![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Kyrgyzstan-on-the-Globe-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Kyrgyzstan’s recorded history spans over 2,000 years, encompassing a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain, which has helped preserve its ancient culture, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road<\/a> and other commercial and cultural routes. Though long inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under foreign domination. In between periods of self-government it was ruled by G\u00f6kt\u00fcrks<\/a>, the Uyghur Empire<\/a>, and the Khitan<\/a> people, before being conquered by the Mongols<\/a> in the 13th century; subsequently it regained independence but was invaded by Kalmyks<\/a>, Manchus<\/a> and Uzbeks<\/a>. In 1876 it became part of the Russian Empire<\/a>, remaining in the USSR<\/a> as the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic after the Russian Revolution<\/a>. Following Mikhael Gorbachev’s<\/a> democratic reforms in the USSR, in 1990 pro-independence candidate Askar Akayev<\/a> was elected president of the SSR. On 31 August 1991, Kyrgyzstan declared independence from Moscow, and a democratic government was subsequently established. Kyrgyzstan attained sovereignty as a nation-state only after the breakup of the Soviet Union<\/a> in 1991.<\/p>\n Since independence, the sovereign state has officially been a unitary parliamentary republic, although it continues to endure ethnic conflicts, revolts, economic troubles, transitional governments and political conflict. Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States<\/a>, the Eurasian Economic Union<\/a>, the Collective Security Treaty Organization<\/a>, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation<\/a>, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation<\/a>, the Turkic Council<\/a>, the T\u00fcrksoy community<\/a> and the United Nations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ethnic Kyrgyz<\/a> make up the majority of the country’s six million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks<\/a> and Russians. Kyrgyz<\/a> is closely related to other Turkic languages<\/a>, although Russian remains widely spoken and is an official language, a legacy of a century of Russification. Ninety percent of the population are Muslims, with the majority being Sunni<\/a>. In addition to its Turkic origins, Kyrgyz culture bears elements of Persian, Mongolian and Russian influence.<\/p>\n Scythians<\/a> were early settlers in present-day Kyrgyzstan.<\/p>\n The Kyrgyz state reached its greatest expansion after defeating the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 AD. From the 10th century the Kyrgyz migrated as far as the Tian Shan<\/a> range and maintained their dominance over this territory for about 200 years.<\/p>\n In the 12th century the Kyrgyz dominion had shrunk to the Altay Range<\/a> and Sayan Mountains<\/a> as a result of the Mongol expansion. With the rise of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century, the Kyrgyz migrated south. The Kyrgyz peacefully became a part of the Mongol Empire in 1207.<\/p>\n Issyk Kul Lake<\/a> was a stopover on the Silk Road, a land route for traders, merchants and other travelers from the Far East to Europe.<\/p>\n Kyrgyz tribes were overrun in the 17th century by the Mongols, in the mid-18th century by the Manchurian Qing dynasty<\/a>, and in the early 19th century by the Uzbek Khanate of Kokand<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the late nineteenth century, the eastern part of what is today Kyrgyzstan, mainly the Issyk-Kul Region<\/a>, was ceded to the Russian Empire by Qing China through the Treaty of Tarbagatai<\/a>. The territory, then known in Russian as “Kirghizia”, was formally incorporated into the Empire in 1876. The Russian takeover was met with numerous revolts, and many of the Kyrgyz opted to relocate to the Pamir Mountains<\/a> and Afghanistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition, the suppression of the 1916 rebellion<\/a> against Russian rule in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz later to migrate to China.<\/p>\n Since many ethnic groups in the region were (and still are) split between neighboring states at a time when borders were more porous and less regulated, it was common to move back and forth over the mountains, depending on where life was perceived as better; this might mean better rains for pasture or better government during oppression.<\/p>\n Soviet power was initially established in the region in 1919, and the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast<\/a> was created within the Russian SFSR<\/a> (the phrase Kara-Kirghiz was used until the mid-1920s by the Russians to distinguish them from the Kazakhs<\/a>, who were also referred to as Kirghiz). On 5 December 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic<\/a> was established as a constituent Union Republic<\/a> of the Soviet Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the 1920s, Kyrgyzstan developed considerably in cultural, educational and social life. Literacy was greatly improved, and a standard literary language was introduced by imposing Russian on the populace. Economic and social development also was notable. Many aspects of the Kyrgyz national culture were retained despite the suppression of nationalist activity under Joseph Stalin<\/a><\/p>\n The early years of glasnost<\/a> had little effect on the political climate in Kyrgyzstan. However, the Republic’s press was permitted to adopt a more liberal stance and to establish a new publication, Literaturny Kirghizstan, by the Union of Writers. Unofficial political groups were forbidden, but several groups that emerged in 1989 to deal with the acute housing crisis were permitted to function.<\/p>\n According to the last Soviet census in 1989, ethnic Kyrgyz made up only 22% of the residents of the northern city of Frunze (now Bishkek), while more than 60% were Russians, Ukrainians, and people from other Slavic nations. Nearly 10% of the capital’s population were Jewish (a rather unique fact, for almost any place in the Soviet Union, except the Jewish Autonomous Oblast<\/a>).<\/p>\n In June 1990, ethnic tensions between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz surfaced in the Osh Oblast<\/a> (southern Kyrgyzstan), where Uzbeks form a minority of the population. Attempts to appropriate Uzbek collective farms for housing development triggered the Osh Riots<\/a>. A state of emergency and curfew were introduced and Askar Akayev, the youngest of five sons born into a family of collective farm workers (in northern Kyrgyzstan), was elected president in October of that same year.<\/p>\n By then, the Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement (KDM)<\/a> had developed into a significant political force with support in Parliament. On 15 December 1990, the Supreme Soviet voted to change the republic’s name to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The following January, Akayev introduced new government structures and appointed a new cabinet composed mainly of younger, reform-oriented politicians. In February 1991, the name of the capital, Frunze, was changed back to its pre-revolutionary name of Bishkek.<\/p>\n Despite these political moves toward independence, economic realities seemed to work against secession from the Soviet Union. In a referendum on the preservation of the Soviet Union in March 1991, 88.7% of the voters approved the proposal to retain the Soviet Union as a “renewed federation”. Nevertheless, secessionist forces pushed Kyrgyzstan’s independence through in August of that same year.<\/p>\n On 19 August 1991, when the State Emergency Committee<\/a> assumed power in Moscow, there was an attempt to depose Akayev in Kyrgyzstan. After the coup collapsed the following week, Akayev and Vice President German Kuznetsov<\/a> announced their resignations from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)<\/a>, and the entire bureau and secretariat resigned. This was followed by the Supreme Soviet vote declaring independence from the Soviet Union on 31 August 1991 as the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.<\/p>\n In October 1991, Akayev ran unopposed and was elected president of the new independent Republic by direct ballot, receiving 95 percent of the votes cast. Together with the representatives of seven other Republics that same month, he signed the Treaty of the New Economic Community. Finally, on 21 December 1991, Kyrgyzstan joined with the other four Central Asian Republics to formally enter the new Commonwealth of Independent States. Kyrgyzstan gained full independence a few days later on 25 December 1991. The following day, on 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. In 1992, Kyrgyzstan joined the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). On 5 May 1993, the official name changed from the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to the Kyrgyz Republic.<\/p>\n In 2005, a popular uprising known as the “Tulip Revolution<\/a>“, took place after the parliamentary elections in March 2005, forced President Askar Akayev’s resignation on 4 April 2005. Opposition leaders formed a coalition, and a new government was formed under President Kurmanbek Bakiyev<\/a> and Prime Minister Feliks Kulov<\/a>. The nation’s capital was looted during the protests.<\/p>\n Political stability remains elusive as violence and forced changes of government continued to occur through 2010 with allegations of the involvement of both Russian actors and organized crime. Ethnic tensions remain high.<\/p>\n Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. 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 (Kyrgyzstan is occasionally referred to as “the Switzerland of Central Asia”, as a result), with the remainder made up of valleys and basins.<\/p>\n Issyk-Kul Lake<\/a>, or Ysyk-K\u00f6l 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n The lowest point is in Kara-Daryya<\/a> (Karadar’ya)at 132 meters and the highest peaks are in the Kakshaal-Too range, forming the Chinese border. Peak Jengish Chokusu<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Kyrgyzstan has significant deposits of metals including gold and rare-earth metals<\/a>. Due to the country’s predominantly mountainous terrain, less than 8% of the land is cultivated, and this is concentrated in the northern lowlands and the fringes of the Fergana Valley<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bishkek<\/a> in the north is the capital and largest city, with 937,400 inhabitants (as of 2015). The second city is the ancient town of Osh<\/a>, located in the Fergana Valley near the border with Uzbekistan. The principal river is the Kara Darya<\/a>, which flows west through the Fergana Valley into Uzbekistan. Across the border in Uzbekistan it meets another major Kyrgyz river, the Naryn<\/a>.<\/p>\n The confluence forms the Syr Darya<\/a>, which originally flowed into the Aral Sea<\/a>. As of 2010, it no longer reaches the sea, as its water is withdrawn upstream to irrigate cotton fields in Tajikistan<\/a>, Uzbekistan<\/a>, and southern Kazakhstan<\/a>. The Chu River<\/a> also briefly flows through Kyrgyzstan before entering Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n Kyrgyzstan was the ninth poorest country in the former Soviet Union, and is today the second poorest country in Central Asia after Tajikistan. 22.4% of the country’s population lives below the poverty line.<\/p>\n Despite the backing of major Western lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF)<\/a>, the World Bank<\/a> and the Asian Development Bank<\/a>, Kyrgyzstan has had economic difficulties following independence. Initially, these were a result of the breakup of the Soviet trade bloc and resulting loss of markets, which impeded the republic’s transition to a demand economy.<\/p>\n The Kyrgyz economy was severely affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting loss of its vast market. In 1990, some 98% of Kyrgyz exports went to other parts of the Soviet Union. Thus, the nation’s economic performance in the early 1990s was worse than any other former Soviet republic except war-torn Armenia<\/a>, Azerbaijan<\/a> and Tajikistan<\/a>, as factories and state farms collapsed with the disappearance of their traditional markets in the former Soviet Union. While economic performance has improved considerably in the last few years, and particularly since 1998, difficulties remain in securing adequate fiscal revenues and providing an adequate social safety net. Remittances of around 800,000 Kyrgyz migrants working in Russia represent 40% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP.<\/p>\n Agriculture is an important sector of the economy in Kyrgyzstan. By the early 1990s, the private agricultural sector provided between one-third and one-half of some harvests. In 2002, agriculture accounted for 35.6% of GDP and about half of employment. Kyrgyzstan’s terrain is mountainous, which accommodates livestock raising, the largest agricultural activity, so the resulting wool, meat and dairy products are major commodities. Main crops include wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, and fruit. As the prices of imported agrichemicals and petroleum are so high, much farming is being done by hand and by horse, as it was generations ago. Agricultural processing is a key component of the industrial economy as well as one of the most attractive sectors for foreign investment.<\/p>\n Kyrgyzstan is rich in mineral resources but has negligible petroleum and natural gas reserves; it imports petroleum and gas. Among its mineral reserves are substantial deposits of coal, gold, uranium, antimony, and other valuable metals. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment in this field. The government has actively encouraged foreign involvement in extracting and processing gold from the Kumtor Gold Mine<\/a> and other regions. The country’s plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of hydroelectric energy.<\/p>\n The principal exports are nonferrous metals and minerals, woolen goods and other agricultural products, electric energy and certain engineering goods. Imports include petroleum and natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, most machinery, wood and paper products, some foods and some construction materials. Its leading trade partners include Germany, Russia, China, Kazakhstan<\/a>, and Uzbekistan<\/a>. After Beijing launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, China has expanded its economic presence and initiated a number of sizable infrastructure projects in Kyrgyzstan.<\/p>\n Transport in Kyrgyzstan is severely constrained by the country’s alpine topography. Roads have to snake up steep valleys, cross passes of 3,000 m (9,843 ft) altitude and more, and are subject to frequent mud slides and snow avalanches. Winter travel is close to impossible in many of the more remote and high-altitude regions. Additional problems are because many roads and railway lines built during the Soviet period are today intersected by international boundaries, requiring time-consuming border formalities to cross where they are not completely closed. The horse is still a much used transport option, especially in rural and inaccessible areas, as it does not depend on imported fuel.<\/p>\n The Kyrgyz Railway<\/a> is currently responsible for railway development and maintenance in the country. The Chuy Valley<\/a> in the north and the Fergana Valley<\/a> in the south were endpoints of the Soviet Union’s rail system in Central Asia. Following the emergence of independent post-Soviet states, the rail lines which were built without regard for administrative boundaries have been cut by borders, and traffic is therefore severely curtailed. The small bits of rail lines within Kyrgyzstan, about 370 km of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27\u204432 in) broad gauge in total, have little economic value in the absence of the former bulk traffic over long distances to and from such centers as Tashkent<\/a>, Almaty<\/a> and the cities of Russia.<\/p>\n There are vague plans about extending rail lines from Balykchy<\/a> in the north and\/or from Osh<\/a> in the south into the People’s Republic of China<\/a>, but the cost of construction would be enormous.<\/p>\n With support from the Asian Development Bank<\/a>, a major road linking the north and southwest from Bishkek<\/a> to Osh has recently been completed. This considerably eases communication between the two major population centers of the country\u2014the Chuy Valley in the north and the Fergana Valley in the South. An offshoot of this road branches off across a 3,500 meter pass into the Talas Valley<\/a> in the northwest. Plans are now being formulated to build a major road from Osh into the People’s Republic of China.<\/p>\n The total length of the road network in Kyrgyzstan is approximately 34,000 km. Of them, 7,728 are paved in some manner.<\/p>\n The condition of the road network is generally bad, though repairs have been made recently. Usually, only the main roads of population centers are illuminated, and drain lids might be missing on both streets and sidewalks. The roads are often not plowed during winters. Fuel stations are rare outside Bishek and Osh.<\/p>\n At the end of the Soviet period there were about 50 airports and airstrips in Kyrgyzstan, many of them built primarily to serve military purposes in this border region so close to China. Only a few of them remain in service today.<\/p>\n There are four airports with international flights, namely in Bishkek<\/a>, Osh<\/a>, Tamchy<\/a> and Karakol<\/a>.<\/p>\n The flag of Kyrgyzstan consists of a red field charged with a yellow sun that contains a depiction of a tunduk, the opening in the center of the roof of a yurt<\/a> (traditional tent). It is actually a depiction of the first thing one sees when waking up in a yurt, namely the construction of the pinnacle of every Kyrgyz yurt with three crisscrossing laths across the circular opening at the top of the yurt. Adopted in 1992, just over seven months after the country’s independence was declared, to replace the flag of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR)<\/a>, it has been the flag of the Kyrgyz Republic<\/a> since that year. Although the color of the flag is identical to the former Soviet flag, the red is said to be inspired by the pennant lifted by Manas<\/a>, the country’s folk hero.<\/p>\n Under Soviet rule, the Union Republic \u2014 coterminous with modern-day Kyrgyzstan \u2014 utilized a flag derived from the flag of the Soviet Union and representing Communism, that was adopted in 1953. It declared itself independent on August 31, 1991, approximately four months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union<\/a>. Nevertheless, the Soviet-era flag maintained its status as the national flag for seven months after independence was declared. It was finally replaced by the new design on March 3, 1992.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Kyrgyz-Women-300x201.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Antiquity:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/The-First-Turkic-Khaganate-300x175.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Silk-Road-Routes-Through-Kyrgyzstan-300x198.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Russian Colonial Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Monument-dedicated-to-the-memory-of-the-Urkun-massacre-in-Kyrgyzstan-1916-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Soviet Kyrgyzstan:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Republics-of-the-Soviet-Union-300x209.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Bishkek-300x171.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Askar-Akayev.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Independence:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Kurmanbek-Bakiyev-219x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Issyk-Kul-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Kyrgyzstan-Topography-300x179.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Kyrgyzstan-s-Exports-300x234.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Kumtor-Gold-Mine-300x167.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Road-Map-of-Kyrgyzstan-300x152.gif\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Bishkekk-Railway-Station-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Manas-International-Airport-300x100.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Kyrgyzstan:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Flag-of-Kyrgyzstan-300x180.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Flag-of-Kirghiz-SSR-or-Kirghizia-1952\u20131992-300x150.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>