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The IAUNRC programs address all aspects of the diverse region and peoples of Azerbaijan, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Tibet, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Xinjiang.


KYRGYZSTAN

[internet resources]


 

Quick Facts:

Official Name: Kyrgyz Republic
Local Name: Kyrgyz Respublikasy
Population: 5,213,898 (July 2006 est.)
Capital City: Bishkek
Languages: Kyrgyz (official), Russian (official)
Official Currency: som
Ethnic Groups: Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Russian, Dungan, Ukrainian, Uyghur, other
Religions: Muslim, Russian Orthodox, other

Flag

Red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40 rays representing the 40 Kyrgyz tribes; on the obverse side the rays run counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise; in the center of the sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized representation of the roof of the traditional Kyrgyz yurt

A Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions, Kyrgyzstan was annexed by Russia in 1864; it achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Nation-wide demonstrations in the spring of 2005 resulted in the ouster of President Askar Akayev, who had run the country since 1990. Subsequent presidential elections in July of 2005 were won overwhelmingly by former prime minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Current concerns include: privatization of state-owned enterprises, expansion of democracy and political political freedoms, reduction of corruption, improving interethnic relations, and combating terrorism.

The earliest notable residents of what is now Kyrgyzstan were warrior tribes of Saka (also known as Scythians), from about the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD. Alexander the Great met perhaps the stiffest resistance from Saka tribes in his 4th century BC advance through Central Asia. Rich bronze and gold relics have been recovered from Scythian burial mounds at Lake Issyk-Kul and in southern Kazakhstan. The region was under the control of various Turkic alliances from the 6th to 10th centuries, with a sizeable population living on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzstan was the scene of a pivotal battle in 751, when the Turks and their Arab and Tibetan allies drove a large Tang Chinese army out of Central Asia.

Ancestors of today's Kyrgyz people probably lived in Siberia's upper Yenisey basin until at least the 10th century, when under the influence of Mongol incursions they began migrating south into the Tian Shan - more urgently with the rise of Jenghiz Khan in the 13th century. Present-day Kyrgyzstan was part of the inheritance of Jenghiz's second son, Chagatai. Peace was shattered in 1685 by the arrival of the Mongol Oyrats of the Zhungarian Empire, who drove vast numbers of Kyrgyz south into present-day Tajikistan. When the Oyrats were defeated by the Manchu (Qing), the Kyrgyz became de facto subjects of the Chinese, who mainly left them to their nomadic ways. In the 18th century the feudal tentacles of the Kokand khanate began to encircle them, though the Kyrgyz constantly made trouble from their Tian Shan redoubts. As the Russians moved closer in the 19th century, various Kyrgyz tribal leaders made their own peace with Russia or Kokand. Russian forces slowly rolled over the towns of Kokand, their advance culminating in the defeat of Tashkent in 1865. The Kyrgyz were gradually eased into the tsar's provinces of Ferghana and Semireche. The new masters then began to hand land over to Russian settlers, and the Kyrgyz put up with it until a revolt in 1916, which was heavily put down by the Russian army. Kyrgyz lands became part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Russian Federation in 1918, then a separate Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast in 1924 and a full SSR in 1936. Many nomads were settled in the course of land reforms in the 1920s, and more were forcibly settled during a cruel collectivization campaign in the 1930s.

In August 1991, the Kyrgyz Supreme Soviet reluctantly voted to declare Kyrgyzstan's independence. By the end of the year, Kyrgyzstan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States. In May 1993 a brand-new constitution dispensed with the last structural vestiges of the Soviet era. The following year, Kyrgyzstan signed a non-aggression agreement with Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

Information and maps above taken from Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Fact Book. Unless otherwise specified, images sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

Kyrgyzstan Internet Resources


This page contains convenient starting points for exploring web sites related to Kyrgyzstan.  To make this page easier to use, we generally have limited the list to those sites which contain substantial collections of links to information on these subjects.  The views reflected on any web site linked below do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center.  We provide these links as a service to the public.