At that time, she was only 21 years old. Two years after moving, she married a local Kyrgyz young man.
Throughout her time in Batken, Isakova taught children at school.
Today, Lyubov and her husband live in the village of Boz-Adyr, located in the Suu-Bashy rural district of Batken.
In the years when she moved to Kyrgyzstan, 35 other teachers who had just graduated from Russian universities arrived with her.
“Everything around seemed incredibly interesting to us. We first arrived in Frunze (now Bishkek), and then we were asked which districts we wanted to go to. We mentioned several places, including Alay and Batken. We weren’t worried — we came to teach children. In the end, six girls were sent to Batken. At first, we were surprised at how one could live among empty fields. When we reached the village, we saw houses and trees — it was the populated area of Kara-Tokoy. We were greeted very warmly and hospitably,” Lyubov shares her memories.
At the time of her arrival, the schools in Batken did not meet expectations in terms of equipment and quality of education.
“When we arrived, the children were writing with ink. We found out why they didn’t use ballpoint pens, and we were told that there was no order to switch to the new type of pens. So we continued to write with ink for another year. At that time, local children wore school uniforms: a white shirt and a black vest. At first, it seemed strange to us, but it actually looked very good. I also worked in a kindergarten, where there were only toshok (traditional Kyrgyz mats) and nothing else. Everything we needed, we did together with the parents. I was sincerely thanked, and for me, that was the greatest reward,” L. Isakova recounts.
When Lyubov just started her life in Kyrgyzstan, her future husband Mukhamadjan Isakov had recently returned from the army. They met during a concert at the House of Culture in the village of Kara-Tokoy.
“My colleagues, who came from Russia, and I attended local cultural events, even though we didn’t understand the language at that time. We went to concerts and movies shown in Kyrgyz. It was interesting: we could listen to music and dance. That’s where I met my future husband,” Lyubov recalls.
Mukhamadjan, for his part, noted that his fellow villagers initially treated him distantly because he decided to marry a Russian girl.
“All the residents of Kara-Tokoy and Boz-Azyr were against our marriage. Now they assure that Lyuba is the best kelinka (daughter-in-law) in the village. She has many students who continue to visit her,” he added.
As mentioned, Lyubov Isakova is originally from the Moscow region. Her family, including her mother, grandmother, and siblings, was against her decision to stay in Kyrgyzstan, except for her father, who supported her choice. Relatives persistently suggested returning to Russia, but Lyubov refused, already having a daughter.
Many young female teachers who came with her returned to Russia after 2-3 years.
In 2022, Mukhamadjan and Lyubov celebrated their half-century anniversary of married life. They have five daughters and one son, as well as 18 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
Mukhamadjan Isakov was born in 1949.
