The Grenaž Plant of the City of Osh
The leaders of the republic, region, and city focused primarily on the creation and development of industry as the basis of the entire economy of Osh. The Osh Silk Factory — the oldest enterprise of the light industry of Kyrgyzstan — was founded in 1925. The Osh Grenaž plant is one of the pioneers of the republic's industrialization. The Grenaž plant in the city of Osh was built in 1927 in connection with the development of sericulture in the geographical region. The plant produced high-quality industrial and breeding grena — the eggs of the mulberry silkworm — and supplied it to sericulture farms in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. On average, 600 to 1000 kg of grena were shipped annually.
The silk factory was built in 1928. It included a cocoon-reeling and silk-weaving factory and was a large enterprise for the production of grena and silk fabrics. From 1928 to 1941, a settlement with a polyclinic, schools, a club, and other cultural institutions grew around the factory. The years 1941 — 1945 represent a special heroic page in the life of the factory. In 1942, during the first winter of the Great Patriotic War, one of the silk-weaving factories from the Moscow region — the Rakhmanovskaya — was evacuated to the deep rear of the country, to the city of Osh.
This factory was destined to lay the foundation for the twisting and weaving production of the factory. The people of Osh welcomed and sheltered 240 Rakhmanov specialists. Together, the people of Osh and the Rakhmanov workers built workshops, installed equipment, and established the production of complex parachute fabric. By the end of 1942, the first weaving workshops were built, and 120 units of equipment were installed. The Osh Silk Factory, fulfilling wartime orders, produced up to 50 running meters of parachute silk per year and dozens of kilograms of silk threads for medical purposes. The cocoon-reeling workshops produced high-quality raw silk.
The factory's team created a fund for hospitals and orphanages for front-line soldiers and their families. For the uninterrupted supply of parachute silk to the Red Army's paratroopers, the factory received thanks from the State Defense Committee. A total of 562 factory workers went to the front, many of whom were awarded high government honors.
In 1943-1944, a 50 kW hydroelectric power station was built at the factory to supply energy to the workshops.
Significant changes occurred at the factory in the post-war years. In 1948, a dyeing and finishing factory was commissioned, producing smooth-dyed fabrics. In 1949, the factory mastered the production from cocoon processing to the release of finished silk fabrics. In 1952, a two-story building for the twisting and weaving factory was built, in 1963 — another weaving workshop, and in 1982 — a new dyeing and finishing production. During the VIII-IX five-year plans, reconstruction based on the latest technology allowed the production of finished silk fabrics to increase 14 times. Subsequently, fabrics made from natural and artificial silk and products from fabric waste began to be produced. The products are supplied to Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. The total annual production volume in monetary terms is 88 million 300 thousand rubles. The products of the Osh Silk Factory are also known far beyond the republic. Its products were showcased at international exhibitions in Brussels, where they received high praise.
The team of the silk factory fulfilled the state plan for production year after year. The factory had 43 brigades of communist labor, where 451 production leaders were awarded high government honors. Among them was Sunchalieva Aliya Abdullayevna, a Hero of Socialist Labor. In 1941, after graduating from a technical school, she became a weaver at the Osh factory. For her selfless work, she was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Badge of Honor, and medals. She was a delegate to the XVI Congress of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan.
Since 1976, she has been retired.
Since January 1988, there has been a Museum of Labor Glory at the silk factory. There is also a club with a capacity of 242 seats.
Since 1946, artistic amateur activities have been functioning here, led by P. N. Skhitrladze. The club has choral, dramatic, and choreographic circles. Since 1976, the factory has had its ensemble "Kyzburak," headed by R. S. Salamatov. The ensemble performs not only throughout the republic but also in foreign countries, particularly in Hungary, where it has given more than 10 concerts. At the republican review, it won both large and small Gold Medals. In 1977, the ensemble participated in the All-Union review of pop groups held in Kyiv. It performed on Central Television and concluded its tour on the BAM. During its existence, the ensemble has given about 1000 concerts.
Over the years, the name of the factory has changed several times: Osh Cocoon-Reeling Factory, Osh Silk Factory, Osh Silk Factory named after VLKSM, State Joint-Stock Company "Zhibek," and the joint Kyrgyz-Irish joint-stock company "Osh-Zhibek." The factory has been managed by 24 people.
The first directors were I. Umarkov and I. Tanichchen. For a long time, the factory was headed by V. Davydov, M. Satarov, and T. Kachkynbaev. By fate's will, Tokon Kachkynbaev worked at this enterprise from a worker to a director (from 1973 to 1982). During this time, the factory became one of the leading enterprises in the republic. T. Kachkynbaev recalls that during his tenure as director, he paid special attention to the training of local workers and engineering and technical staff, primarily from the local nationalities: Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Initially, 140 workers from local nationalities were recruited, and their number increased year by year, improving their technical knowledge. Courses were organized for workers where they gained practical production skills. Another task facing the factory's management was its fundamental reconstruction, replacing old low-performance machines, weaving, and dyeing and finishing production with high-performance equipment and creating good working conditions for employees. In this regard, the factory management sought assistance from union ministries, republican, and regional organizations and always received support for their initiatives. It should be noted that during this difficult time for production, the first secretary of the Osh regional party committee, Sultan Ibraimov, along with members of the bureau of the regional committee, spent two days familiarizing themselves with the activities of the factory. At a collective meeting, he spoke and outlined both the positive and negative aspects of the factory's work. Promising to help the enterprise, he appealed to all regional leaders. Specialists and designers responded to the call, preparing project and technical documentation for the factory's reconstruction and a project for the construction of residential buildings for the factory workers.
At the same time, the reconstruction of weaving and dyeing and finishing production began, and domestic machines were installed, which allowed the productivity of textile workers to increase tenfold. Previously, weavers serviced 6 mechanical looms, but after reconstruction, they began to service 30 pneumatic looms.
As a result, in 1979 alone, 10.2 million running meters of silk fabrics were produced, or 106% of the plan, which is 230 times more than in 1940. In 1980, fabric production increased to 10,903 thousand running meters, and 4 residential buildings with 300 apartments were built. In terms of equipment, the factory became one of the leading enterprises in the Soviet Union.
Significant changes in the life of the factory occurred when T. D. Djabarov became its director (1988—1995). He was then succeeded by I. I. Ryskulbekov (1995—1997), who had already worked as director of the State Joint-Stock Company "Ak-Zhibek," and later V. E. Shepelev (since 1997) as director of the Kyrgyz-Irish Joint-Stock Company "Ak-Zhibek." The joint-stock company "Ak-Zhibek," producing raw silk, twisted products, raw fabrics, and fabrics made from natural and artificial silk, gained wide recognition. In the early 90s, production reached over 11 million running meters of fabrics, which are in high demand in all CIS countries and abroad. From 1990 to 1996, measures were taken to bring products to the global market. The factory participated in an international fair in Urumqi (China), and samples of silk fabrics were handed over to business representatives from Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, India, Japan, and the USA. Products created in creative collaboration with the republican fashion center "Makpal" (Kazakhstan) are annually showcased and sold in France.
The Struggle Against the Basmachi for Soviet Power in Osh