Kyrgyzstan | history - geography | Britannica.com Kyrgyzstan Alternative Titles: Kirghizia, Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic, Kirgiziya, Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyz Respublikasy Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Respublikasy (Kyrgyz); Respublika Kirgizstan (Russian) (Kyrgyz Republic) Form of government republic with one legislative house (Jogorku Kenesh, or Supreme Council [120]) Head of state Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate Male: not available Country Data Overview (PDF) Kyrgyzstan, country of Central Asia . It is bounded by Kazakhstan on the northwest and north, by China on the east and south, and by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on the south and west. Most of Kyrgyzstan’s borders run along mountain crests. The capital is Bishkek (known from 1862 to 1926 as Pishpek and from 1926 to 1991 as Frunze). Hiker on a track in the Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan.

Jerry Kobalenko—Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images The Kyrgyz, a Muslim Turkic people, constitute more than half the population. The history of the Kyrgyz in what is now Kyrgyzstan dates at least to the 17th century. Kyrgyzstan, known under Russian and Soviet rule as Kirgiziya, was conquered by tsarist Russian forces in the 19th century. Formerly a constituent (union) republic of the U.S.S.R., Kyrgyzstan declared its independence on Aug. 31, 1991. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Land Relief Kyrgyzstan is, above all, a mountainous country. At its eastern extremity, next to the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China, rises Victory (Pobedy) Peak , at 24,406 feet (7,439 metres) Kyrgyzstan’s highest peak. Mount Khan-Tengri (22,949 feet) is on the border with Kazakhstan. These mountains stand in the core of the Tien Shan system, which continues eastward into China.

On the southern border lie the Kok Shaal-Tau, Alay, Trans-Alay (Zaalay), and Atbashi ranges. Rocky streambed in the Kyrgyz Range of the Tien Shan, near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. © David Tomlinson/NHPA To the southwest are two great hollows, the Fergana Valley and another valley close to Mount Khan-Tengri. The latter valley is bounded by the westward-thrusting arms of the Kungey-Alatau and Terskey-Alatau ranges and contains Lake Ysyk-Köl (Issyk-Kul), whose clear, deep waters are fed by the snow-covered peaks. The rugged mountain-and-basin structure of much of the country, and the high alpine plateau of the central and eastern regions, are separated from the Fergana Valley on the west by the Fergana Range , running southeast to northwest, which merges into the Chatkal Range . The Chatkal Range is linked to the Ysyk-Köl region by a final enclosing range, the Kyrgyz .

The only other important lowlands in the country are the Chu and Talas river valleys in the north, with the capital, Bishkek, located in the Chu. The country’s lowland areas, though occupying only one-seventh of the total area, are home to most of its people. Drainage Vitali Klitschko Between 1926 and 1989 the urban portion of the Kyrgyz population grew from almost nothing to more than one-fifth, though the Kyrgyz remained a minority in most cities and towns. During this period fewer than one-fourth of the inhabitants of the capital, Frunze (now Bishkek), were Kyrgyz; Slavs made up more than half of the city’s population. Town dwellers, largely non-Kyrgyz, comprise less than two-fifths of the country’s total population. Southern Kyrgyzstan tends to be rural and Islāmic, but the more urbanized, Western-oriented north has traditionally dominated the country. Traditional Kyrgyz cemetery near Tokmak.

Upperhall—Robert Harding World Imagery/Getty Images People Most Kyrgyz speak a language belonging to the northwestern , or Kipchak, group of the Turkic languages; Russian is also spoken, and official language status has been accorded to both Kyrgyz and Russian. The Kyrgyz were formerly a transhumant (nomadic) people who were settled into collectivized agriculture by the Soviet regime. Besides Kyrgyz, the country’s population includes minorities of Russians , Uzbeks , Ukrainians , and Germans (exiled to the region from European parts of the Soviet Union in 1941), as well as Tatars , Kazakhs , Dungans (Hui; Chinese Muslims), Uighurs , and Tajiks . Since independence in 1991, many Russians and Germans have emigrated. Economy The people of Kyrgyzstan have traditionally raised livestock and engaged in farming. By the late 20th century the republic had become a source for nonferrous metals, notably of antimony and mercury ores, and a producer of machinery, light industrial products, hydroelectric power, and food products. Gold mining has increased in importance, and Kyrgyzstan possesses substantial coal reserves and some petroleum and natural gas deposits.

Hydroelectric power provides more than three-fourths of the country’s electric energy. Agriculture Industrialization has stimulated the mechanization of agriculture in Kyrgyzstan, and many types of machines necessary to cope with the largely mountainous terrain are manufactured in the republic. Unlike other Central Asian countries, Kyrgyzstan does not suffer from a lack of water; irrigation canals have increased agricultural output substantially, especially cotton production in the Fergana Valley, the country’s main source for that crop. Livestock raising, the cultivation of cotton, fruit , vegetables, cereal grains, and tobacco, and wool production are the leading branches of agriculture. Most of the arable land is devoted to pasturage for livestock and to growing hay. Livestock consists mainly of sheep and goats, along with milk and beef cattle, notably in the Chu valley and the Ysyk-Köl littoral. Horses serve as draft animals as well as a source of meat; the Kyrgyz like to drink koumiss , fermented mare’s milk, and use it in courses of treatment at health resorts. Tobacco is cultivated in the Naukat Valley in the south and also in the Talas Valley of the north.

Horticulture and viticulture are developed in the Chu River valley and the Fergana area, with the mulberry trees of the latter supporting the raising of silkworms. Industry The chief industries are the manufacture of machinery and electronic components, but food processing and light industries are also important and utilize local agricultural materials such as meat , fruit, and vegetables. Wool is the most exportable product, and mills weave cotton and silk fabrics, worsted cloth, and knitted garments. Leather goods are also produced. Transportation Before 1924 the only railways in Kyrgyzstan were two narrow-gauge lines leading from the border areas to the coal deposits of Kok-Yangak and Sülüktü. The construction of a line from Bishkek through the Chu valley and over the border to Lūgovoe in Kazakhstan joined the north of the republic to the Turkistan-Siberian main railway line and, through it, to southern Kazakhstan and the entire railway network of the U.S.S.R.

In 1948 a link extended the line up the valley from Bishkek (then called Frunze) to Ysyk-Köl (then called Rybachye) at the western tip of Lake Ysyk-Köl. Southern lines reached the coal mines at Tash-Kömür and Kyzyl-Kyya . Highways, nevertheless, have been developed as the basic answer to the topographic problems confronting land transportation. One main route climbs from Bishkek to Ysyk-Köl (with extensions along the north and south shores of Lake Ysyk-Köl), then swings south across difficult central terrain to Naryn and proceeds through the high Torugart Pass across the frontier with China and down to the city of Kashgar in China. The other major artery, the “route beyond the clouds,” from Bishkek to Osh , crosses the Kyrgyz-Alatau crest through a 10,500-foot tunnel. An important southern link is provided by the road joining Osh, via the Alay Pass, to the Pamir region of Tajikistan. An offshoot runs eastward through Irkeshtam to Kashgar.

Administration and social conditions Government Kyrgyzstan is a unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house. Its 1993 constitution, which replaced the Soviet-era constitution that had been in effect since 1978, recognized numerous rights and freedoms for citizens. It established legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and gave the president the ability to implement important policies or constitutional amendments through a national referendum. In 2010, following ethnic clashes and the ouster of Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev , a national referendum authorizing a new constitution was passed. It transferred many powers previously held by the president to an expanded parliament and established limits to prevent a single party from dominating the political system. Under the 2010 constitution, the president, who serves as the head of state, is directly elected to a single six-year term. The unicameral parliament has 120 seats, of which no party may occupy more than 65. Legislators are elected by party, and only parties that exceed set vote totals in parliamentary elections can seat members in parliament. A prime minister is selected by the majority party or governing coalition to serve as the head of government.

The judicial branch includes local courts and two high courts: the Supreme Court and, for commercial cases, the Supreme Economic Court. Political process During the Soviet period, the Communist Party of Kirgiziya (CPK), a branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), determined the makeup of the government and dominated the political process. The CPK transformed itself into the People’s Democratic Party during the Soviet Union’s collapse and declined in influence after Kyrgyzstan, in contested elections in 1989, had gained its first democratically elected president, Askar Akayev , a former university professor and computer scientist. Informal political groups such as Ashar (“Solidarity”) have since helped to open up the political process further. Education Kyrgyzstan’s schools and colleges have undergone a drastic reorganization since emerging from the ideological control of the Communist Party. The republic made Kyrgyz the official state language in 1989, and since that time Kyrgyz has begun to play a primary role in education; whole generations of students previously received much of their training entirely in Russian , which was obligatory. As a consequence, the Kyrgyz language lacked a thoroughly modern technical vocabulary.

Another obstacle to research and scholarship is the general lack of competence in European languages among educated Kyrgyz. After independence Kyrgyzstan’s contacts with the outside world increased dramatically, with Kyrgyz students, scholars, and officials traveling to Middle Eastern and Western countries for specialized and technical training. The Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences and Kyrgyz State University, both in Bishkek, are the major institutions of higher education. Health and welfare Kyrgyzstan, along with the other Central Asian republics, suffers from one of the highest rates of infant morbidity and mortality among the world’s developed countries. Medical care is substandard; Kyrgyzstan’s standard of living and educational and economic levels are among the lowest of the former Soviet republics. Cultural life Starting in the 1920s and ’30s, several Kyrgyz-language newspapers appeared regularly in the republic, but they were subject to Soviet censorship. With the collapse of Moscow’s control over the press, the editorial policies of the republic’s publications have changed noticeably, and new press outlets have appeared, though press freedom has occasionally been curtailed. Kyrgyzstan has a television network, extensive radio broadcasting, cinemas, and theatres.

Kyrgyz cultural life has been greatly influenced by the rich oral literary tradition (including epic cycles and lyric poetry) of the region, by the development of a modern literary language, and by the change from the Arabic alphabet to Roman and finally to Cyrillic (with diacritical markings added) beginning in 1940. The Kyrgyz planned a return to the Roman alphabet in the 1990s, in concert with the other Turkic-speaking countries of Central Asia. Kyrgyz folk singers still recite the lengthy verse epic Manas and other heroic and lyric poetry, often to the accompaniment of the three-stringed komuz , which is plucked like a lute. During the Soviet period Kyrgyz poets strove to adjust their writings to communist ideology and the tenets of Socialist Realism. But the character of Kyrgyz cultural life has undergone considerable change in the wake of the dissolution of the Communist Party and the cessation of its tight ideological controls. The Kyrgyz take pride in the renown of Chingiz Aytmatov , a novelist and storywriter who wrote mainly in Russian but also in Kyrgyz.

His Povesti gor i stepey (1963; Tales of Mountains and Steppes) and the more recent I dol’she veka dlit’sia den’ (1980; The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years) and Plakha (1986; The Place of the Skull) have received wide circulation in Russian and in English translations. Aytmatov’s play Voskhozhdenie na Fudziiamu (1973; The Ascent of Mt. Fuji), written with Kazakh playwright Kaltay Muhamedjanov, discusses rather openly the moral compromises made under the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin . This play created a sensation when it was first staged in Moscow in 1973 and later in English-language productions abroad. Chingiz Aytmatov, 2003. Bubamara State-sponsored folk dance troupes, a theatre of opera and ballet, and the Kyrgyzstan Philharmonic Orchestra perform in concert halls and theatre buildings erected during the Soviet period. The Museum of History and the Arts is located in Bishkek.

Edward Allworth History Kyrgyz history can be traced at least to the 1st century bce. The probable abodes of the early Kyrgyz were in the upper Yenisey River valley of central Siberia , and the Tashtyk culture (1st century bce–5th century ce), an amalgam of Asiatic and European peoples, may have been theirs. Chinese and Muslim sources of the 7th–12th centuries ce describe the Kyrgyz as red-haired with fair complexion and green (blue) eyes. They were viewed as a forest-dwelling “northern” people who used skis and practiced shamanism . In the mid-9th century the Kyrgyz, by then certainly Turkic-speaking, overthrew the Uighur empire in Mongolia but did not settle there; they essentially remained a people of the forest. According to the Persian geography Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam (982), the Kyrgyz lived at the edge of the “Uninhabited Lands of the North”; the 11th-century grammarian Maḥmūd al-Kāshgharī mentions that their language was Turkic.

Because of their secluded habitats, the Kyrgyz remained outside the mainstream of Inner Asian history, a fact that allowed them to survive the Mongol deluge that completely altered the Inner Asian political landscape. In 1207 the Kyrgyz surrendered to Genghis Khan’s son Jöchi . By so doing, they not only escaped destruction but also remained beyond the immediate reach of Islam . In the late 16th century shamanism was still flourishing among them. By the 16th–17th century most of the remaining Kyrgyz tribes lived in the Tien Shan range as mountain nomads , divided into two wings (left and right), though the advancing Russians still encountered remnants of the Yenisey branch of the Kyrgyz. In 1703, under pressure from the Dzungars (a tribe of western Mongols), the Yenisey Kyrgyz moved to the Semirechye, but hostilities between the two peoples continued until China’s defeat of the Dzungar leader Amursana in 1757. In the mid-18th century, nominally at least, the Kyrgyz became part of the Qing (Manchu) empire of China.

Between 1825 and 1830 they were conquered by Muhammad ʿAli , the khan of Kokand ; Bishkek (Pishpek), the future capital city of the Kyrgyz, was built by that khanate. Through these contacts, Islam was gradually adopted by the more-southern Kyrgyz, although it has remained merely a veneer on the national culture. Between 1835 and 1858 two Tien Shan Kyrgyz tribes, the Sarybagysh and the Bugu, engaged in a fratricidal war in which both sides alternately sought and obtained Kokandian or Russian help. In 1855 the Bugu voluntarily submitted to the Russians , and it was at their request that the Russians built the fort of Aksu in 1863. The Kyrgyz tribes thus entered the modern era divided, harassed by Russians and Kokandians alike. The periodic revolts of the southern Kyrgyz against the Kokand khanate in the mid-19th century received no Russian support. But Russian immigration into Kyrgyz territories, rather than warfare, posed the real threat to Kyrgyz existence.

Poor Russian peasants escaping from servitude and famine appropriated the winter pasturelands of the Kyrgyz, forcing them to move into the mountains. The Russian colonists did teach the Kyrgyz some new agricultural techniques, but on the whole their impact was nothing short of disastrous. In 1916 Kyrgyz discontent erupted in a serious revolt, which was met with brutal and prolonged repression that continued even after the fall of Russia’s tsarist regime. Under Soviet rule the Kyrgyz found it difficult to assert themselves as a separate national entity. Confusion concerning their very name persists in the West because, under the tsars, the Kyrgyz were wrongly labeled Kara-Kirgiz in order to distinguish them from the Kazakhs , whom the Russians called Kirgiz to distinguish them from the Cossacks (Russian: Kazaky). In 1924 an autonomous Kirgiz oblast (province) was created within the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic . In 1926 its status was transformed into that of an autonomous republic, and in 1936 a full union republic was created, the Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic, often called Kirgiziya.

In the second half of the 20th century, economic progress and general modernization did not succeed in eradicating tensions between Russians and Kyrgyz. Among the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union , Kyrgyzstan was perhaps the most eager to obtain full independence. After more than 1,000 years of disunity, statelessness, and foreign subjection, Kyrgyzstan joined the world’s independent countries on August 31, 1991. Denis Sinor Under President Askar Akayev , Kyrgyzstan developed all the institutions of a modern democracy , including an open press, an independent judiciary, and a freely elected parliament. Yet the new country experienced numerous challenges. Kyrgyzstan saw a sharp economic decline beginning in the mid-1990s, in part because of a shortage of raw materials and the emigration of many Russian and German professionals. Moreover, Akayev’s government was accused of widespread corruption, and the president was denounced for abusing his power. The press, though ostensibly free, was subject to official intimidation and, from 1995, to a series of state regulations.

The country’s main external threat was the infiltration of large numbers of Islamist guerrillas moving between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. In 2001 the government granted U.S. and allied forces the right to establish a base at Manas to conduct operations against Muslim militants in Afghanistan. (In February 2009 the Kyrgyz parliament voted overwhelmingly to end the lease, but it reversed its decision in June, after several months of intense lobbying by the United States to allow the continued U.S. use of the site as a transport hub for noncombat supplies.) A Russian air base was established in Kyrgyzstan in 2003 to support a Commonwealth of Independent States rapid reaction force intended to combat Muslim guerrillas. Flawed parliamentary elections in 2005 and a widespread perception of government corruption led to mass demonstrations in March of that year. These protests, quite surprisingly, led to the sudden and rapid collapse of the Akayev government. The president fled the country on March 24 and resigned several days later. In July elections, which were largely deemed free and fair by Western observers, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was chosen president.

The period following Bakiyev’s election was marked by political instability as the new president worked to assert his authority. Although Bakiyev employed a number of authoritarian practices to consolidate his power—including undermining the opposition and promoting associates and relatives to important posts—he neither achieved full authority nor moved Kyrgyz politics firmly into authoritarianism. Bakiyev faced emerging criticism on a number of key issues, however, including a perceived increase in corruption, which had been a central factor leading to the demonstrations against the government he had been elected to replace. In addition, the parliament installed under Akayev by the flawed elections of 2005 remained a locus of political instability, and Bakiyev’s failure to hold new parliamentary elections was widely criticized. Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Bishkek shortly after his election in 2005. AP In October 2007 a referendum proposing a new code of electoral law and a series of significant constitutional changes was overwhelmingly approved in an election criticized by observers for its failure to meet international standards.

The referendum increased the number of seats in parliament and provided for their allotment on the basis of party lists rather than individual candidacy; this was widely seen as a move by Bakiyev to bolster his newly formed Ak Zhol party and further undermine the opposition. The referendum also granted the president the right to dissolve the government at will. Bakiyev accordingly did so immediately following the announcement of the referendum results and called for early elections, which were held in December. Ak Zhol won the majority of the seats, controlling nearly four-fifths of the newly expanded Kyrgyz parliament. Although Bakiyev lauded the election proceedings, both local and international observers expressed concern about reports of widespread violations, including purchased votes and the elimination of opposition candidates from the election. As Bakiyev’s term progressed, opposition figures accused him of intimidation and a dwindling tolerance for dissent. In the period leading up to the presidential election of 2009, in which Bakiyev sought reelection, attacks on journalists were perpetrated with increasing frequency and were criticized by observers as an attempt to stifle dissent.

The election was held on July 23, 2009, and, as voting progressed, Bakiyev’s main challenger alleged widespread electoral fraud and effectively withdrew himself from the race before the polls had even closed. Official election results credited Bakiyev with a landslide victory of more than three-fourths of the vote, although international observers likewise expressed concerns with the conduct of the election. Protest against Bakiyev’s increasingly authoritarian policies and accusations of corruption both played a role in the outbreak of violent unrest in April 2010, but the more immediate cause appeared to be a steep increase in the cost of utilities. In early April, thousands of protesters attempted to storm the main government building in Bishkek in an apparent effort to overthrow the government. Failing to disperse the crowds with tear gas and stun grenades, riot police fired with live ammunition, killing some 80 people and wounding hundreds more. On April 7 the Kyrgyz government declared a state of emergency in response to the unrest as simultaneous demonstrations broke out in Naryn , Tokmak , and Talas, where protesters seized government offices.

By the early hours of April 8, Bakiyev had fled the capital by plane, and the opposition had announced the formation of an interim government. Although he issued statements condemning the events, Bakiyev’s precise whereabouts were unclear until several days later, when he emerged near Jalal-Abad , farther south. Meanwhile, the opposition, led by former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva , worked to consolidate its hold on power, replacing government officials in numerous positions and holding conversations with U.S. and Russian leaders. Although Bakiyev initially insisted that he retained popular support and would not step down, the opposition claimed to have received his resignation, and on April 15 Bakiyev departed Kyrgyzstan, leaving the country in the hands of the interim government with Otunbayeva serving as president. Several days later, however, from exile in Belarus , Bakiyev denied having resigned and insisted that he was still in fact the country’s legitimate president. Meanwhile, as looting and unrest sparked by the political conflict continued, the interim government authorized the use of deadly force to restore order.

Almost two months after the transfer of power, ethnic violence between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority erupted in the south of the country, particularly in and around Osh. With the interim government unable to bring the region under its control, this ethnic violence resulted in the deaths of scores of Uzbeks and a smaller number of Kyrgyz, as well as the dislocation of hundreds of thousands. Reports also alleged that atrocities had been committed by Kyrgyz troops, suggesting that the military was not fully under government control. The interim government did not immediately respond to these allegations and instead accused Bakiyev of fomenting the unrest. Meanwhile, Uzbeks claimed zones of autonomy in the south and refused to account to the central government, threatening to fracture the country. Refugees from Kyrgyzstan waiting in a refugee camp near the village of Erkishlok, Uzbekistan, June … Anvar Ilyasov/AP Although the violence had cast into doubt the ability of the interim government to hold a scheduled referendum on a new constitution, in late June the vote took place as planned. The new constitution was approved by some 90 percent of voters in an election international observers held to be free and fair.

In October 2010 Kyrgyzstan’s first parliamentary elections proceeded without violence or major voting irregularities, a development that was hailed as a step forward for democracy in Central Asia. Five parties received enough votes to enter parliament. The nationalist Ata-Zhurt party, which included several associates of former president Bakiyev and opposed the new constitution, garnered the most votes, although no party achieved a majority. A coalition government was formed with Almazbek Atambayev, of the Social Democratic Party , serving as prime minister. He resigned in September 2011 in order to contest the upcoming presidential election. Atambayev won a commanding victory in the October 2011 presidential election, receiving more than 60 percent of the vote. His large margin of victory over the second-place candidate, who secured less than 15 percent of the vote, eliminated the need for a runoff. The peaceful election was hailed as an important achievement for Kyrgyzstan, although international observers noted voting irregularities in some areas of country. Kyrgyzstan - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) Situated in the heart of Central Asia is the small independent republic of Kyrgyzstan.

A nation rich in history and cultural tradition, Kyrgyzstan lies amid the formidable Tien Shan, a location that endows the country with vast stretches of unspoiled natural regions. From 1924 to 1991 Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union. Today it is bounded on the north by Kazakhstan, on the east by China, on the south and southwest by Tajikistan, and on the west by Uzbekistan. The capital of Kyrgyzstan is Bishkek. Area 77,199 square miles (199,945 square kilometers). Population (2016 est.) 6,083,000. Article Contributors Kyrgyzstan Facts, Facts about Kyrgyzstan Know Facts about World Countries Afghanistan Facts Where is Kyrgyzstan ? Kyrgyz Republic or Kyrgyzstan is located in Central Asia and is one of the six independent Turkic states. This landlocked republic is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and People's Republic of China to the east.

The name Kyrgyz is believed to have been derived from the Turkic word for forty, which has a reference to the forty clans of Manas, the legendary hero who united forty regional clans against the Uyghers. Kyrgyz is also thought to mean unconquerable. The territory of Kyrgyzstan covers an area of 77, 181 square miles, and has a total population of 5,482,200. What is the capital of Kyrgyzstan ? Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and covers a total area of 49 square miles. Its estimated population is 1,250,000. It is the administrative center of Chuy Province which surrounds the city. It was formerly known as Pishpek and Frunze. Which is the largest city in Kyrgyzstan? The capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, is the largest city of the country. The city was found in 1825 as the Kyrgyz-Khokand fortress of Bishkek.

In 1862 it was named as the Russian fortress Pishpek, and in 1926 it was renamed Frunze after Mikhail Frunze, the Bolshevik military leader. In 1991, the parliament of Kyrgyz restored the city's historical name. What is the currency of Kyrgyzstan ? The currency of Kyrgyzstan is the Som, which replaced the Soviet ruble on May 10, 1993. Its ISO 4217 currency code is KGS. It is subdivided into 100 tyiyn. What is the official language of Kyrgyzstan ? Kyrgyzstan became a bilingual country in September 1991. It is one of the two former Soviet Republics in central Asia to have Russian as its official language, along with Kyrgyz. The Kyrgyz language belongs to the Turkic group of languages. What is the religion of Kyrgyzstan ? Islam is the dominant religion of Kyrgyzstan, although during Soviet regime, state atheism was encouraged. Although the country is a secular state, Islam has exerted a growing influence in politics.

80% of the population is Muslim, while 17% follow Russian Orthodoxy and 3% other religions. What is the literacy rate of Kyrgyzstan ? According to the statistics compiled by UNICEF, the adult literacy rate of Kyrgyzstan is 99%. Who is the political leader of Kyrgyzstan ? The parliament of Kyrgyzstan is unicameral, with the executive branch comprising president and the prime minister. The 1993 constitution defines the government of the country as democratic republic. Former foreign minister and head of parliamentary caucus for Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva is the president of the country. She was sworn in on July 3, 2010. Almazbek Atambayev is the prime minister of the country since December 17, 2010. When is the national day of Kyrgyzstan celebrated ? On August 31, 1991, the Supreme Soviet vote declared independence of the country, and since then it is known as the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. On May 5, 1993, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan was renamed the Kyrgyz Republic.

What is the economy of Kyrgyzstan like ? Despite the backing of major Western lenders such as IMF and the World Bank, Kyrgyzstan is the second-poorest country in central Asia. Its estimated GDP is 4.615 billion dollars. Agriculture is an important sector of the economy. Main crops include wheat, sugar, beet, tobacco, cotton, and potatoes. It imports petroleum and natural gas, while the principal exports are nonferrous metals, minerals, and agricultural products. Its main trading partners are Germany, Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. A Profile of Kyrgyzstan - Facts and History Asian History Expert By Kallie Szczepanski The people of Kyrgyzstan come from a proud tradition as nomadic horsemen and warriors of the Central Asian steppe. Once the rulers of a vast empire in the middle of Central Asia, they have been under the thumb of one foreign people or another since the time of Genghis Khan. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kyrgyz got a long-awaited chance at self-rule. So far, unfortunately, they have not been able to capitalize on that chance.

Still, given their warrior spirit, do not bet against the people of Kyrgyzstan. Capital and Major Cities: Karakol, pop. 75,000 Government of Kyrgyzstan: Formally called the "Kyrgyz Republic," Kyrgyzstan is defined as a democratic republic under its post-Soviet constitution. (This 1993 Constitution has been amended in 1996, 1998, 2003, 2006 and 2007 - an indication of the country's tumultuous political situation.) The head of state is the President, while the head of government is the Prime Minister. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World The Prime Minister also leads the 90-member unicameral legislature, called the Jogorku Kengesh. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court; judges are recommended by the president and appointed to 10-year terms by the legislature. Lower courts include the Higher Court of Arbitration and Local Courts. The Kyrgyzstani People: Kyrgyzstan boasts about 5.4 million citizens (CIA's July 2009 estimate).

The Kyrgyzstani people come from a variety of ethno-linguistic groups: about 69% are Kyrgyz, 14% Uzbek, 9% Russian, 1% each Dungan, Uyghur, and Tajik, plus less than 1% Kazakh, Tatar, Korean and German. During the Soviet era, Europeans including Russians and Ukrainians made up about 35% of the population of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic; since the fall of the Soviet Union, about three-quarters of the ethnic Europeans have left Kyrgyzstan. Languages in Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan's official languages are Kyrgyz and Russian. Kyrgyz is a Turkic language, most closely related to Altay and Kazakh. Despite almost two decades of independence from Russia, the Kyrgyz language is still written primarily in the Cyrillic alphabet, although some writers use a modified Arabic script. This is unusual in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia; all of the others except Kazakhstan have adopted different alphabets since 1993 in a show of moving away from Russian domination. Religion: For 75 years under the Soviet system, the Kirghiz Republic was officially atheist.

Nonetheless, most Kyrgyz citizens today self-identify as belonging to one religion or another. Some 75% of the Kyrgyzstani people are Muslim, nearly all Sunni . Another 20% are Russian Orthodox Christians, and the remaining 5% adhere to Buddhism , other types of Christianity, or Judaism . Geography of Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan covers an area of 199,951 square kilometers in the eastern part of Central Asia. It borders on China to the east and south, Kazakhstan to the north, Tajikistan to the south and Uzbekistan to the west. More than 80% of Kyrgyzstan is mountainous, thus the country's nickname "the Switzerland of Central Asia." Its highest point is the Jengish Chokusu peak in the Tien Shan Mountains, at 7,439 meters (24,406 feet). The lowest point is Kara-Daryya, at 132 meters (433 feet). The largest river is the Kara Darya, which crosses into Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan also boasts one of the world's largest mountain lakes, Issyk-Kul .

Climate: Kyrgyzstan's climate is continental and can be rather harsh. The country receives very little rainfall, although it can snow very heavily during the winter months. Total yearly precipitation in the mountains averages almost 2,000 millimeters (79 inches), but in the Fergana Valley it drops to just 100 mm (about 4 inches). Given the country's enormous range of altitudes, it comes as no surprise that temperatures vary widely as well. The record low temperature in the Tien Shan is -53.6°C or −64 °F. The highest temperature recorded is 44°C, or 111°F, in the Fergana Valley. The Economy of Kyrgyzstan: Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has struggled to find its economic footing. In 2009, its GDP growth rate was an estimated -1%. The GDP per capita is only $2,100 US. Some 48% of Kyrgyzstanis make their living through agriculture, with another 40% in services and about 12% in industry.

18% are unemployed, and a shocking 40% of the population is living below the poverty line. Kyrgyzstan exports minerals, wool, and electricity. It imports oil, natural gas, iron, chemicals, machinery, wood, food, and many other products; its balance of trade is about -$34 million US annually. The Kyrgyz currency is the som. As of April, 2010, $1 US = 45.6 som. The History of Kyrgyzstan: The earliest human occupation in what is now Kyrgyzstan dates back some 200,000-300,000 years, according to the archaeological evidence. It is unlikely that the people who knapped those early stone tools were the direct ancestors of modern day Kyrgyz , however. Early Kyrgyz History The Kyrgyz people probably originated in central Siberia, in the region of the Yenisey River Valley, sometime around 200 BCE. Their foundational myth, a 500,000-line poem that was kept alive as an oral tradition for centuries, tells the story of Manas, a great warrior who united the Kyrgyz people.

The Epic of Manas relates how he brought together the 40 clans of the Kyrgyz (represented on the modern flag by forty sun-rays) to fight against their common enemy, the Uyghurs. Interestingly, Tang Chinese sources report that the Kyrgyz had red hair and green or blue eyes. DNA evidence suggests a genetic link with Tajiks, Ukrainians and Poles - a clear indication of Central Asia's role as a melting pot of Eurasian peoples. The Tang fought one of their most important battles - the Battle of Talas River - against the Caliph of Baghdad in what is now Kyrgyzstan in 751 CE; however, the ancestors of the Kyrgyz lived north of the area at that time. The early Kyrgyz were subjects of the Gokturks and Uyghurs , but in 840 CE the Kyrgyz defeated the Uyghur Khanate. An army of as many as 80,000 Kyrgyz horseman captured the Uyghur capital of Ordu Baliq and beheaded the Uyghur leader. With this victory, the Kyrgyz expanded their territory to include a large swathe of land in the middle of Central Asia.

Kyrgyz History in the Middle Ages The Kyrgyz maintained control over much of this land until the 12th and 13th centuries CE, when Genghis Khan and the Mongols exploded out from their homeland to the northeast of Kyrgyz territory and conquered much of the known world. The Mongolian expansion forced the Kyrgyz to begin migrating south, from what is now Tuva into the Tien Shan mountains; despite the move, they came under the control of the Mongol's Golden Horde. When the last remnant of the Golden Horde was destroyed by Timur in 1394-95, the Kyrgyz found themselves subjects of the Timurid rulers. The Kyrgyz finally settled in the land now known as Kyrgyzstan in the 15th and 16th centuries. Over the following centuries, the Kyrgyz would be ruled in turn by the Kalmyks, the Manchus and Uzbeks. Early in the 19th century, they fell under the control of the Khanate of Kokand (1709-1876), which was centered in eastern Uzbekistan.

In 1876, tsarist Russia conquered the Khanate including Kyrgyzstan, prompting many Kyrgyz to flee into Afghanistan or up into the high mountains. The Kyrgyz under Russian Rule In 1916, in response to Russia's imposition of a military draft on the peoples of Central Asia for the World War I war effort, the Kyrgyz revolted against Russian rule. The Russians responded with massive force, killing nearly one-sixth of the Kyrgyz people. Many of the survivors fled into China. The Russian tsar fell in 1917, and the new Soviet government took control of Kyrgyzstan and the rest of Central Asia the following year. In 1924, the Kyrgyz section was renamed the "Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast"; two years later, it became the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The Kirghiz Republic became a full-fledged member of the Soviet Union in 1936. In 1991, the USSR collapsed and Kyrgyzstan became an independent nation. The new government changed the capital's name from Frunze back to the pre-Soviet name, Bishkek.

The first president was a hold-over from the Soviet era, Askar Akaev, but he was ousted from power in street demonstrations in 2005. The former Prime Minister, Kurmanbek Bakiev, won presidential elections that same year; ironically, he also was ousted in street demonstrations in April of 2010. The Kyrgyz people have a long and proud history as fierce warriors and nomads. They seem disinclined, at this stage, to accept substandard governance in their newly independent state. Perhaps they need a latter-day Manas, who can unite them once again. Waste management and recycling in the former Soviet Union: the City of Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan). - PubMed - NCBI Waste Manag Res. 2013 Oct;31(10 Suppl):106-25. doi: 10.1177/0734242X13499813. Waste management and recycling in the former Soviet Union: the City of Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan). 11Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.

Abstract The UN-Habitat Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) benchmarking methodology was applied to profile the physical and governance features of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in the former Soviet Union city of Bishkek, capital of the Kyrgyz Republic. Most of the ISWM indicators were in the expected range for a low-income city when compared with 20 reference cities. Approximately 240,000 t yr(-1) of MSW is generated in Bishkek (equivalent to 200 kg capita(-1) yr(-1)); collection coverage is over 80% and 90% of waste disposed goes to semi-controlled sites operating with minimal environmental standards. The waste composition was a distinctive feature, with relatively high paper content (20-27% wt.) and intermediate organic content (30-40% wt.). The study provides the first quantitative estimates of informal sector recycling, which is currently unrecognised by the city authorities. Approximately 18% wt. of generated MSW is recycled, representing an estimated annual saving to the city authorities of US$0.7-1.1 million in avoided collection/disposal costs.

The waste management system is controlled by a centralised municipal waste enterprise (Tazalyk); therefore, institutional coherence is high relative to lower-middle and low-income cities. However, performance on other governance factors, such as inclusivity and financial sustainability, is variable. Future priorities in Bishkek include extending collection to unserved communities; improving landfill standards; increasing recycling rates through informal sector cooperation; improving data availability; and engaging all stakeholders in waste management strategy decisions. Extending the scope and flexibility of the ISWM protocol is recommended to better represent the variation in conditions that occur in waste management systems in practice. KEYWORDS: Solid waste management; benchmarking; former Soviet Union; governance; indicators; informal sector; integrated sustainable waste management; recycling; waste collection PMID: Kyrgyzstan - The Soviet Union and Recent History The Soviet Union and Recent History Kyrgyzstan Table of Contents Following a brief period of independence after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution (see Glossary) toppled the empire, the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan was designated the Kara-Kyrghyz Autonomous Region and a constituent part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) in 1924.

In 1926 the official name changed to the Kyrgyz Autonomous Republic before the region achieved the status of a full republic of the Soviet Union in 1936. Recent History In the late 1980s, the Kyrgyz were jolted into a state of national consciousness by the reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and by ethnic conflict much closer to home. As democratic activism stirred in Kyrgyzstan's cities, events in Moscow pushed the republic toward unavoidable independence. Ethnic Conflict The most important single event leading to independence grew from an outburst of ethnic friction. From the perspective of the Kyrgyz, the most acute nationality problem long had been posed by the Uzbeks living in and around the city of Osh, in the republic's southwest. Although Kyrgyzstan was only about 13 percent Uzbek according to the 1989 census, almost the entire Uzbek population was concentrated in Osh Province. Tensions very likely had existed between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks throughout the Soviet period, but Moscow was able to preserve the image of Soviet ethnic harmony until the reforms of Gorbachev in the mid-1980s.

In the general atmosphere of glasnost (see Glossary), an Uzbek-rights group called Adalat began airing old grievances in 1989, demanding that Moscow grant local Uzbek autonomy in Osh and consider its annexation by nearby Uzbekistan. The real issue behind Adalat's demand was land, which is in extremely short supply in the southernmost province of Osh. To protect their claims, some Osh Kyrgyz also had formed an opposing ethnic association, called Osh-aimagy (Osh-land). In early June 1990, the Kyrgyz-dominated Osh City Council announced plans to build a cotton processing plant on a parcel of land under the control of an Uzbek-dominated collective farm in Osh Province. The confrontation that erupted over control of that land brought several days of bloody riots between crowds led by the respective associations, killing at least 320 Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in Osh. The precise cause and sequence of events in early June 1990 is disputed between Uzbek and Kyrgyz accounts. Scores of families were left homeless when their houses were burned out. The government finally stopped the rioting by imposing a military curfew.

Because the telephone lines remained open in the otherwise blockaded city, news of the violence spread immediately to Frunze. In the capital, a large group of students marched on the headquarters of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzia (CPK), which also served as the seat of government, in the center of the city. In the violent confrontation that ensued, personal injuries were minimized by effective crowd control, and the riotous crowd eventually was transformed into a mass meeting. Democratic Activism The Osh riots and the subsequent events in Frunze quickly brought to the surface an undercurrent of political discontent that had been forming among both the intelligentsia and middle-level party officials. A loose affiliation of activists calling themselves the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan (DDK) began to organize public opinion, calling among other things for the resignation of Absamat Masaliyev, who was president of the republic's parliament, the Supreme Soviet, as well as a member of the Soviet Union's Politburo and the head of the CPK. The DDK called for Masaliyev's resignation because he was widely viewed as having mishandled the Osh riots.

Democratic activists erected tents in front of the party headquarters, maintaining pressure with a series of hunger strikes and highly visible public demonstrations. The continuing atmosphere of crisis emboldened CPK members, who also wished to get rid of the reactionary Masaliyev. Four months later, in a presidential election prescribed by Gorbachev's reform policies, Masaliyev failed to win the majority of Supreme Soviet votes required to remain in power. The Rise of Akayev With none of the three presidential candidates able to gain the necessary majority in the 1990 election, the Supreme Soviet unexpectedly selected Askar Akayev, a forty-six-year-old physicist, who had been serving as head of the republic's Academy of Sciences. Although he had served for a year in a science-related post on the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and was a party member, Akayev was the first president of a Soviet republic who had not held a high party position. At the same meeting of the Supreme Soviet, the deputies changed the name of the republic to Kyrgyzstan.

They also began to speak seriously of seeking greater national sovereignty (which was formally declared on November 20, 1990) and of attaining political domination of the republic by the Kyrgyz, including the establishment of Kyrgyz as the official language. By mid-summer 1991, the Kyrgyz were beginning to make serious moves to uncouple the government from the CPSU and its Kyrgyzstan branch. In early August, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, which governs the police and the internal security forces, announced a ban of all CPSU affiliation or activity within the ministry. Events elsewhere precluded a seemingly inevitable conflict with Moscow over that decision; in August 1991, the attention of the entire union moved to Moscow when reactionaries in Gorbachev's government attempted to remove him from power. Unlike the leaders of the other four Central Asian republics, who temporized for a day about their course following the coup, Akayev condemned the plot almost immediately and began preparations to repel the airborne forces rumored to be on the way to Kyrgyzstan from Moscow.

The quick collapse of the coup made the preparations unnecessary, but Akayev's declaration of support for Gorbachev and for the maintenance of legitimate authority gained the Kyrgyz leader enormous respect among the Kyrgyz people and among world leaders. On August 30, 1991, days after the coup began, Akayev and the republic's Supreme Soviet declared Kyrgyzstan an independent nation, and the president threw the CPSU and its Kyrgyzstan branch out of the government. However, he did not go as far as officials in most of the other former Soviet republics, where the party was banned totally. At the same time independence was declared, the republic's Supreme Soviet scheduled direct presidential elections for October 1991. Running unopposed, Akayev received 95 percent of the popular vote, thus becoming the country's first popularly elected president. The so-called Silk Revolution drew much international sympathy and attention.

In December 1991, when the Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian republics signed the Tashkent Agreement, forming a commonwealth that heralded the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Akayev demanded that another meeting be held so that Kyrgyzstan might become a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS--see Glossary), as the new union was to be called. The sympathy that Akayev had won for Kyrgyzstan earlier in his presidency served the country well once the world generally acknowledged the passing of the Gorbachev regime and the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan was recognized almost immediately by most nations, including the United States, whose secretary of state, James Baker, made an official visit in January 1992. A United States embassy was opened in the capital (which had reassumed its pre-Soviet name of Bishkek in December 1990) in February 1992. By early 1993, the new country had been recognized by 120 nations and had diplomatic relations with sixty-one of them.

Akayev's Early Years Despite initial euphoria over the possibilities of independence and membership in the CIS, Akayev recognized that his country's economic position was extremely vulnerable and that the ethnic situation exacerbated that vulnerability. Thus, the Akayev administration devoted much attention to creating a legal basis of governance while struggling to keep the economy afloat. In the first two years of his presidency, Akayev seemed to work effectively with the Supreme Soviet that had put him in office. By 1992, however, Akayev's good relations with the legislature had fallen victim to the rapidly declining economy, the failure of the CIS to become a functioning body, and the country's inability to attract substantial assistance or investment from any of the potential foreign partners whom he had courted so assiduously. In advancing his reform programs, Akayev experienced particular difficulties in gaining the cooperation of entrenched local politicians remaining from the communist government apparatus. To gain control of local administration, Akayev imitated the 1992 strategy of Russia's president Boris N. Yeltsin by appointing individuals to leadership positions at the province, district, and city levels (see Structure of Government, this ch.).

Akayev filled about seventy such positions, the occupants of which were supposed to combine direct loyalty and responsibility to the president with a zeal to improve conditions for their immediate locales. The system became a source of constant scandal and embarrassment for Akayev, however. The most flagrant abuses came in Jalal-Abad Province (which had been split from neighboring Osh in spring 1991 to dilute political power in the south), where the new akim, the provincial governor, appointed members of his own family to the majority of the positions under his control and used state funds to acquire personal property. The situation in Jalal-Abad aroused strong resentment and demonstrations that continued even after the governor had been forced to resign. In 1992 and 1993, the public perception grew that Akayev himself had provided a model for the tendency of local leaders to put family and clan interests above those of the nation. Indeed, several prominent national government officials, including the head of the internal security agency, the heads of the national bank and the national radio administration, the minister of foreign affairs, and the ambassador to Russia, came from Akayev's home area and from Talas, the home district of his wife.

Akayev's loss of momentum was reflected in the debate over the national constitution, a first draft of which was passed by the Supreme Soviet in December 1992. Although draft versions had begun to circulate as early as the summer of 1992, the commission itself agreed on a definitive version only after prolonged debate. An umbrella group of opposition figures from the DDK also began drawing up constitutional proposals in 1992, two variations of which they put forward for public consideration. Although broad agreement existed on the outlines of the constitution, several specific points were difficult to resolve. One concerned the status of religion. Although it was agreed that the state would be secular, there was strong pressure for some constitutional recognition of the primacy of Islam. Another much-debated issue was the role of the Russian language. Kyrgyz had been declared the official state language, but non-Kyrgyz citizens exerted pressure to have Russian assigned near-equal status, as was the case in neighboring Kazakstan, where Russian had been declared the "official language of interethnic communication." The issue of property ownership was warmly debated, with strong sentiment expressed against permitting land to be owned or sold.

Another important question was the role of the president within the new state structure. The proposed constitution was supposed to be debated by the full Supreme Soviet (as the new nation's parliament continued to call itself after independence) and by a specially convened body of prominent citizens before its acceptance as law. However, some members of the democratic opposition argued that a special assembly of Kyrgyz elders, called a kuraltai , should be convened to consider the document. A final draft of the constitution was passed by the Supreme Soviet in May 1993, apparently without involvement of a kuraltai . In drafting a final document, the Supreme Soviet addressed some of the most controversial issues that had arisen in predraft discussions. Specific passages dealt with transfer and ownership of property, the role of religion in the government, the powers of the president, and the official language of the country (see Constitution, this ch.). Akayev had spoken of the need to have a presidential system of government--and, indeed, the constitution sets the presidency outside the three branches of government, to act as a sort of overseer ensuring the smooth functioning of all three. However, by the mid-1990s dissatisfaction with the strong presidential model of government and with the president himself was growing.

With economic resources diminished, political infighting became commonplace. Although the prime minister and others received blame for controversial or unsuccessful policy initiatives, President Akayev nonetheless found himself increasingly isolated politically amid growing opposition forces. Although the "democratic" opposition that had helped bring Akayev to power had grown disenchanted, its constituent factions were unable to exert serious pressure on the president because they could not agree on ideology or strategy. In October 1992, the main democratic opposition party Erk (Freedom) fractured into two new parties, Erkin and Ata-Meken (Fatherland). More serious opposition originated within the ranks of the former communist elite. Some of this opposition came directly from the ranks of the reconstituted and still legal CPK (see Political Parties, this ch.). In January 1993, Akayev made an unusually harsh statement to the effect that he had been misled by his economic advisers and that Kyrgyzstan's overtures to the outside world had only raised false hopes.

The continuing outflow of ethnic Russians (who constitute the greater part of Kyrgyzstan's technicians), the war in Tajikistan (which has driven refugees and "freedom fighters" into Kyrgyzstan), the growing evidence of wide-scale official corruption and incompetence, rising crime, and--more than anything else--the spectacular collapse of the economy increasingly charged the country's political atmosphere in the first half of the 1990s. Custom Search

Question: What is the capital of former USSR republic of Kyrgystan?
Answer: Bishkek