Postcard from Bishkek

In the post about Izhkak Razzakov, I mentioned that after his death in 1979, his body was buried in the Kuntsevskom Cemetery in Moscow, but that in 2000 his remains were returned to his native Kyrgyzstan and interred in the Ala Archa cemetery in Bishkek.

Somebody wrote me an email saying that they were confused – as the guide books say that Ala Archa was a National Park.  That’s true, but it is also the name of the country’s premier cemetery – the equivalent of the National Cemetery.

One of the problems here is that  there is often some confusion over names.

Several places around the world can often share a common name.  I was born and gre up in Malvern, Worcestershire – but there are several places called Malvern around the world.  One of battles of the American Civil War was the battle of Malvern Hill, and my uncle Terry caused a stir after he moved to America and sent back a photo of the memorial plaque at the battle site.  It even got published in the local newspaper, The Malvern Gazette.

In the United States, there are also settlements called, for example, Paris, London and St. Petersburg … so perhaps it is not surprising that in the Kyrgyz Republic there is, for example, one called Moscow (in Batken), another called Boston (in Djalal Abad) and one called Bagdad (in Batken).  The regional centre of Djalal Abad shares its name with a town in Afghanistan, which has recently been in the news.  There is a city called Osh in France.

Within Kyrgyzstan itself, there are at least four settlements called Kara Suu – two of them located in the Osh oblast, and at least five villages called Aral – two of them only twenty kilometres apart.   In the Talas oblast, as well as the regional centre – Talas – there is another settlement sharing the same name.

For the Record:

The Ala Arch Cemetery if on Abdumomunova street, to the west of Molodaya Gvardia, (the Avenue of the Young Gaurds).

Cemeteries are interesting places, often being peaceful parks as well as places as interest historically and socially.  Bishkek has a number of cemeteries in the outlying districts – this one is relatively near the city center.

Once surrounded by a metal fence, but there is now a newly constructed brick wall which runs around it and can be seen along Jibek Jolu from the junction with Molodaya Gvardia towards the Western Bus Station.  The entrance is tucked away at the south end … through a concrete archway.

On the original arch was written (in Arabic script) “Ishak, Hadji of Kazan” in honour of the philanthropist Daulbaev who contributed to the establishment and upkeep of what was, at that time, the only Muslim cemetry in the town.  (Hadji is an hoourific muslim title for someone who has undertaken a pilgimage to Mecca).

The largest number of graves in the cemetry are of Kyrgyz people, although there are some Jews and Uighurs buried here as well.  Russians are not buried here – they have other cemetries.  Now it is an official cemetry and special permission from the Government or Bishkek city council is needed for someone to be buried here.  The central alley, running North from the entrance is reserved for people who have made a considerable contribution to the republic in political, cultural or other fields.

The area on the right (East) has a few memorial, but most of the graves are unmarked, whereas on the left (West) and in the distance straight ahead (North) there are many memorials.  Some are quite plain wheras others can rightly be described as “monumental”.  Halfway down the central alley is a small, semicircular area overlooked by some of the more recent, notable graves.

The cemetry has some significant graves – including two Prime Ministers of the newly independent Kyrgyzstan, who died whilst in office (Nasirdin Isanov – 1991 – and Jumabek Ibraimov – 2000).

Amongst the other notable personages buried here include:

• Sayakbai Karaliev (the poet and manaschi who is featured on the 500 som note) – under a big stone monument along the northern east-west avenue,
• the ballerina Bibusara (who is featured on the 5 som note),
• the surgeon Achunbaev (whose monument includes a hand holding a heart),
• Okeev, the film producer

… and even a Kyrgy Vice Admiral (he served in the Soviet Navy), oh … and, of course, Izhkak Razzakov.

The central part of the cemetry has only a few trees but some of the outlying areas to the North are somewhat overgrown.

Tags: For_the_Record, Kyrgyzstan, Names, Places