Postcard from Bishkek

We got a pleasant surprise during the week, when it was reported that National Geographic Traveler Magazine had named Issyk Kul as one of the “top ten destinations” in the CIS: “From Peter to Kamchatka“. For the record: “Peter” is the affectionate nickname given by Russians to St. Petersburg – in the same way as […]

The other morning a guest approached the reception desk on his way out of the hotel to go to meeting, and asked for help.  In his hand were two postcards that he had bought and wanted to send home to Europe, but he needed stamps and wanted to know where to post them. I like questions […]

On 2nd March, 1992, Kyrgyzstan joined the United Nations. The UN, of course, is an intergovernmental organization with membership open to all “peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present [UN] Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.”  At the moment there are […]

According to the Doomsday Clock, mankind is just three minutes away from annihilation … fortunately it is not a “real” clock and doesn’t measure “real time”. Actually, there is a clock – or, at least, a clock face – in the University of Chicago, in the offices of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The […]

On Saturday, there was some breaking news that seemed to take everyone by surprise – well, that is, except for those “in the know” … those involved on the story as it unfolded. I wasn’t one of them … so it took me by surprise … in more ways than one.

  On 16th November, 1934, a Union of Artists was created in Frunze … the capital of the Kyrgyz SSR  – one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union.   It was one of a network of Artists’ Unions established across the Soviet Union … each based on a geographical region such as an […]

On my dirst visit to Kyrgyzstan, back in 1994, I was taken up to Lake Issyk Kul where a group of us stayed in one of the large Sanatoria that the Soviets built on the northern shore.  There were five or six of us who planned to stay there for four or five days, but […]

I was once involved in the selection panel for appointing an Executive Director to one of the Voluntary Associations to which we belong. One of the candidates was quite young but had a good CV and was favoured by some of those on the panel. As a result, his name went onto the long list for interview. In […]

On 24th March, 1907, a new institution opened its doors for business for the first time: the Pishpek Mutual Credit Society – Bishkek’s first local bank.  (At the time, Bishkek was called Pishkek.) Things have changed a lot since those days … Actually, There were other financial institutions around, which is understandable as Kyrgyzstan lay on […]

Last year we saw calls from leaders of the Muslim community for the faithful to refrain from participating in the celebrations as they bear no relation to Islam … nor to traditional Kyrgyz culture.  As it happens, the call was more or less ignored and the festivities progressed as usual. As the New Year Celebrations […]