The struggle of the Kyrgyz for independence that followed glasnost' and perestroika is understood best in the context of their 1000th anniversary of Manas. The residents of Bishkek rehearsed this major event for at least two years, wearing native clothes, displaying life in the yurt, and dancing to national tunes. The 1985 monument consists of three curved spires of granite outlining a yurt . The yurt, the moveable home of the Kyrgyz nomad, has forty frame posts which converge, like spikes on a wheel, at the top, leaving an opening or tunduk for the sun to shine in. The coming together of the frameposts at the tunduk symbolizes family unity.
Any pole missing symbolizes a loss in the family.
Using this potent symbol of Kyrgyz culture, the Soviet artist recalls the losses of the Union to Nazi Germany. Walking down the streets of Bishkek and talking to the Kyrgyz, many names are mentioned that are not at all familiar to the Westerners' ears. The most celebrated among those names are the names of Manas and Togtogul Satilganov. The statue of the former, the founder of the Kyrgyz nation, graces the square in front of the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic while the statue of the latter graces the yard of the Opera and Ballet Theater. The epic Manas, of which Manas is the main character, was first written down by Chokan Valikhanov, a Kazakh.