Kyzyl-Adyr means "red foothills"
Kyzyl-Adyr is a village in the Talas region, the administrative center of the Kara-Buurin rural district. It is located on the southern shore of the Kirov Reservoir, which was created on the Talas River for agricultural needs. In the area, the river valley widens, forming a broad fertile valley. The regional center is located 60 kilometers to the east. Bishkek is 350 km away.
Neighboring settlements include It-Agar, Kara-Kul, Taraz, and Toktogul.
Kyzyl-Adyr in Kyrgyz means "red foothills." This is how the Kyrgyz refer to the mountain range in this area. The name comes from the color of the loams. According to legend, Manas and his 40 warriors rode through the Talas Valley. They stopped in this area for the night, and when they woke at dawn, they did not recognize the place. The soil there has a clay mixture and has a reddish hue, and the first rays of the sun enhance this effect, making everything around appear red.
The altitude above sea level is 929 m. The settlement emerged here in the second half of the 19th century, during the Tsarist Russia era, and was called Alexandrovka. After the establishment of Soviet power, the village was renamed Kirovskoye. In 1992, it was renamed Kyzyl-Adyr.
The population is approximately 11,500.
Most of old Kyzyl-Adyr is submerged under the waters of the Kirov Reservoir. Due to the construction of the reservoir between 1965 and 1975, part of the district center - the village (formerly Kirovskoye) was relocated upstream along the Talas River. In the 1970s, Kirovskoye attracted many young, energetic people from nearby villages. There were many Germans, Balts, Greeks, Russians, and representatives of other nationalities living there. It was said that Talas resembled a large village, while Kirovskoye was like a small town.
In the 1990s, the settlement fell into a severe decline. Europeans left, many buildings were neglected, and the roads were damaged. The municipal infrastructure collapsed, leading people to move out of apartments and build private houses. Over a few years, Kirovskoye transformed from a town into an ordinary village.
The traditional occupation of the population is livestock breeding. Agricultural organizations in Kyzyl-Adyr engage in breeding fine-wool and semi-fine-wool sheep and goats, cows, and horses. Crop production includes the cultivation of wheat, corn, barley, tobacco, vegetables, and fruits. The industry is poorly developed, mainly consisting of enterprises that process agricultural raw materials.
