# Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR), also known as the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kyrgyz SSR), KySSR or Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirgiz SSR), was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. It was also known by the names Kyrgyzstan and Soviet Kyrgyzstan in the Kyrgyz language, and as Kirghizia and Soviet Kirghizia in the Russian language. Landlocked and mountainous, it bordered Tajikistan and China to the south, Uzbekistan to the west and Kazakhstan to the north. The Kirghiz branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union governed the republic from 1936 until 1990.
On 30 October 1990, the Kirghiz SSR was renamed to the Socialist Republic of Kyrgyzstan; on 15 December, after declaring its state sovereignty, it was renamed again to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. On 31 August 1991, it transformed into independent Kyrgyzstan.

## Etymology

The name Kyrgyz is believed to have been derived from the Turkic word for forty, in reference to the forty clans of Manas, a legendary hero who united forty regional clans against the Uyghur Khaganate. The name Kyrgyzstan or Kirghizstan means 'land of the forty tribes', combined from three words: kyrg (kyrk) meaning 'forty', yz (uz) meaning 'tribes' in East Turkic, and -stan meaning 'land' in Persian. Politically, the name of the republic was the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic as stated in the 1937 and 1978 constitutions.
From 30 October to 15 December 1990 it was renamed the Socialist Republic of Kyrgyzstan (or Kirghizia). Afterwards, the socialist prefix was dropped and it became the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Officially, in Russian, the name of the country in Kyrgyz, Kyrgyzstan, began to be used instead of the Russian Kirghizia. Later, the official name of the state was changed to the Kyrgyz Republic, which was retained after independence.

## History

Eastern Bloc :
Republics of the USSR
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Byelorussia
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Karelia-Finland (1940–1956)
Kirghizia
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldavia
Russia
Tajikistan
Turkmenia
Transcaucasia (1922–1936)
Ukraine
Uzbekistan :
Allied and satellite states
Afghanistan (1978–1989)
Albania (until 1961)
Angola
Benin
Bulgaria
China (until 1961)
Congo
Cuba
Czechoslovakia
East Germany (until 1989)
Ethiopia
Grenada (1979–1983)
Hungary
Kampuchea
Laos
Mongolia
Mozambique
North Korea
Poland (until 1989)
Romania (until 1989)
Somalia (until 1977)
South Yemen
Vietnam (North Vietnam, PRG)
Yugoslavia (until 1948) :
Related organizations
Warsaw Pact
Comecon
Cominform
World Federation of Trade Unions
World Federation of Democratic Youth :
Opposition
Anti-Soviet partisans
Albania
Bulgaria
Croatia
Poland
Romania
Serbia
Ukraine
Guerrilla war in the Baltic states
Soviet occupation
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Operation Jungle
Protests and uprisings
Poland 1944–1989
Poznań 1956
1980–89
Plzeň 1953
East Germany 1953
Georgia 1956
Hungary 1956
Novocherkassk 1962
Prague 1968
Invasion
Moscow
Czechoslovakia 1976–1990
Romania 1977
Kazakhstan 1986
Brașov 1987
Tbilisi 1989
Ukraine 1989–1991
Baku 1990
Lithuania 1991
Riga 1991
Dissent
Soviet
Poland
East Germany
to Hong Kong
North Korea :
Cold War events
Marshall Plan
Czechoslovak coup
Tito–Stalin split
Berlin Blockade
Korean War
Secret Speech
Sino-Soviet split
Albanian–Soviet split
De-satellization of the Socialist Republic of Romania
Berlin Wall
Cuban Missile Crisis
Vietnam War
Cuban intervention in Angola
Afghan War
1980 Moscow Olympics
1984 Los Angeles Olympics
Gulf War :
Fall
Singing Revolution
Polish Round Table Agreement
Revolutions of 1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall
January Events
Barricades in Latvia
Breakup of Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Wars
End of the Soviet Union
Post-Soviet conflicts
Fall of communism in Albania
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia :
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Part of a series on the :
History of Kyrgyzstan :
Timeline :
Early history Achaemenid Empire 542–330 BC Macedonian Empire 329–312 BC Seleucid Empire 312–189 BC Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 250–152 BC Xiongnu 204–53 BC Han China 101 BC–185 AD Kushan Empire 30–375 Former Liang 301–376 Rouran Khaganate 330–555 Former Qin 383–386 Later Liang 386–403 Hephthalites 440–560 :
Medieval history Kyrgyz Khaganate 539–1207 Turkic Khaganate 557–603 Sasanian Empire 559–628 Western Turkic Khaganate 603–657 Eastern Turkic Khaganate 603–630 Tang China 657–751 Second Turkic Khaganate 682–744 Umayyad Caliphate 706–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–875 Uyghur Khaganate 791–840 Tibetan Empire 794–842 Kara-Khanid Khanate 840–1089 Seljuk Empire 1089–1141 Qara Khitai 1141–1212 Khwarazmian Empire 1212–1221 :
Early modern history Mongol Empire 1218–1266 Chagatai Khanate 1266–1347 Moghulistan 1347–1514 Golden Horde 1368–1446 Timurid Empire 1370–1505 Uzbek Khanate 1437–1471 Kazakh Khanate 1465–1757 Khanate of Bukhara 1501–1709 Yarkent Khanate 1514–1705 Dzungar Khanate 1680–1758 Khanate of Kokand 1709–1876 Qing China 1757–1841 Emirate of Bukhara 1841–1876 Kara-Kyrgyz Khanate 1842–1867 :
Russian Vassalage Russian Empire 1876–1917 Urkun 1916–1917 Turkestan Autonomy 1917–1918 :
Soviet rule Turkestan ASSR 1918–1924 Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast 1924–1926 Kyrgyz ASSR 1926–1936 Kyrgyz SSR 1936–1991 :
Independent Kyrgyzstan 1st Kyrgyz Revolution 2005 2nd Kyrgyz Revolution 2010 3rd Kyrgyz Revolution 2020 :
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Established on 14 October 1924 as the Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast of the RSFSR, it was transformed into the Kirghiz ASSR (Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic) on 1 February 1926, still being a part of the RSFSR. The borders were not drawn along ethnic or linguistic lines, however.
On 5 December 1936, with the adoption of the 1936 Soviet Constitution, it became a separate constituent republic of the USSR as the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic during the final stages of the national delimitation in the Soviet Union.
At the time of formation of Kirghizia, its territory was divided into districts (raions). On November 21, 1939, five oblasts (regions) were created: Jalal-Abad, Issyk Kul, Osh, Tyan Shan, and Frunze Oblast]s. In 1944, Talas Oblast was established from Frunze but was abolished in 1956. In 1959 the Frunze, Issyk-Kul and Jalal-Abad oblasts were abolished. Frunze and Issyk-Kul became territories under direct republic jurisdiction while Jalal-Abad was joined into Osh. Tyan Shan was the last oblast to be abolished in 1962, and by this point, the rest of the republic with the exception of Osh was divided into districts of republican subordination. In 1970, Issyk-Kul and Naryn (formerly Tien Shan) oblasts were restored, and in 1980 so was Talas. In 1988, the Naryn and Talas oblasts were again abolished; the former was merged with Issyk-Kul, while the later was merged with Osh. However, in 1990 they were restored and at the same time, Jalal-Abad and Chüy (formerly Frunze) were reestablished.
The Osh Massacre in 1990 undermined the position of the first secretary. That same year, on 15 December, the Kirghiz SSR was reconstituted as the Republic of Kyrgyzstan after declaring its sovereignty. On 17 March 1991, Kirghizia supported the Union preservation referendum with a 95.98% turnout.
However, this did not come to pass when the hardliners took control of Moscow for three days in August 1991. Askar Akayev, the first president, unequivocally condemned the putsch and gained fame as a democratic leader. The country declared its independence on 31 August 1991 and the Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991. However, the 1978 constitution remained in effect after its independence until 1993.

## Politics

Similar to that of the other Soviet republics, Kirghizia's government took place in the framework of a one-party socialist republic with the Communist Party of Kirghizia as the sole legal political party. The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kirghizia served as the head of the party, while the Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet functioned as the executive heads of state and the Chairmen of the Council of Ministers led the legislative branch.

## Demographics

In 1926, the republic had a population of 1,002,000 people. In 1939, 1,458,000 people were recorded. The population grew significantly in the decades after World War II; the republic had 2,065,837 people in 1959, 2,932,805 people in 1970, and 3,529,030 people in 1979. In the final Soviet census of 1989, the republic had grown to 4,257,755 people. The majority of the population were ethnic Kyrgyz people. However, because large numbers were sent there in deportations, at times there were other significant ethnic groups. Between March and May 1944 alone, it was reported in the Kremlin that 602,193 residents of the North Caucasus region had been deported to the Kirghiz and Kazakh SSRs, of which 496,460 were Chechens and Ingush, 68,327 of which were Karachays and 37,406 were Balkars. The majority of the Kyrgyz population are Muslims and speak a Turkic language. Bishkek had the largest concentration of Russians in the country, some 22% of the population by independence, with Uzbek minorities in the Fergana Valley especially constituting some 13% of the population. In 1990, violent clashes between the Uzbek and Kyrgyz peoples broke out in the Osh Region; ethnic tensions still remain in the region.

### Religion

Under Soviet rule, Islam in Kirghizia was heavily suppressed with people actively encouraging atheism.Soviet authorities permitted limited religious activity in all the majority-Muslim Soviet republics. Most of the Russian population of Kirghizia were atheist or Russian Orthodox. After independence, the country enjoyed greater religious freedom and remains to this day a secular state.

## Geography

Kirghizia, a landlocked republic in Soviet Central Asia shared its borders with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as China on the outside lying between latitudes 39° and 44° N, and longitudes 69° and 81° E. It is farther from the sea than any other individual country, and all its rivers flow into closed drainage systems which do not reach the sea. The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers over 80% of the country, with the remainder made up of valleys and basins.
Issyk-Kul Lake, or Ysyk-Köl in Kyrgyz, in the north-eastern Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest mountain lake in the world after Titicaca. The highest peaks are in the Kakshaal Too range, forming the Chinese border. Peak Jengish Chokusu, at 7,439 m (24,406 ft), is the highest point and is considered by geologists to be the northernmost peak over 7,000 m (22,966 ft) in the world. Heavy snowfall in winter leads to spring floods which often cause serious damage downstream. The runoff from the mountains is also used for hydro-electricity.

## Culture

Many elements of Kyrgyz culture persisted through the Soviet period, including:
* Manas, an epic poem
* Komuz, a three-stringed lute
* Tush kyiz, large, elaborately embroidered wall hangings
* Shirdak, flat cushions made in shadow-pairs
* Other textiles, especially made from felt
* Falconry

### Traditions

Apart from celebrating the New Year each 1 January, Kirghizia, like all Soviet Republics, observed the Great October Socialist Revolution on 7 November. Its festivals and traditions such as Nowruz and Ulak Tartish were suppressed by the Soviet authorities.
The tradition of bride kidnapping, which remains illegal to this day, was suppressed by the Soviet regime. It is debatable whether bride kidnapping is actually traditional. Some of the confusion may stem from the fact that arranged marriages were traditional, and one of the ways to escape an arranged marriage was to arrange a consensual "kidnapping".

## Legacy

According to a 2013 Gallup poll, 62% of Kyrgyz people said that the collapse of the Soviet Union harmed their country, while only 16% said that the collapse benefited it. The poll also showed that well-educated Kyrgyz people were more likely to say that the breakup harmed their country.