist the village in preparing fodder and harvesting cotton.
Each labor collective, schools, and educational institutions had firm assignments for mobilizing people for fodder preparation and cotton harvesting. This work was considered a sacred duty of the townspeople and was very strictly controlled from above. Unfortunately, E. A. Abakirov did not stay long in Osh; he was transferred to a responsible position in the Central Committee of the Party apparatus and then elected as the chairman of the Kyrgyz Trade Union Federation, where he worked continuously for more than 20 years.
But he forever retains the kindest, brightest memories of the city, of the people living there, and each new meeting with them brings him great joy. E. A. Abakirov believes that the anniversary of Osh gives him a reason to once again express his sincere gratitude to the residents of Osh for the life and labor universities he attended there, for the happiness of working together with wonderful people, and for the role that the city and its residents played in his life and destiny.
First Secretary of the Osh City Party Committee - T. Amanaliev
