Postcard from Bishkek

OK – perhaps it needs a little explanation, so let me explain … Lewis Carroll’s story about a young girl caught in a strange world inhabited by white rabbits dressed in frock coats and sporting pocket watches, a Cheshire cat that disappears; a Mad hatter, March Hare and sleepy dormouse; a crazy queen and soldiers made from playing cards … was called originally “Alice in Wonderland” but when translated into Russian it became “Alice v ctrana chudess”, or “Alice in the Land of Miracles”.  (In Russian the word chuda translates as miracle or wonder).

India has very successfully described itself as “Incredible India” so, it occurred to me. perhaps Kyrgyzstan could promote itself as “strana chudess” – Wonderland or Land of Miracles.

We have wonderful scenery, the Merzbacher Lakes, Son Kul and Sary Chelek, the petroglyphs of the Central Asian Stonehenge in Saimaluu Tash, the scattered Balbals, (statuesque nomadic grave markers),  the evocative Tash Rabat, Koshoi Korgon, Kan Fortress, the caves of Chil Ustun, the sacred mountain of Suleiman Too in the centre of Osh, Jety Oguz, Manzhily Ata and Skazka valley around Lake Issyk Kul … and so the list goes on, and on.  There is amazing wildlife including Snow Leopards and Marco Polo Sheep, marmots and yaks; not forgetting the walnut forests and tulips, wild rhubarb and seabuckthorn.  Even the humble apple originated in the region of the Tien Shan mountain range.  The music of the komuz and the Chopo Choor and the manaschi chanting passages from the epic Kyrgyz saga could provide haunting soundtrack … the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Bishkek, the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Dungan Mosque in Karakol and the arabesque mosque in Naryn would be picturesque examples of the architectural and religious heritage … and not forgetting the legend that St. Matthew was buried at Svetly Mys on the shores of Lake Issyk Kul … but I think you’ve probably got the idea already

Actually, I can’t take the full credit for the idea. The inspiration came from a tweet I saw on Friday which said: “Strana chudess. Oo nas chudessnaya strana. … “, (“A Conutry of Miracles. We have a wonderful country …”. However, the author had a different idea in mind. He went on to comment on the fact that the local traffic police had been demonstrating against “Chekists”, (“security officers”), and mebers of criminal gangs can hold press conferences.

Both of those did actually happen this week … although, as usual, there is a bit more behind the story than just those headlines.

Those traffic police who took part in the protest, incidentally, are apparently going to be subject to harsh discipline, according to their boss.

 

This week saw Saint Valentine’s Day and there were several calls to the country’s youth not to celebrate the day as it wasn’t a Kyrgyz holiday.  Even the Orthodox Church doesn’t commemorate the day, one pointed out.  Apparently, Valentine’s Day concerts were cancelled in Uzbekistan where they chose instead to celebrate the birthday of Babur, the founder of the Mogul Dynasty that ruled India for centuries, who was born in Andijan and lived for a while in Osh, (where he built a chilla a shelter for a 40-day retreat – on Suleiman Mount in the heart of the city). Needless to say, the youth dutifully ignored the calls and the city center was crowded with couples walking hand in hand and having their photographs taken against backdrops of red and pink hearts.

One of those calls came from a politician known for laying particular stress on national identity, so that was no particular surprise.  What was, perhaps, more surprising was his call for “ethnic origin” to be removed from Kyrgyz passports.  He also went on to suggest removing the address, and marital status as these can cause problems because people have to keep changing their passports if they move, get married or divorced.  He went further, suggesting that the expiry date also be removed so that the documents became “termless”.

He was in the news again with another suggestion: to close the Manas Transit base ahead of schedule.  There have been several calls for this happen in the past, but he seems to have picked up on a potential threat that the government of Iran may target its missiles on the American base and drag us into World War III if the base is allowed to stay.

Incidentally, he’s not alone.  Not only has President Atambaev cited the possibility of the base posing a threat to national security as a target for both Iran and terrorists, but an analyst is now saying that NATO might use Central Asia as a bridgehead in actions against Iran.

The base is trying to make friends with the locals.  It has quite a good history of “outreach” into the local community, but the fact that it flies in most of its supplies has always rankled, somewhat.  Amongst the various measures to try and win over hearts and minds, it organizes visits and joint exercises and has been looking at buying in more local produce.

Another story of the week has been the strike at the Kumtor gold mine, which has finally be settled, but only after costing something like USD380,000 a day in lost production according to Bishkek’s largest newspaper.  It might seem strange that the situation should be allowed to deteriorate to such an extent in a company that accounts for something over half of the country’s industrial production.

At least the gold that they produce seems to find its way on to the market.  At the only other major gold mine working in the country, Makmal, it’s claimed that about 150 kilograms of ore is stolen every year, or so the head of the National Security Agency claims.

Gold isn’t the only mineral in the country.  It is said that you can find every element in the periodic table here in Kyrgyzstan. One of the main minerals in the country is coal.  There is a large mine up in the Naryn oblast on the side of the mountains that circle Son Kul: Kara Keche.  It was taken over by locals after the 2005 revolution but the government eventually set up a state enterprise to run it, ho0wever, for some reason a director hasn’t yet been appointed and it isn’t operating.  This, and the scandal over radioactive coal imported from Kazakhstan is all being taken by the former chief of the mine as evidence that God is punishing the energy sector for ignoring the domestic coal industry.

If Gold is important to the Kyrgyz economy, then Tourism is an important element of the economy of the Issyk Kul oblast.  For two to three months of the year, holiday makers from all over Kyrgyzstan, our neighbours Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan, descend on the beaches surrounding the lake to relax, swim in the azure water and take in the sun.  It might seem a bit odd then, that one of the local MP’s is introducing a bill which would turn the whole area into a wildlife sanctuary – well, 70% of it anyway – which may limit the development of the industry there.  Actually, IMHO, (“in my humble opinion”), it’s a very meritorious measure and in many ways, there’s nothing new in this … the whole of the Issyk Kul basin has already been designated as a Biosphere by UNESCO.  The bill would limit construction within 300 meters of the shore, although there is already a zone which is supposed to free of construction … even if it is not rigidly enforced.

We haven’t heard much recently about another “controversial” policy – the possible accession of Kyrgyzstan into the Customs Union which currently comprises Russia, Kazakhstan and Belorussia.  This week, however, there was a report that the government expects a price rise “explosion” after entry, Russian and Kazakhstan are among Kyrgyzstan’s main trading partners and there distinct potential advantages of entry into the Customs Union, including the unobstructed movement of migrants which will increase the remit of money to Kyrgyzstan. However, food prices in both Kazakhstan and Belorussia increased considerably after the establishment of the Union it seems likely that we might experience a similar phenomenon.  It’s hard to see what the effect of such an “explosion” might be, but I remember the reaction, especially in some of the remote regions, to the price hikes for energy which presaged the Revolution in 2010.  I do hope the government has taken this into account in their deliberations.

It must be a wonder to the government that they can’t sell their stake in the Bank they nationalized after the Revolution, even at a knock down price and the fact that the banks, generally, have been posting record profits.  No-one seems to want a Kyrgyz Bank – that’s not quite true as, apparently, there was one serious contender, but the fourth tender failed when there were no bids received and the auction has been now postponed until September.

The lack of interest in buying the bank didn’t stop one MP from suggesting that the Finance Ministry look into the possibility of making Kyrgyzstan a “financial paradise” as an offshore zone.  Maybe he had in mind the old slogan which hailed Kyrgyzstan as the Switzerland of Central Asia.   I think, however, that there will need to be a lot more trust in the banking sector before such a move stands any chance of being successful, but I will an eye open, just in case, and I will let you know if a factory making watches or cuckoo clocks starts up.

The MP, and former Presidential Candidate, who shocked everyone last week by making comments about the need for the country to be run those of “pure blood” has been subject to a certain amount of scrutiny.  His statements were referred to the National Security Committee so that they could investigate if the comments amounted to incitement of national hatred.  Some people had strated drawing conclusions and pointing out that one official had a Ukranian mother and asking if that meant he was to be disqualified.  Aonther pointed out that the great Kyrgyz icon of the late twentieth century, the writer Chinghiz Aitmatov came from mixed stock.  It was even pointed oput that his own wife is Kazakh so his children are not “pure blooded.  I half expected to see comments about the fact that Kanakei, the wife of the legendary hero Manas, (and hence the mother of Semetei and grandmother of Seitek), probably came from Tajik stock.

On the other hand, the politician  has responded by saying that the words were not meant to cast any aspersions of the nationality of any individuals but were meant to convey an element of “honour” and “goodness”.

Another politician may have been going for a record.  Having just been elected as a district governor, he almost immediately resigned.  There were complaints about “irregularities” in the election but he won overwhelmingly and the parliamentary commission responsible for overseeing them said that was no ground for complaint.

In a country which has difficulty finding teachers and funding education, where there are constant stories about racketeering amongst school pupils, it seems a little strange that the education ministry is talking about providing school students with notebooks.  Although I think it is an excellent aim, I think it will take a long time before the suggestion can be implemented.  In the meantime, however, even first grade students, (age 7), are apparently accessing the internet using their mobile phones.

I wonder what they are looking up – and if they are using social media like twitter.  If so, then it seems that the security services may well be supervising their activities.  An international report of Central Asia monitoring services says that Kyrgyzstan’s users of social media are more sophisticated than those in neighbouring countries.  Another report suggested that Chinese telecommunications equipment is being widely used throughout Central Asia to monitor communications – even though the constitution supposedly guarantees their privacy.  Certainly there is a considerable Chinese presence in the market, most of the major operators have installed Chinese equipment but that could simply be representative of a commercial advantage that these giants can exercise in the market.

 

These are just a few examples taken from the news this week which illustrate what a fascinating wonderland we have here in Kyrgyzstan.

 

 

Postcard from Bishkek: the weekly postcard that I send out as an email also gets posted on the website ianbek.kg each week – and there are other postcards which don’t get sent out.  This week, for example, there were postcards about:

 

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Tags: Kyrgyzstan, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Marketing, Tourism, Weekly_Postcards