'Kyrgyzstan' (
Kyrgyz: Кыргызстан;
Russian: Киргизия, variously
transliterated, also 'Kirgizia' or 'Kirghizia') (
IPA pronunciation: ), officially the 'Kyrgyz Republic', is a country in
Central Asia.
Landlocked and mountainous, it borders
Kazakhstan to the north,
Uzbekistan to the west,
Tajikistan to the southwest and the
People's Republic of China to the southeast.
History
Main articles: History of Kyrgyzstan
Early history
According to recent historical findings,
Kyrgyz history dates back to 201 BC. The early
Kyrgyz lived in the upper
Yenisey River valley, central
Siberia. The discovery of the
Pazyryk and
Tashtyk cultures show them as a blend of Turkic and Iranian nomadic tribes. Chinese and Muslim sources of the 7th–12th centuries AD describe the Kyrgyz as red-haired with a fair complexion and green or blue eyes.
The descent of the
Kyrgyz from the autochthonous
Siberian population is confirmed on the other hand by recent genetic studies.
[1] Remarkably, 63% of the modern Kyrgyz men share
Haplogroup R1a1 (Y-DNA) with
Tajiks (64%),
Ukrainians (54%),
Poles (56%) and even
Icelanders (25%).
Haplogroup R1a1 (Y-DNA) is believed to be a marker of the
Proto-Indo-European language speakers.
The
Kyrgyz state reached its greatest expansion after defeating the
Uyghur Khanate in 840 A.D. Then
Kyrgyz quickly moved as far as the
Tian Shan range and maintained their dominance over this territory for about 200 years. In the 12th century, however, the
Kyrgyz domination had shrunk to the
Altay Range and the
Sayan Mountains as a result of the rising
Mongol expansion. With the rise of the
Mongol Empire in the 13th century, the
Kyrgyz migrated south.
Russian influence
In the early 19th century, the southern part of what is today Kyrgyzstan came under the control of the
Khanate of Kokand. The territory, then known in Russian as "Kirgizia", was formally incorporated into the
Russian Empire in 1876. The Russian takeover instigated numerous revolts against tsarist authority, and many of the Kyrgyz opted to move to the Pamirs and
Afghanistan. In addition, the suppression of the 1916 rebellion in
Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz to migrate to
China. Since many ethnic groups in the region were (and still are) split between neighbouring 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 after oppression.
Soviet era
Soviet power was initially established in the region in 1919 and the
Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast was created within the
Russian SFSR (the term Kara-Kirghiz was used until the mid-1920s by the Russians to distinguish them from the Kazakhs, who were also referred to as Kirghiz). On
December 5,
1936, the
Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic was established as a full republic of the
Soviet Union.
During the 1920s, Kyrgyzstan developed considerably in cultural, educational, and social life.
Literacy was greatly improved, and a standard literary language was introduced. Economic and social development also was notable. Many aspects of the Kyrgyz national culture were retained despite the suppression of nationalist activity under
Stalin, and, therefore, tensions with the all-Union authorities were constant.
The early years of
glasnost 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.
In June 1990, ethnic tensions between
Uzbeks and Kyrgyz surfaced in the
Osh Oblast, where Uzbeks form a majority of the population. Violent confrontations ensued, and a state of emergency and curfew were introduced. Order was not restored until August 1990.
The early 1990s brought considerable change to Kyrgyzstan. By then, the Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement (KDM) had developed into a significant political force with support in Parliament. In an upset victory,
Askar Akayev, the liberal President of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences, was elected to the Presidency in October 1990. The following January, Akayev introduced new government structures and appointed a new government comprised mainly of younger, reform-oriented politicians.
In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet voted to change the republic's name to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. (In 1993, it became the Kyrgyz Republic.) In February 1991, the name of the capital, Frunze, was changed back to its prerevolutionary name of
Bishkek. Despite these aesthetic 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."
On
August 19,
1991, when the
State Emergency Committee 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 announced their resignations from the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and the entire bureau and secretariat resigned. This was followed by the Supreme Soviet vote declaring independence from the Soviet Union on
August 31,
1991.
Independence
In October 1991, Akayev ran unopposed and was elected president of the new independent Republic by direct ballot, receiving 95% 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
December 21,
1991, Kyrgyzstan joined with the other four Central Asian Republics to formally enter the new
Commonwealth of Independent States. In 1992, Kyrgyzstan joined the
UN and the
CSCE.
The "
Tulip Revolution," after the parliamentary elections in March 2005, forced President Akayev's resignation on
April 4,
2005. Opposition leaders formed a coalition and a new government was formed under President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Prime Minister
Feliks Kulov. The nation's capital was also looted during the protests.
Political stability appears to be elusive, however, as various groups and factions allegedly linked to
organized crime are jockeying for power. Three of the 75 members of Parliament elected in March 2005 were assassinated, and another member was assassinated on
10 May 2006 shortly after winning his murdered brother's seat in a by-election. All four are reputed to have been directly involved in major illegal business ventures.
Current concerns in Kyrgyzstan include: privatization of state-owned enterprises, expansion of democracy and political freedoms, inter-ethnic relations, and terrorism.
Politics
Main articles: Politics of Kyrgyzstan
The 1993 constitution defines the form of government as a democratic republic. The executive branch includes a president and prime minister. The parliament currently is unicameral. The judicial branch comprises a Supreme Court, a Constitutional Court, local courts, and a Chief Prosecutor.
In March 2002, in the southern district of
Aksy, five people protesting the arbitrary arrest of an opposition politician were shot dead by police, sparking nationwide protests. President Akayev initiated a constitutional reform process which initially included the participation of a broad range of government, civil, and social representatives in an open dialogue, leading to a February 2003 referendum marred by voting irregularities. The amendments to the constitution approved by the referendum resulted in stronger control by the president and weakened the parliament and the Constitutional Court. Parliamentary elections for a new, 75-seat unicameral legislature were held on February 27 and March 13, 2005, but were widely viewed as corrupt. The subsequent protests led to a bloodless
coup on March 24, after which Akayev fled the country and was replaced by acting president
Kurmanbek Bakiyev. (see:
Tulip Revolution).
Interim government leaders are developing a new governing structure for the country and working to resolve outstanding constitutional issues. On
July 10,
2005, acting president Bakiyev won the
presidential election in a landslide, with 88.9% of the vote, and was inaugurated on
14 August. However, initial public support for the new administration substantially declined in subsequent months as a result of its apparent inability to solve the corruption problems that have plagued the country since its independence from the Soviet Union, along with the murders of several members of parliament. Largescale protests against president Bakyiev took place in Bishkek in April and November of 2006, with opposition leaders accusing the president of failing to live up to his election promises to reform the country's constitution and transfer many of his presidential powers to parliament.
[1]
Provinces and districts
Main articles: Provinces of Kyrgyzstan,
Raions of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven
provinces (sing. ''
oblast'' (область), pl. ''oblasttar'' (областтар)) administered by appointed governors. The capital,
Bishkek, is administratively an
independent city (''shaar'') with a status equal to a province.
Provinces of Kyrgyzstan
The provinces, and capital city, are as follows:
#
Bishkek
#
Batken (Batken)
#
Chui (Chui-Tokmok)
#
Jalal-Abad (Jalal-Abad)
#
Naryn (Naryn)
#
Osh (Osh)
#
Talas (Talas)
#
Issyk-Kul (Karakol)
Each province comprises a number of districts (''
raions''), administered by government-appointed officials (''akim''). Rural communities (''ayıl ökmötü''), consisting of up to twenty small settlements, have their own elected
mayors and
councils.
Geography
Map of Kyrgyzstan
Ala Archa gorge near Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in
Central Asia, bordering
Kazakhstan,
China,
Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan. 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
[2].), with the remainder made up of valleys and basins. Lake
Issyk-Kul in the north-western 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 24,400 feet (7,439 m), is the highest point and is considered by geologists (though not mountaineers) to be the northernmost 23,000
foot (7,000 m) peak 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.
The climate varies regionally. The south-western
Fergana Valley is
subtropical and extremely hot in summer, with temperatures reaching 40°C (104°F.) The northern foothills are
temperate and the Tian Shan varies from dry
continental to
polar climate, depending on elevation. In the coldest areas temperatures are sub-zero for around 40 days in winter, and even some desert areas experience constant snowfall in this period.
Kyrgyzstan has significant deposits of metals including
gold and
rare earth metals. 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.
Bishkek in the north is the capital and largest city, with approximately 900,000 inhabitants (as of 2005). The second city is the ancient town of
Osh, located in the Fergana Valley near the border with Uzbekistan. The principal river is the
Naryn, flowing west through the Fergana Valley into Uzbekistan, where it meets another of Kyrgyzstan's major rivers, the
Kara Darya, forming the
Syr Darya which eventually flows into the
Aral Sea — although the massive extraction of water for irrigating Uzbekistan's cotton fields now causes the river to dry up long before reaching the Sea. The
Chu River also briefly flows through Kyrgyzstan before entering Kazakhstan.
Enclaves and exclaves
There is one
exclave, the tiny village of Barak, Kyrgyzstan
[3], (population 627) in the
Fergana valley. The village is surrounded by Uzbek territory and located between the towns of
Margilan and Fergana.
There are four Uzbek
enclaves within Kyrgyzstan. Two of them are the towns of
Sokh (area 125 sq. mi/325 km² and a population of 42,800 in 1993, although some estimates go as high as 70,000; 99% are Tajiks, the remainder Uzbeks), and
Shakhrimardan (also known as Shakirmardon or Shah-i-Mardan, area 35 sq. mi/90 km² and a population of 5,100 in 1993; 91% are Uzbeks, the remainder Kyrgyz); the other two are the tiny territories of Chuy-Kara (or Kalacha, roughly 3 km long by 1 km wide or 2
mi by 0.6 mi) and Dzhangail (a dot of land barely 2 or 3 km across). Chuy-Kara is on the Sokh river, between the Uzbek border and the Sokh enclave.
There also are two enclaves belonging to Tajikistan:
Vorukh (exclave area between 95 and 130 km² [37–50 sq. mi], population estimated between 23,000 and 29,000, 95% Tajiks and 5% Kyrgyz, distributed among 17 villages), located 45 kilometres (28 mi) south of
Isfara on the right bank of the
Karafshin river, and a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of
Kairagach.
Economy
Main articles: Economy of Kyrgyzstan
Despite the backing of major Western donors, including the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
World Bank and the
Asian Development Bank, the Kyrgyz Republic has had economic difficulties following independence. Initially, these were a result of the breakup of the Soviet trading bloc and resulting loss of markets, which impeded the Republic's transition to a free market economy. The government has reduced expenditures, ended most price subsidies, and introduced a
value-added tax. Overall, the government appears committed to the transition to a
market economy. Through economic stabilization and reform, the government seeks to establish a pattern of long-term consistent growth. Reforms led to the Kyrgyz Republic's accession to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) on
December 20, 1998.
The Kyrgyz Republic's 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,
Azerbaijan, and
Tajikistan, 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.
Agriculture is an important sector of the economy in the Kyrgyz Republic; see
agriculture 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. The Kyrgyz Republic'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.
The Kyrgyz Republic 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
rare-earth 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. The Kyrgyz Republic's plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of
hydroelectric energy.
On a local level, the economy is primarily kiosk in nature. A large amount of local commerce occurs at bazaars and small village kiosks. Commodities such as gas (petrol) are often sold road-side in gallon jugs. A significant amount of trade is unregulated. There is also a scarcity of common everyday consumer items in remote villages. Thus a large number of homes are quite self-sufficient with respect to food production. There is a distinct differentiation between urban and rural economies.
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, and neighboring
China,
Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan.
Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of Kyrgyzstan
''The World Almanac 2005'' reported that Kyrgyzstan's population is slightly more than five million, estimating it at 5,081,429. Of those, 34.4% are under the age of 15 and 6.2% are over the age of 65. The country is
rural; only about one-third (33.9%) of Kyrgyzstan's population live in urban areas. The average
population density is 69 people per square mile (29 people per km²).
Traditional graves
The nation's largest
ethnic group is the
Kyrgyz, a
Turkic people. The Kyrgyz comprise 69.5% of the population and have historically been semi-
nomadic herders, living in round tents called
yurts and tending
sheep,
horses and
yaks. This nomadic tradition continues to function seasonally (see
transhumance) as herding families return to the high mountain pasture (or ''jailoo'') in the summer. The retention of this nomadic heritage and the freedoms that it assumes continue to have an impact on the political atmosphere in the country. The name Kyrgyz, both for the people and for the nation itself, is said to mean "forty girls", a reference to the
Manas of
folklore unifying forty tribes against the
Mongols.
Other ethnic groups include
ethnic Russians (9.0%) concentrated in the North and
Uzbeks (14.5%) living in the South. Small but noticeable minorities include
Tatars (1.9),
Uyghurs (1.1%),
Kazakhs (0.7%) and
Ukrainians (0.5%). Of the formerly sizable
Volga German community, exiled here by
Stalin from their earlier homes in the
Volga German Republic, most have returned to
Germany, and only a few small groups remain. A small percentage of the population are also
Soviet Koreans, meaning descendents of the former
Korean residents of
Vladivostok, whom
Stalin had exiled to Central Asia (and the
Caucasus) during the
Second World War.
Languages
Kyrgyzstan is one of two of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia to retain
Russian as an
official language (
Kazakhstan is the other). It added the
Kyrgyz language to become an officially bilingual country in September 1991. This sent a clear signal to the ethnic Russians that they were welcome in the new independent state, in an effort to avoid a
brain drain.
Kyrgyz is a member of the
Turkic group of languages and was written in the
Arabic alphabet until the
20th century.
Latin script was introduced and adopted in 1928, and was subsequently replaced by
Cyrillic script in 1941.
Generally, people all over the country understand and speak Russian, except for some remote mountain areas. Russian is the mother tongue of the majority of Bishkek dwellers, and most business and political affairs are carried out in this language. Until recently, Kyrgyz remained a language spoken at home, and was rarely used during meetings or other events. However, most parliamentary meetings today are conducted in Kyrgyz, with simultaneous interpretation available for those not speaking Kyrgyz.
Culture
Main articles: Culture of Kyrgyzstan
Musicians
★ ''
Manas'', an
epic poem
★ ''
Komuz'', a three-stringed lute
★ ''
Tush kyiz'', large, elaborately embroidered wall hangings
★ ''
Shirdak'', flat cushions made in shadow-pairs
[4]
★ other
textiles, especially made from
felt
★
Falconry
Traditions
Illegal, but still practiced, is the tradition of
bride kidnapping.
[5]
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."
See the Human Rights Watch Report "Reconciled to Violence: State Failure to Stop Domestic Abuse and Abduction of Women in Kyrgyzstan" published September 2006, Vol. 18, No.9.
Religion
★ Kyrgyzstan is a secular state. During Soviet times,
state atheism was encouraged.
★ The dominant religion in the country is
Sunni Islam (specifically the
Hanafi school) - about 70% as of 1994.
[6] Islam in Kyrgyzstan is more of a cultural background than a devout daily practice for most. However, Bermet Akayeva, the daughter of
Askar Akayev, the former President of Kyrgyzstan, stated during a July
2007 interview that
Islam is increasingly taking root across the nation.
[2] She emphasized that many
Mosques have been built and that the Kyrgyz are increasingly devoting themselves to
Islam, which she noted was "not a bad thing in itself. It keeps our society more moral, cleaner."
[2]
★ The main
Christian churches are
Russian Orthodox and
Ukrainian Orthodox. A small minority of Germans are Protestant Christians, mostly
Lutherans and
Baptists.
[4]
★
Animistic traditions survive, as do influences from
Buddhism such as the tying of prayer flags onto sacred trees.
★ A small number of
Bukharian Jews lived in Kyrgyzstan, but during the collapse of the
Soviet Union most fled to other countries, mainly the
United States and
Israel.
Flag
The 40-rayed yellow sun in the center of the flag represents 40 warriors of the mythical hero
Manas. The lines inside the sun represents the crown or
tunduk (Kyrgyz түндүк) of a
yurt, a symbol replicated in many facets of Kyrgyz architecture. The red portion of the flag represents peace and openness of Kyrgyzstan.
Education
Educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan include:
★ The
American University of Central Asia
★
KRSU - Kyrgyz Russian Slavonic University
★ KNU - Kyrgyz National University
★
Kyrgyz-Turkish MANAS University
★ Bishkek Humanities University
★ International University of Kyrgyzstan
★
International Ataturk-Alatoo University
★
Osh State University
★ Kyrgyz Uzbek University
★ Osh Technological University
★ Moskov Institute of Law and Enterprise
★ International University of Kyrgyzstan
★ Kyrgyz-Russian State University
Horse riding
The traditional national sports reflect the importance of
horse riding in Kyrgyz culture.
Very popular, as in all of Central Asia, is ''
Ulak Tartysh'', a
team game resembling a cross between
polo and
rugby in which two teams of riders wrestle for possession of the headless carcass of a goat, which they attempt to deliver across the opposition's goal line, or into the opposition's goal: a big tub or a circle marked on the ground.
Other popular games on horseback include:
★ ''Aht Chabysh'' - a long-distance horse race, sometimes over a distance of more than 50 km
★ ''Jumby Atmai'' - a large bar of precious metal (the "jumby") is tied to a pole by a thread and contestants attempt to break the thread by shooting at it, while at a gallop
★ ''Kyz Kuumai'' - a man chases a girl in order to win a kiss from her, while she gallops away; if he is not successful she may beat him with her "kamchi" (horsewhip)
★ ''Oodarysh'' - two contestants wrestle on horseback, each attempting to be the first to throw the other from his horse
★ ''Tyin Enmei'' - picking up a coin from the ground at full gallop
Transport
Main articles: Transport in Kyrgyzstan
Transport in Kyrgyzstan is severely constrained by the country's alpine topography. Roads have to snake up steep valleys, cross passes of 3,000 metre (9,000 feet) 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 due to the fact that 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.
Horses are still a much-used transport option, especially in more rural areas; Kyrgyzstan's road infrastructure is not extensive, so horses are able to reach locations that motor vehicles cannot, and they do not require expensive, imported
fuel.
Airports
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.
★
Manas Airport near
Bishkek is the main international airport, with services to
Moscow,
Tashkent,
Urumqi,
Istanbul,
Baku,
Delhi and
London.
★
Osh Airport is the main air terminal in the South, with daily connections to Bishkek.
★
Jalal-Abad Airport is linked to Bishkek by two flights per week.
★ Other facilities built during the Soviet era are either closed down, used only occasionally or restricted to military use (e.g.,
Kant airbase, now a Russian air base near Bishkek)
Railways
The Chui valley in the north and the Ferghana valley 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 (1,520 mm 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,
Almaty and the cities of Russia.
There are vague plans about extending rail lines from
Balykchy in the north and/or from
Osh in the south into the
People's Republic of China, but the cost of construction would be enormous.
Rail links with adjacent countries
★
Kazakhstan - yes -
Bishkek branch - same gauge
★
Uzbekistan - yes -
Osh branch - same gauge
★
Tajikistan - no - same gauge
★
China - no -
Break of gauge 1524mm/1435mm
Highways
A road in Osh
With support from the
Asian Development Bank, a major road linking the north and southwest from
Bishkek to
Osh has recently been completed. This considerably eases communication between the two major population centers of the country -- the
Chui 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 in the northwest. Plans are now being formulated to build a major road from Osh into the
People's Republic of China.
''total:'' 30,300 km (including 140 km of expressways)
''paved:'' 22,600 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)
''unpaved:'' 7,700 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Pipelines
Natural gas 200 km
Waterways
Water transport exists only on Lake
Issyk Kul, and has drastically shrunk since the end of the Soviet Union.
Ports and harbours
Balykchy (Ysyk-Kol or Rybach'ye), on Lake Issyk Kul.
Miscellaneous topics
★
Central Asian Union
★
Communications in Kyrgyzstan
★
Foreign relations of Kyrgyzstan
★
Kyrgyzstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics
★
Kyrgyz parliamentary elections, 2005
★
Kyrgyz presidential election, 2005
★
List of birds of Kyrgyzstan
★
List of cities in Kyrgyzstan
★
Military of Kyrgyzstan
★
Scouting in Kyrgyzstan
★
Transport in Kyrgyzstan
★
Tulip Revolution
★
Postage stamps and postal history of Kyrgyzstan
★
Manas Air Base
Further reading
★ ''Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan'' by Rafis Abazov
★ ''Kyrgyzstan: Central Asia's Island of Democracy?'' by John Anderson
★ ''Kyrgyzstan: The Growth and Influence of Islam in the Nations of Asia and Central Asia'' by Daniel E. Harmon
★ ''Lonely Planet Guide: Central Asia'' by Paul Clammer, Michael Kohn and Bradley Mayhew
★ ''Odyssey Guide: Kyrgyz Republic'' by Ceri Fairclough, Rowan Stewart and Susie Weldon
★ "Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?" by Ted Rall
★ "Kyrgyzstan: Traditions of Nomads," by V. Kadyrov, Rarity Ltd., Bishkek, 2005
ISBN 9967-424-42-7
Notes
1. The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity
2. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav071707a.shtml
3. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav071707a.shtml
4. Religion in Kyrgyzstan
External links
★
US State Department - Background Note: Kyrgyzstan
★
Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the USA
'Government'
★
Government of Kyrgyzstan official site
★
President of the Kyrgyz Republic
★
Kyrgyzstan Ministry of External Trade and Industry
★
Kyrgyz State Television and Radio
★
Local government Official website (in Russian)
'Overviews'
★
CIA World Factbook - ''Kyrgystan''
★
KyrgyzReport.com ongoing analysis, including an analysis of the clusters of political forces in Kyrgyzstan and the roots of the country’s political problems
★
Open Directory Project - ''Kyrgyzstan'' directory category
'News'
★
BBC News - ''Kyrgystan'' Country Profile
★
Eurasianet - Kyrgyzstan Daily Digest news
'Other links'
★
Common Language Project Country Fact Sheet - Kyrgyzstan
★
PBS documentary on Kyrgyz bride "kidnapping" March 2004
★
Photos of traditional life in Kyrgyzstan
★
Photo gallery and information about Kyrgyzstan - in German
★
Traditional felt making in Kyrgyzstan, journal by Dutch designer Sietze Kalkwijk
★
Kyrgyzstan's location on a 3D globe (Java)
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