The situation in Kyrgyzstan by the end of the Civil War was very difficult. In 1922, industrial production was about two-thirds of that in 1913, sown areas decreased by 45%, and livestock numbers fell by 29% compared to 1916. The difficulties of the recovery period were exacerbated by the multi-structured economy, the dominance of patriarchal-feudal relations in the ails, the lack of large-scale industry, an extensive network of railways and highways, and a low level of culture. Kyrgyzstan lacked experienced Soviet and economic personnel. The largest socio-economic event was the land and water reform of 1921-1922, carried out in the northern regions of Kyrgyzstan and in the Jalal-Abad region in the south of the republic. It was mainly aimed at eliminating the consequences of the colonial policy of Tsarism. About 6,000 landless and smallholder farms received 199,000 desyatinas of irrigated and pasture land. In 1927-1928, the second stage of the reform took place. Its focus was against feudal elements, during this period another 17,000 poor and landless households received land. The middle class became the main figure in the ails. The activities of the union "Koshchi" ("Peasant") played a significant role in the struggle for the implementation of reforms. By 1928, the national economy of Kyrgyzstan had reached pre-war levels, but this was the level of a backward colonial periphery of pre-revolutionary Russia. The sown areas amounted to 674,000 hectares. The total livestock population barely exceeded pre-war levels (the level of 1913). Solving economic, national, and state tasks was complicated by the resistance of the bai and manap.
During the pre-war five-year plans, much was done for the industrialization of the country. Capital investments in the national economy of Kyrgyzstan from 1925 to early 1941 exceeded 280 million rubles. From 1928 to 1940, 140 industrial enterprises were built and put into operation, including power plants. Among them were the Kadamjai antimony plant, the Frunze and Kara-Suu repair and mechanical plants, the Changi-Tash oil field, meat processing plants, tobacco factories, sugar factories, and mines in Kok-Yangak, Tash-Kumyr, new mines in Suluktu, Kyzyl-Kiya, and the Alamedin hydroelectric power station. New industries were created: metalworking, oil, non-ferrous metallurgy, textiles, sugar, meat processing, and others. The gross industrial output in 1940 exceeded the level of 1913 by 9.9 times, and in large industry by 153 times. In 1928, electricity production was only 0.8 million kWh, while in 1940 it reached 51.6 million kWh. In 1940, Kyrgyzstan produced 88% of the coal mined in the Central Asian republics. In sugar production, it ranked fourth in the USSR after the Ukrainian SSR, RSFSR, and Kazakhstan.
The mass collectivization that began in 1929 led to transformations in the backward agriculture of Kyrgyzstan, which had about a thousand small livestock farms, two-thirds of which were nomadic and semi-nomadic. One of the most complex tasks was solved—the transition to sedentism, resulting in hundreds of new settlements emerging in Kyrgyzstan. By the beginning of 1941, 98.9% of peasant farms had been collectivized, and the bai were eliminated. By the end of 1940, 65 machine and tractor stations (MTS) were operating, with 6,200 tractors and 1,050 combines. The area of cultivated land increased by 1.7 times. The area of irrigated land doubled compared to 1914, and cotton sowing increased threefold. New technical crops were cultivated: sugar beets, kenaf, tobacco, and sunflowers. All this led to fundamental changes in the lives of the peasants. Over the years of the pre-war five-year plans, Kyrgyzstan transformed from a backward region into a progressive industrial-agrarian republic.
The working people of the industrial centers of the country—Moscow, Leningrad, Ivanovo, Kazan, Kharkov, and Kiev—helped in creating the foundations of Kyrgyzstan's economy. They sent qualified workers and engineering and technical personnel to construction sites, as well as machines and equipment. In 1932, the workers of Leningrad took patronage over Kyrgyzstan. National cadres for the national economy were trained in Kyrgyzstan and in the major industrial centers of the country, in the republics of the USSR. During the years of Soviet power, the republic supplied not only coal and agricultural raw materials to other regions of the country but also food and light industry products. The import of machinery, equipment, fertilizers, forestry materials, etc., into the republic increased. In 1936, 36,000 people were employed in industry, of which 17.9% were Kyrgyz.
During the Great Patriotic War, all sectors of Kyrgyzstan's economy reorganized their work in accordance with wartime conditions. From July to November 1941, more than 30 large factories, plants, and workshops were evacuated from the western and central regions of the USSR to Kyrgyzstan: the Nikitinsky mercury plant from Donbas, the agricultural machinery plant from Berdyansk, the Kharkov pharmaceutical plant, shoe factories from Rostov, sugar factories, and others. New enterprises in non-ferrous metallurgy, light and local industry, and sugar factories were under construction. In total, during the war years, 38 new industrial facilities of union and republican significance were put into operation in Kyrgyzstan.
During the war, there was also mobilization of human resources for the national economy: 13,950 people were directed to work in industry, and 4,443 people to construction and transport. More than 36,000 Kyrgyz collective farmers were mobilized to work in the factories, mines, and railways of the Urals, Kuzbass, and Karaganda. Women and teenagers also joined agricultural production. As a result, the total volume of gross output increased by 22.2% compared to the pre-war five-year plan. Agricultural production also increased: bread by 4.5 million poods, meat by 2.8 million poods, and wool by 372,000 poods. The number of cattle increased by 21,100 heads from 1941 to 1945.
The placement of evacuated populations in the republic proved to be a complex task. In the summer and autumn of 1941, 139,000 people arrived from occupied and frontline areas, as well as from Moscow, Leningrad, and other cities. There were temporarily 20,000 resettlers—citizens of Poland—in Kyrgyzstan. From November 1941 to September 1942, 40 orphanages and kindergartens with 3,438 orphaned children arrived in the republic.
The residents of the republic provided comprehensive assistance to the front, not only by dedicating their labor to the common cause but also by sending gifts to the soldiers at their own expense—food and warm clothing. Many donated money from their savings for the construction of tanks and airplanes. Thus, the Kyrgyz SSR made a significant contribution to the victory over fascism.
In the post-war period, the economy of the republic was again switched to peaceful production. In the following years, the pace of economic development in the republic outpaced the average across the USSR. For example, from 1965 to 1979, the gross product in the USSR increased by 2.3 times, while in Kyrgyzstan it increased by 2.5 times. In 1979, industry accounted for 70% of the total output of the national economy. In the post-war decade, more than 50 large enterprises were put into operation. These included new coal mines, the "Kyrgyzavtomash" plant, the Osh electromechanical plant, the Jalal-Abad cotton cleaning plant, and others. A special economic upturn was observed in the 1960s and 70s, which were called the "years of thaw." During this period, another 165 enterprises were commissioned, including the largest Toktogul hydroelectric power station (part of the GOELRO plan, construction of which was declared a nationwide Komsomol construction project), the Uchkurghan hydroelectric power station, three thermal power plants, an automobile assembly plant, a reinforced concrete products plant, and housing construction combines, textile and sewing factories. New industries were created—machine tool construction, non-ferrous metallurgy, and instrument engineering. Overall, industrial output in 1979 increased 32 times compared to 1940. The leading industries became machine engineering and metalworking. The electronic and electrical engineering industries developed rapidly. Other notable sectors included light, food, construction materials, and fuel industries. In the 1970s, 4.5 million tons of coal were extracted from ten mines and two quarries. The energy sector developed rapidly: before the revolution, there were five small power plants with a total capacity of 265 kWh; by 1980, the capacity of just the Toktogul hydroelectric power station reached 1,200,000 kWh. In the 1970s, the construction of 22 hydroelectric power stations on the Naryn River with a total capacity of 7 million kWh was planned. In 1976, the republic produced 4.4 billion kWh of electricity.
Light industry occupied a significant place in the gross volume of industrial production: textile, sewing, leather and footwear, and fur industries. From 1940 to 1979, the growth of production in this sector was as follows: cotton fiber—2 times, raw silk—1.07 times, hosiery—40.1 times, and footwear—55.6 times. Agriculture developed at a good pace, although it lagged behind other republics in per capita production. From 1940 to 1979, the gross output of agriculture increased by 2.3 times. The gross grain harvest grew 3.5 times since 1913, raw cotton—7.2 times, potatoes—12.5 times, and vegetables—10.2 times. The population increased from 864,000 in 1913 to 3,529,000 in 1978. Thus, agricultural production per capita increased only slightly during this period. The total area of sown land doubled during this period, reaching 1,267,000 hectares.
In agriculture—due to the specific geographical and climatic conditions of Kyrgyzstan—livestock farming predominated. From 1940 to 1970, the livestock population increased from 322,000 to 965,000 heads. The number of agricultural machinery also increased: tractors rose from 5,182 to 26,217 units, and combines from 1,050 to 4,358 units.
In the 1950s and 1960s, large-panel construction was carried out at an accelerated pace. This allowed many thousands of families to move from barracks and mud huts with earthen floors into separate apartments. From 1961 to 1965, housing construction combines were built in Frunze, Osh, Jalal-Abad, Przhevalsk, and Belovodsk. Their total annual production capacity was nearly 530,000 square meters of housing. At the beginning of 1961, in Frunze, with a population of 220,000 at that time, the urban housing stock amounted to 1,841,000 square meters, of which only 740,000 were state housing. In a relatively short time, 10 micro-districts grew in the capital. In total, from 1960 to 1985, 18,000 mud huts and shacks were demolished in the city. By 1985, the housing stock of the capital had grown to 7,348,000 square meters. In total, over this quarter-century, nearly 26.9 million square meters of housing were built across the republic. Housing conditions improved for 511,300 families. In other words, 65% of the citizens of the republic began to live more spaciously and comfortably. And all this was mainly thanks to the "Khrushchyovkas," which at that time were a great benefit. Persistence and will from the leaders of the republic were required to ensure the inclusion of the Toktogul hydroelectric power station, the Frunze-Osh road, the Kyrgyz wool and cloth combine, and the Osh cotton production association in the five-year construction plan. During the same period, over a quarter of a century, the state budget revenues in the Kyrgyz SSR increased from 410.5 to 2,234.5 million rubles, or increased by 5.4 times. While the turnover tax increased by 3.9 times, payments from state enterprises and organizations from profits increased by 9.2 times. This is evidence of the dynamic and sustainable development of industry, agriculture, transport, and construction.
In the second half of the 1970s, the political, economic, and cultural life of the country entered a phase of stagnation. Stagnation affected Kyrgyzstan fully. During the rule of L. I. Brezhnev, Soviet power in Central Asia turned into a form of semi-feudal colonial socialism. To meet the Kremlin's demands for grain, cotton, and meat supplies to the Center, the local party nomenclature received broad powers.
In the economy of Kyrgyzstan, the growth rates of industrial and agricultural production began to decline, and by the end of the 1980s, its development came to a halt. For example, while the main assets in the republic increased by 24% during the XI five-year plan, labor productivity decreased by 3.8%. From 1976 to 1985, the growth rates of industrial production in Kyrgyzstan halved compared to the previous decade. Despite the population growth, which was 2.4 times higher than the national average, the national income per capita in the republic fell to 56.3% in 1985.
The value of uninstalled equipment in the republic in 1986 amounted to 40 million rubles. At the same time, less than half of the installed mechanized and 1/8 of the automated lines reached their design capacity.
Crisis phenomena were also observed in the agriculture of the republic. From 1970 to 1982, profitability in this sector fell by 2.5 to 3 times. The costs of producing a unit of output rapidly increased. Labor productivity growth slowed down. The extensive nature of livestock farming in the republic led to the irrational use of pasture lands. The pursuit of increasing livestock numbers at any cost was carried out without regard to the limited feed base in the republic. For example, while in the USSR on average 45 sheep were grazed per 100 hectares of pasture, in Kyrgyzstan, there were 119. As a result, by the mid-1980s, 60% of pastures became unsuitable for use. The largest sector of livestock farming in Kyrgyzstan—sheep farming—rapidly decreased its profitability. In the XI five-year plan, its profitability was 7.9%, and by 1985, sheep farming became unprofitable. The crisis of the political system and the stagnation of the economy in Kyrgyzstan led to other negative phenomena—escalation of interethnic relations, rising unemployment, and a decline in the living standards of the population.
In Kyrgyzstan, as in the entire country, as a result of distortions in the economic policy being pursued, the food program began to fail everywhere. The steady growth of monetary incomes of the population, with relative stability of state retail prices for basic food products, led to an increase in their consumption. Moreover, prices for flour, bread, bakery products, pasta, and cereals were extremely low. Excessive food losses occurred in public catering enterprises, sanatoriums, rest homes, kindergartens, and hospitals. A huge amount of agricultural products was lost during storage and processing.
According to the food program, it was planned to increase grape production in the Kyrgyz SSR by 1.8 times by 1990. However, during the ongoing fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, many hundreds of hectares of fruit-bearing vineyards were destroyed in the republic. As a result, grape production not only did not increase but even decreased. In the second half of the 1980s, a food crisis erupted, and ration cards were introduced.