Archive sections: ‘For the Record’
Chingiz Aitmatov is a famous Kyrgyz author, probably the only native Central Asian author to obtain international renown. His works have been translated into English and other European languages. (It is actually claimed that he has been translated into more than one hundred languages, with a total circulation of 90 million copies). He was very [...]
The Batken oblast includes a number of enclaves belonging to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, created when the borders of the republics were settled by a commission of the Soviet Union in the time of Joseph Stalin. Sometimes it is difficult to see why the border lies where it does – dividing the Ferghana valley as it [...]
As a former schoolteacher, and a teacher of RE (Religious Education) at that, I have taken my fair share of school assemblies. For those readers who are not in the UK, and indeed for many who are in the UK, the idea of the school assembly might need a little explanation. The Education Act of [...]
The wolf has a bad reputation throughout the world. In modern times, this is probably due in part to the prevalence of Werewolf stories and films.
There are several different types of birds of prey found in the Kyrgyz Republic: eagles, vultures, hawks, bustards and so forth. The largest is the Golden Eagle – Berkut. The wings of a young Golden Eagle tend to be light coloured with a dark line along the edge – an older eagle will have a white [...]
Son Kul is a mountain lake in the Central Tian Shan range, virtually in the centre of Kyrgyzstan. One translation of the name is “The Last Lake”.
One of my favourite highlights of Summer, is the appearance of Maksym Shoro. During long hot summer days – especially in the capital, Bishkek – the streets seem to be lined with people sitting behind a large barrel … from which they dispense cups of cool refreshing liquids.
Bishkek is known as the Greenest City on Earth, and it owes this honour, largely, to one man, Alexei Fetisov. Aleksei Fetisov has been described by Daniel Prior as “one of Pishpek’s most brilliant and energetic early enthusiasts”. He is credited with creating the “central greenway” – centered around Prospekt Erkindik – and laying the [...]
Bishkek is renowned for being a “green” city, with more trees per head of population than any other city in Central Asia. It owes this distinction to the Russian Army Engineers who drew up the plans for the city when it became the regional headquarters towards the end of the nineteenth century, and to individuals [...]
About 520 km from Bishkek, 125 km (1.5 hours), from Naryn, 17 km from the end of the paved road (just after the emergency airstrip) 90 km (1.5 hours) short of the border at Torugart, and at an altitude of about 3500m above sea level is the ancient caravanserai of Tash Rabat. According to one [...]
