Celebrities Born in the Territory of Kyrgyzstan. Part 1

The Middle Ages

Yusuf (Jusup) al-Balasaghuni

Famous poet and philosopher of the Middle Ages.

According to available information, Yusuf was born around 1015-1018 in the city of Balasaghun, known as Kuz-Ordu. This city was famous as a center of science and culture of its time. It is presumed that this city should be sought in Semirechye, in the Chui Valley. The Burana settlement, southwest of the modern city of Tokmok, is the ruins of this cultural center of the Karakhanids.

Jusup Balasaghuni is the greatest thinker of past centuries, playing a significant role in the development of philosophical thought among the medieval Turkic peoples, particularly the Kyrgyz. He was not only a talented figure in literature and language but also an outstanding philosopher and a prominent scholar of his era.

Soviet Period

Mikhail Frunze

One of the most prominent participants in the Russian Revolution and the Civil War.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze was born (January 21 (February 2), 1885 – October 31, 1925) in Russian Turkestan, in the city of Pishpek (now Bishkek).

A Russian and Soviet political and military figure, military theorist, revolutionary, and one of the most significant commanders of the Red Army during the Civil War.


Duyshenkul Shopokov

Hero of the Soviet Union.

Born on May 19, 1915, in the village of Shalta, Sokuluk District, Kyrgyz SSR.

During the Great Patriotic War, he went to the front in September 1941. Rifleman of the 1075th Rifle Regiment (316th Rifle Division, 16th Army, Western Front), Private Shopokov participated in the battle at the Dubosekovo railway station (Volokolamsk District, Moscow Region) on November 16, 1941, as part of a group of tank destroyers led by political instructor V.G. Klochkova, repelling numerous enemy attacks. The group destroyed 18 enemy tanks. Shopokov was killed in this battle.

Chinghiz Aitmatov

The most famous son of the Kyrgyz people.

Born on December 12, 1928, in the village of Sheker, Talas Region, Kyrgyz SSR, in the family of a teacher and a party worker.
Kyrgyz and Russian writer, People's Writer of the Kyrgyz SSR, diplomat, Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR, Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of the Lenin Prize and three State Prizes of the USSR.

His works are known worldwide.


Bibisara Beishenalieva

Star of Kyrgyz ballet

Born on September 15, 1926 (according to other sources - May 17, 1926, April 8, 1926) in the village of Tash-Tyube (now Alamudun District, Chui Region, Kyrgyz Republic) in a peasant family.

In the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater, she embodied a whole gallery of diverse, highly artistic images, complex and multifaceted.
Since 1949, she taught at the Musical and Choreographic School in Frunze.
She was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 6th-7th convocations and the Supreme Soviet of the Kyrgyz SSR.

People's Artist of the USSR Bibisara Beishenalieva is among the leading masters of Soviet ballet.


Suymenkul Chokmorov

Kyrgyz actor and artist, People's Artist of the USSR.

Suymenkul Chokmorov was born on November 9, 1939, in the village of Chon-Tash near Frunze (now Alamudun District, Chui Region, Kyrgyzstan).
Member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Kyrgyz SSR. Member of the Union of Artists of the Kyrgyz SSR. Member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Kyrgyz SSR of the 10th-11th convocations.

He is the only one among his colleagues in the former USSR who was awarded a diploma four times at festivals for best role.


Talgat Nigmatulin

Soviet actor with a wide range of performances.

Born on March 5, 1949, in the mining town of Kyzyl-Kiya (Osh Region, Kyrgyz SSR) in a family of a Tatar father and an Uzbek mother.
He has played roles in more than twenty films. Best known for the films "Pirates of the 20th Century," "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn," and "Wolf's Pit."

Tragically died in February 1985.


Orzubek Nazarov

Honored Master of Sports of the USSR

Born on August 30, 1966, in the city of Kant, Kyrgyz SSR.

Professional boxer. Multiple champion of the USSR, Japan, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and the world. State and public figure of the Kyrgyz Republic.

7-time world champion among professional boxers according to the WBA (World Boxing Association). Winner of the USSR Junior Championship in 1982-1984. Junior European Champion in 1984. Champion of the USSR in 1985-1988. Winner of the Goodwill Games in 1986. European Champion in 1987. 5-time champion of Japan among professionals. 6-time champion of Asia and Oceania. Honored Master of Sports of Kyrgyzstan No. 1.


Kanybek Osmonaliev

Kyrgyz Soviet weightlifter.

Born on November 19, 1953, in the village of Beyshike, Kemin District, Chui Region, Kyrgyz SSR.

Kanybek Osmonaliev, Champion of the 1980 Olympic Games, 3-time world champion (1978, 1979, 1981). 2-time European champion (1978, 1981). Set 1 world record.


Igor Paklin

Soviet, and later Kyrgyz high jumper.

Born on June 15, 1963, in the city of Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR.

World vice-champion, European champion, European indoor champion.
For almost two years, he was the world record holder with a result of 2.41 m, which is still considered one of the most outstanding results in sports history. Only two athletes have jumped higher than Paklin with records – Swedish Patrick Sjöberg (2.42) and Cuban Javier Sotomayor (2.45). The Cuban's record, set in 1993, remains unbroken.

On the eve of the World Championship in Rome, the International Amateur Athletics Federation conducted a survey to determine the best athletes in the world in the history of the IAAF. Valery Brumel was named the best high jumper of all time, and Igor Paklin's name stands at No. 2 on this list of the best.


Nikolai Chernetsky

Soviet athlete.

Born on November 29, 1959, in the city of Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR.

Champion of the 1980 Olympic Games in the 4 x 400 m relay, world champion in 1983 in the 4 x 400 m relay, European champion in 1980, bronze medalist of the European Indoor Championship. Champion of the USSR in 1978-1980.


Tatyana Kolpakova

Soviet athlete.

Born on October 18, 1959, in the village of Alamudun, Kyrgyz SSR.

Olympic champion in long jump at the Moscow Olympics. Honored Master of Sports.

Celebrities born in Kyrgyzstan. Part 2
Celebrities born in Kyrgyzstan. Part 3