One of the first pioneers in the study of Kyrgyzstan was the Russian scientist and traveler Petr Petrovich SEMENOV (1827—1914), who, for his scientific contributions to the study of the Tengri-Tuu region (in Chinese “Tian-Shan”) in 1856—1857 and subsequent years, received the honorary literary name “Tian-Shan.” He created the orographic scheme of Tengri-Tuu and refuted the existing theories in contemporary science about the volcanic origin of the Tengri-Tuu mountain system.
The materials of P.P. Semenov-Tian-Shansky on Northern Kyrgyzstan are important for both ethnography and history. It is interesting to note that the khan of the Bughu tribe, Borombai, upon meeting the scientist, stated that the Chigils (the dominant ethnic group during the Karakhanid dynasty) are among the direct ancestors of the Kyrgyz.
The Kyrgyz are grateful to Semenov-Tian-Shansky as a scientist and a representative of the progressive Russian intelligentsia.