Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the
capital and largest city of
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the
Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of the region but rather a region-level unit of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is situated near the
Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border. Its population was 1,074,075 in 2021.
In 1825, the
Khanate of Kokand
The Khanate of Kokand ( fa, ; ''Khānneshin-e Khoqand'', chg, ''Khoqand Khānligi'') was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyr ...
established the fortress of Pishpek to control local caravan routes and to collect tribute from
Kyrgyz tribes. On 4 September 1860, with the approval of the Kyrgyz, Russian forces led by Colonel Apollon Zimmermann destroyed the fortress. In the present day, the fortress ruins can be found just north of Jibek jolu street, near the new main mosque. In 1868, a Russian settlement was established on the site of the fortress under its original name, Pishpek. It lay within the General Governorship of
Russian Turkestan
Russian Turkestan (russian: Русский Туркестан, Russkiy Turkestan) was the western part of Turkestan within the Russian Empire’s Central Asian territories, and was administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship. It comprised the ...
and its
Semirechye Oblast
The Semirechyenskaya Oblast (russian: Семиреченская область) was an oblast (province) of the Russian Empire. It corresponded approximately to most of present-day southeastern Kazakhstan and northeastern Kyrgyzstan. It was creat ...
.
In 1925, the
Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast
The Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast (russian: Кара-Киргизская автономная область; ky, Кара-Кыргыз өзэркин облусу, translit=Kara-Kyrgyz özérkin oblusu), abbreviated as Kara-Kirghiz AO (russia ...
was established in Russian Turkestan, promoting Pishpek to its capital. In 1926, the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union renamed the city Frunze, after
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
military leader
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-day ...
(1885–1925), who was born there. In 1936, Frunze became the capital of the
Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic
The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR; ky, Кыргыз Советтик Социалисттик Республикасы, Kyrgyz Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikasy, ky, Кыргыз ССР, Kyrgyz SSR, russian: Киргизск ...
, during the final stages of
national delimitation in the Soviet Union
National delimitation in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the process of specifying well-defined national territorial units (Soviet socialist republics SR autonomous Soviet socialist republics SSR autonomous oblasts rovinces raions ...
. In 1991, the
Kyrgyz parliament
The Supreme Council ( ky, Жогорку Кеңеш, Zhogorku Kengesh, ; russian: Верховный Совет, ''Verkhovny Sovet'') is the unicameral Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic. It was known as the Supreme Soviet of the Kirghiz Soviet S ...
changed the capital's name to Bishkek.
Bishkek is situated at an altitude of about , just off the northern fringe of the
Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too ( ky, Кыргыз Ала-Тоосу, Kyrgyz Ala-Toosu, ; kk, Қырғыз Алатауы, Qyrǵyz Alataýy; zh, 吉尔吉斯阿拉套) also known as Kyrgyz Alatau, Kyrgyz Range, and Alexander Range (until 1933) is a large ra ...
, an extension of the
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
mountain range. These mountains rise to a height of . North of the city, a fertile and gently undulating steppe extends far north into neighbouring
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. The river
Chüy drains most of the area. Bishkek is connected to the
Turkestan–Siberia Railway
The Turkestan–Siberian Railway (commonly abbreviated as the ''Turk–Sib'', kk, Түрксіб, translit=Türksib, , ; russian: Турксиб, translit=Turksib) is a broad gauge railway that connects Central Asia with Siberia. It starts nort ...
by a
spur line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industr ...
.
Bishkek is a city of wide boulevards and marble-faced public buildings combined with numerous
Soviet-style apartment blocks surrounding interior courtyards. There are also thousands of smaller, privately built houses, mostly outside the city centre. Streets follow a grid pattern, with most flanked on both sides by narrow irrigation channels, which provide water to trees which provide shade during the hot summers.
Etymology
Bishkek is supposedly named after the paddle used to churn the fermenting milk.
The official website of the Bishkek's city hall provides the following etymological justification for the name of the city: the pregnant wife of a heo) lost a paddle used to churn
kumis. While looking for it, she suddenly gave birth to a boy, who she named Bishkek. Bishkek would grow up to be a noble figure and after his death, was buried on a mound near the banks of the
Alamüdün. There, a tombstone was erected. The building was seen and described by travelers of the 17th and 18th centuries.
History
Based on DNA evidence, the area near Bishkek is considered one of the possible origins of the
Black Death between AD 1346 and 1353.
Kokhand rule
Originally a caravan rest stop, possibly founded by the
Sogdians, on one of the branches of the
Silk Road through the
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
range, the location was fortified in 1825 by the
khan of Kokand with a mud fort. In the last years of Kokhand rule, the Pishpek fortress was led by
Atabek
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...
,
the Datka. In 1844, the forces of
Ormon Khan
Ormon Khan ( ky, Ормон хан; – 1854) was the first and only khan of the , ruling from 1842 until his death in 1854. A member of the powerful tribe, Ormon's reign saw a centralization of the , with the establishment of legal and judicial ...
, the leader of the , briefly captured the fortress.
Tsarist era
In 1860,
Imperial Russia annexed the area, and the military forces of Colonel took and razed the fort. Colonel Zimmermann rebuilt the town over the destroyed fort and appointed field-Poruchik Titov as head of a new Russian garrison. The Imperial Russian government redeveloped the site from 1877 onward, encouraging the settlement of Russian peasants by giving them fertile land to develop.
Soviet era
In 1926, the city became the capital of the newly established
Kirghiz ASSR and was renamed Frunze after
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-day ...
,
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
's close associate who was born in Bishkek and played key roles during the
revolutions of 1905 and
1917
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
and during the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
of the early 1920s.
Independence era
The early 1990s were a tumultuous time for Bishkek. In June 1990, a state of emergency was declared following severe ethnic riots in southern Kyrgyzstan that threatened to spread to the capital. The city was renamed Bishkek on 5 February 1991, and Kyrgyzstan achieved independence later that year during the
breakup of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
. Before independence, the majority of Bishkek's population were ethnic
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
. In 2004, Russians made up approximately 20% of the city's population, and about in 2011.
Bishkek is Kyrgyzstan's financial centre, with all of the country's 21 commercial banks headquartered there. During the Soviet era, the city was home to many industrial plants, but most have been shut down since 1991 or now operate on a much-reduced scale. One of Bishkek's largest employment centres today is the
Dordoy Bazaar
Dordoy Bazaar ( ky, Дордой Базары, Dordoj Bazary, russian: Рынок Дордой; also spelled Dordoi Bazaar in English) is a large wholesale and retail market in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It is one of Asia's greatest public marketplace ...
open market, where many of the Chinese goods imported to
CIS countries are sold.
Geography
Orientation
Although Bishkek itself is relatively young, its surrounding area has some sites of interest dating to prehistoric times. There are also sites from the
Greco-Buddhist
Greco-Buddhism, or Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the fourth century BC and the fifth century AD in Gandhara, in present-day north-western Pakistan and parts of nort ...
period, the period of
Nestorian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...
influence, the era of the Central Asian ''
khanates'', and the Soviet period.
The central part of the city is laid out on a rectangular grid plan. The city's main street is the east-west Chüy Avenue (
Chüy Prospekti
Chüy Prospekti ( ky, Чүй проспекти, russian: Чуйский проспект, Chuysky prospekt), is a major avenue in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It stretches from east border of Bishkek to Deng Xiaoping Prospekti in the west.
History
Chü ...
), named after the region's
main river
Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...
. In the Soviet era, it was called
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
Avenue. Along or near it are many important government buildings and universities. These include the
Academy of Sciences
An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...
compound. The westernmost section of the avenue is known as
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
Avenue.
The main north–south street is
Yusup Abdrakhmanov Street, still commonly referred to by its old name, Sovietskaya Street. Its northern and southern sections are called, respectively, Yelebesov and Baityk Batyr Streets. Several major shopping centres are located along with it, and in the north, it provides access to
Dordoy Bazaar
Dordoy Bazaar ( ky, Дордой Базары, Dordoj Bazary, russian: Рынок Дордой; also spelled Dordoi Bazaar in English) is a large wholesale and retail market in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It is one of Asia's greatest public marketplace ...
.
Erkindik ("Freedom") Boulevard runs from north to south, from the main railroad station (Bishkek II) south of Chüy Avenue to the museum quarter and sculpture park just north of Chüy Avenue, and further north toward the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the past, it was called Dzerzhinsky Boulevard, named after a Communist revolutionary,
Felix Dzerzhinsky, and its northern continuation is still called Dzerzhinsky Street.
An important east–west street is Jibek Jolu ('
Silk Road'). It runs parallel to Chüy Avenue about north of it and is part of the main east–west road of
Chüy Region. Both the eastern and western bus terminals are located along Jibek Jolu.
There is a Roman Catholic church located at ul. Vasiljeva 197 (near Rynok Bayat). It is the only Catholic cathedral in Kyrgyzstan.
A stadium named in honour of
Dolon Omurzakov is located near the centre of Bishkek. This is the largest stadium in the Kyrgyz Republic.
City centre
*
Kyrgyz State Historical Museum
The Kyrgyz State History Museum (russian: Кыргызский государственный исторический музей; ky, Кыргыз Мамлекеттик Тарых музейи) is a museum located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The ...
, located in
Ala-Too Square
Ala-Too Square ( ky, Ала-тоо аянты, ''Ala-Too ayantı'', ; russian: Площадь Ала-Тоо, ''Ploshchad' Ala-Too'', ) is the central square in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
History
The square was built in 1984 to celebrate the 60th anniv ...
, the main city square.
* State Museum of Applied Arts, containing examples of traditional Kyrgyz
handicrafts.
* Frunze House Museum.
* Statue of
Ivan Panfilov
Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov (russian: Иван Васильевич Панфилов; – 18 November 1941) was a Soviet general and a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union, known for his command of the 316th Rifle Division during the defense of Mo ...
in the park near the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
.
* An
equestrian statue
An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...
of
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-day ...
stands in a large park (Boulevard Erkindik) across from the train station.
* The train station was built in 1946 by German prisoners of war and has survived since then without further renovation or repairs; most of those who built it perished and were buried in unmarked pits near the station.
* The main government building, the White House, is a large seven-story marble building and the former headquarters of the Communist Party of the
Kirghiz SSR
The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR; ky, Кыргыз Советтик Социалисттик Республикасы, Kyrgyz Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikasy, ky, Кыргыз ССР, Kyrgyz SSR, russian: Киргизск ...
.
* At Ala-Too Square there is an independence monument where the changing of the guards may be watched.
*
Osh Bazaar
Osh Bazaar ( ky, Ош базары ) is one of the largest bazaars in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It is located on the west side of town, and is not far from the Western Bus Station.
At Osh Bazaar, one can buy food products, almost any common househo ...
, west of the city centre, is a large, picturesque produce market.
*
Kyrgyz National Philharmonic, concert hall.
Outer neighbourhoods
The
Dordoy Bazaar
Dordoy Bazaar ( ky, Дордой Базары, Dordoj Bazary, russian: Рынок Дордой; also spelled Dordoi Bazaar in English) is a large wholesale and retail market in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It is one of Asia's greatest public marketplace ...
, just inside the bypass highway on the north-eastern edge of the city, is a major retail and wholesale market.
Outside the city
The
Kyrgyz Ala-Too mountain range, some away, provides a spectacular backdrop to the city; the
Ala Archa National Park
The Ala-Archa Nature Park ( ky, Ала-Арча кыргыз мамлекеттик жаратылыш паркы, russian: Государственный природный национальный парк Ала-Арча) is an alpine national ...
is only a 30 to 45 minutes drive away.
Distances
Bishkek is about 300 km away directly from the country's second largest city
Osh
Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош, romanised Osh; uz, O‘sh/Ўш) is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country (e ...
. However, its nearest large city is
Almaty of Kazakhstan, which is 190 km to the east. Furthermore, it is 470 km from
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
(Uzbekistan), 680 km from
Dushanbe
Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...
(Tajikistan), and about 1,000 km each from
Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
(Kazakhstan),
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
(China),
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
(Pakistan), and
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
(Afghanistan).
Climate
Bishkek has a Mediterranean-influenced
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dsa''), as the average mean temperature in the winter is below . Average
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
is around per year. Average daily high temperatures range from in January to about during July.
[ The summer months are dominated by dry periods, punctuated by the occasional ]thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
, which produces strong gusty winds and rare dust storm
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...
s. The mountains to the south provide a natural boundary and protection from damaging weather, as does the smaller mountain chain that runs north-west to south-east. In the winter months, sparse snow storms and frequent heavy fog are the dominating features. There are sometimes temperature inversions, during which the fog can last for days at a time.
Demographics
Bishkek is the most populated city in Kyrgyzstan. Its population, estimated in 2021, was 1,074,075.[ From the foundation of the city to the mid-1990s, ethnic Russians and other peoples of European descent (Ukrainians, Germans) comprised the majority of the city's population. According to the 1970 census, the ethnic Kyrgyz were only 12.3%, while Europeans comprised more than 80% of the Frunze population. Now Bishkek is a predominantly Kyrgyz city, with 75% of its residents Kyrgyz, while European peoples make up around 15% of the population.] Despite this fact, Russian is the main language while Kyrgyz continues losing ground, especially among the younger generations.
Ecology and environment
Air quality
Emissions of air pollutants in Bishkek amounted to 14,400 tons in 2010. Among all cities in Kyrgyzstan, the level of air pollution in Bishkek is the highest, occasionally exceeding maximum allowable concentrations by several times, especially in the city centre. For example, concentrations of formaldehyde
Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section ...
occasionally exceed maximum allowable limits by a factor of four.
Responsibility for ambient air quality monitoring in Bishkek lies with the Kyrgyz State Agency of Hydrometeorology. There are seven air-quality monitoring stations in Bishkek, measuring levels of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, formaldehyde, and ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...
.
Economy
Bishkek uses the Kyrgyzstan currency, the som. The som's value fluctuates regularly but averaged around 75 som per U.S. dollar as of July 2020. The economy in Bishkek is primarily agricultural, and agricultural products are sometimes bartered in the outlying regions. The streets of Bishkek are regularly lined with produce vendors in a market-style venue. In most of the downtown area there is a more urban cityscape with banks, stores, markets, and malls. Sought-after goods include hand-crafted artisan pieces, such as statues, carvings, paintings, and many nature-based sculptures.
Housing
As with many cities in post-Soviet states, housing in Bishkek has undergone extensive changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union. While housing was formerly distributed to citizens in the Soviet era, housing in Bishkek has since become privatised.
Though single-family houses are slowly becoming more popular, the majority of the residents live in Soviet-era apartments. Despite the Kyrgyz economy experiencing growth, increases in available housing have been slow with very little new construction. As a result of this growing prosperity and the lack of new formal housing, prices have been rising significantly—doubling from 2001 to 2002.
Those unable to afford the high housing price within Bishkek, notably internal migrants from rural villages and small provincial towns, often have to resort to informal squatter settlements on the city's outskirts. These settlements are estimated to house 400,000 people or about 30 percent of Bishkek's population. While many of the settlements have lacked basic necessities such as electricity and running water, recently, the local government has pushed to provide these services.
Government
Local government is administered by the Bishkek Mayor's Office. Askarbek Salymbekov was mayor until his resignation in August 2005, after which his deputy, Arstanbek Nogoev, took over the mayorship. Nogoev was in turn removed from his position in October 2007 through a decree of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Kurmanbek Saliyevich Bakiyev (, ''Kurmanbek Saliyevich (Sali Uulu) Bakiyev''; born 1 August 1949) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the second President of Kyrgyzstan, from 2005 to 2010. Large opposition protests in April 2010 led to the tak ...
and replaced by businessman and former first deputy prime minister Daniar Usenov. In July 2008 former head of the Kyrgyz Railways Nariman Tuleyev
Nariman Tuleyev () is a Kyrgyz railway developer and politician.
He is the CEO of the Kyrgyz Railway (KTJ) and in 2008 announced that work will commence on the electrification of the line which connects the capital Bishkek with the Kazakhstan ra ...
was appointed mayor, who was dismissed by the interim government after 7 April 2010. From April 2010 to February 2011 Isa Omurkulov, also a former head of the Kyrgyz Railways, was an interim mayor, and from 4 February 2011 to 14 December 2013 he was re-elected the mayor of Bishkek. Kubanychbek Kulmatov was nominated for election by parliamentary group of Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan ( Russian: , ''Sotsial-demokraticheskaya partiya Kyrgyzstana''; Kyrgyz: , ''Kyrgyzstan sotsial-demokratiyalyk Partiyasy'') was a political party in Kyrgyzstan. Members formed the party on 1 October 1993, ...
in city kenesh, and he was elected as a new mayor on 15 January 2014, and stepped down on 9 February 2016.
The next mayor, Albek Sabirbekovich Ibraimov, was also nominated for election by parliamentary group of Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan in city kenesh, and Bishkek City Kenesh elected him on 27 February 2016. The current mayor is Emil Abdykadyrov, who was elected on 24 February 2022.
Administrative divisions
Bishkek city covers and is administered separately and not part of any region. Besides the city proper, one urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
and one village are administered by the city: Chong-Aryk and Orto-Say
Orto-Say ( ky, Орто-Сай) is a village in northern Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 4111 in 2009. The village is administratively subordinated to the Lenin District within the city of Bishkek.
References
Populated places in Bishkek
{ ...
. The city is divided into 4 districts: Birinchi May, Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
, Oktyabr and Sverdlov. Chong-Aryk and Orto-Say are part of Lenin District. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been discussion of replacing the Soviet era district names with ones that reflect Kyrgyz identity and history. Other former Soviet republics have widely replaced Soviet era place names; despite renaming the capital in 1991, Kyrgyzstan is the only nation in Central Asia to retain Soviet era names for districts in its capital.
Sports
Bishkek is home to Spartak, the largest football stadium in Kyrgyzstan and the only one eligible to host international matches. Several Bishkek-based football teams play on this pitch, including six-time Kyrgyzstan League champions, Dordoi Bishkek
Football Club Dordoi Bishkek ('' ky, Дордой Бишкек Футбол Клубу, Dordoj Bişkek Futbol Klubu'') is a Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz professional association football, football club based in Bishkek, that competes in the Kyrgyz Premier ...
. Others include Alga Bishkek, Ilbirs Bishkek, and RUOR-Guardia Bishkek.
Bishkek hosted the 2014 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia – Division I.
Education
Educational institutions in Bishkek include:
* APAP KR
* American University of Central Asia
The American University of Central Asia (AUCA) (russian: Американский университет в Центральной Азии; ky, Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университети), formerly the ''Kyrgyz ...
* Arabaev Kyrgyz State University
* Bishkek Humanities University
* International Atatürk-Alatoo University
* International University of Kyrgyzstan
The International University of Kyrgyzstan ( ky, Кыргызстан эл аралык университети, russian: Международный университет Кыргызстана) is a private international university in Bishkek, ...
* Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University
Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University (Russian: Киргизско-российский славянский университет) is a university which is jointly operated by the Kyrgyz government and the Government of Russia, located in city of ...
* I.K. Akhunbaev Kyrgyz State Medical Academy
The Kyrgyz State Medical Academy (KSMA), known officially as the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy named after I.K. Akhunbaev (: ky, Кыргыз мамлекеттик медицина академиясы) is a medical school in Kyrgyzstan, locat ...
* Kyrgyz State National University
The Kyrgyz National University, named after Jusup Balasagyn ( ky, Жусуп Баласагын атындагы Кыргыз Улуттук Университети; russian: Киргизский национальный университет ...
* Kyrgyz Technical University
The Kyrgyz State Technical University ( ky, Кыргыз мамлекеттик техникалык университети, Kyrgyz mamlekettik tekhnikalyk universiteti; russian: Кыргызский государственный техниче ...
* Kyrgyz-Russian State University
* Kyrgyz-Turkish MANAS University
* Kyrgyz Uzbek University
* Plato University of Management and Design
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
* University of Central Asia
In addition, the following international schools serve the expatriate community in Bishkek:
* European School in Central Asia
* Oxford International School Bishkek
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
* Hope Academy of Bishkek __NOTOC__
Hope Academy of Bishkek (HAB) is an international primary and secondary school in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It was founded in 1998 by a group of expatriate parents and provides an English language education, primarily for children of expatriat ...
* QSI International School of Bishkek QSI may refer to:
* IATA airport code for Moshi Airport
* Quality Schools International
* Quick Step-Innergetic
* Quality Standards Illustrated
* Qatar Sports Investment
* QSI Corporation
Beijer Electronics is a Swedish company that designs and ...
* Silk Road International School
Transportation
Mass public transport
Public transportation includes buses, electric trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es, and public vans (known in Russian as ''marshrutka
''Marshrutka''[Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...](_blank)
, Tokmok
Tokmok ( ky, Токмок, lit=hammer; russian: Токмак, Tokmak) is a city in the Chüy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek, with a population of 71,443 in 2021. Its elevation is 816 m above sea level. Fro ...
, Kemin
Kemin (before 1992: ''Bystrovka'') is a city in northeastern Kyrgyzstan, the administrative headquarters of Kemin District in Chüy Region. Its population was 10,354 in 2021. It is located about 95 km eastward of Bishkek on the left bank of th ...
, Issyk Ata, or the Korday
Korday or Kordoy ( kz, Қордай, translit=Qordai, ; ky, Кордой) is a village in Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan, and the administrative center of that region's Korday District. It has been formerly known under its old Russian name of Geo ...
border crossing.
Long-distance regular bus and minibus services to all parts of the country, as well as to Almaty (the largest city in neighbouring Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
) and Kashgar, China, run mostly from the newer grand Western Bus Station; only a smaller number run from the Eastern Station.
The Dordoy Bazaar on the north-eastern outskirts of the city also contains makeshift terminals for frequent minibusses to suburban towns in all directions (from Sokuluk
Sokuluk ( dng, Сохўлў, Sohwlw; Kyrgyz, russian: Сокулук) is a large village in the Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. Divided over two rural communities, its total population was 30,540 in 2021.
Sokuluk is the administrative center of Sok ...
in the west to Tokmak Tokmak may refer to one of the following:
* Tokmak, Ukraine, a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine
*Tokmak, Uzbekistan, a city in Uzbekistan
*Tokmok, a city in Kyrgyzstan, often also spelt Tokmak
*Molochna
The Molochna (, russian: Моло́чн ...
in the east) and to some buses taking traders to Kazakhstan and Siberia.
Rail
, the Bishkek-2 railway station sees only a few trains a day. It offers a popular three-day train service from Bishkek to Moscow.
There are also long-distance trains that leave for Siberia ( Novosibirsk and Novokuznetsk
Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...
), via Almaty, over the TurkSib route, and to Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
(Sverdlovsk) in the Urals, via Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
. These services are remarkably slow (over 48 hours to Yekaterinburg), due to long stops at the border and the indirect route (the trains first have to go west for more than a before they enter the main TurkSib line and can continue to the east or north). For example, as of the fall of 2008, train No. 305 Bishkek-Yekaterinburg was scheduled to take 11 hours to reach the Shu junction—a distance of some by rail, and less than half of that by road.
Air
The city is served by Manas International Airport
Manas International Airport ( ky, Манас эл аралык аэропорту, Manas El Aralyk Aeroportu ; russian: Международный аэропорт «Манас») is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan, located north- ...
( IATA code FRU), located approximately north-west of the city centre.
In 2002, the United States obtained the right to use Manas International Airport as an air base
An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...
for its military operations in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. Russia subsequently (2003) established an airbase of its own ( Kant Air Base) near Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...
, some east of Bishkek. It is based at a facility that used to be home to a major Soviet military pilot training school; one of its students, Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...
, later became president of Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
Notable people
* Talant Dujshebaev
Talant Mushanbetovich Dujshebaev (russian: Талант Мушанбетович Дуйшебаев; born 2 June 1968) is a former handball player who successively played for 4 national teams: Soviet Union, Unified Team, Russia and Spain final ...
(born 1968), handball coach and former handball player (voted 2nd IHF World Player of the Century)
* Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-day ...
(1885–1925), after whom the city was named from 1926 to 1991
* Nasirdin Isanov (1943–1991), first prime minister of Kyrgyzstan
* Denis Ivanov (born 1983), former Russian professional football player
* Sergei B. Korolev (born 1962), First Deputy Director of the Federal Security Service
* Alexander Mashkevitch (born 1954), Kazakh-Israeli billionaire businessman and investor
* Orzubek Nazarov
Orzubek Nazarov (born August 30, 1966 in Kant, Kyrgyz SSR) is a boxer of Uzbek ethnicity, who won the bronze medal at the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Reno. He is a former WBA Lightweight Champion.
Career
As an amateur Nazarov ...
(born 1966), former WBA lightweight boxing champion
* Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva (born 1950), third president of Kyrgyzstan
* Vladimir Perlin
Vladimir Pavlovich Perlin (russian: Владимир Па́влович Перлин; born 1 March 1942) is a Soviet and Belarusian cellist and pedagogue.
Biography
Vladimir Perlin was born in Frunze to ''Berta Borisovna Fidlon'' and ''Pav ...
(born 1942), cellist
*Denis Petrashov
Denis Petrashov (born February 1, 2000) is a Kyrgyzstani competitive swimmer. He competed in thMen's 200-meter breaststrokeevent at the 2016 Summer Olympics and both the Men's 100-meter (swimming a 1:00.23, setting a Kyrgyzstani national reco ...
(born 2000), swimmer, Youth Games and Maccabiah Games medalist
* Salizhan Sharipov
Salizhan Shakirovich Sharipov (russian: Салижан Шакирович Шарипов, uz, Solijon Shokirovich Sharipov, ) (born 24 August 1964) is a Kyrgyzstani cosmonaut of Uzbek descent. Sharipov is a co-author and investigator for the Adva ...
(born 1964), first cosmonaut of the independent Kyrgyz Republic
* Antonina Shevchenko
Antonina Shevchenko (russian: Антонина Анатольевна Шевченко; born ) is a Kyrgyzstani and Peruvian Muay Thai fighter and mixed martial artist currently competing in the flyweight division of the UFC. She is the older sis ...
(born 1984) kickboxer
* Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina Anatolievna Shevchenko (russian: Валентина Анатольевна Шевченко;
born ) is a Kyrgyz and Peruvian professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. She currently competes in the women's Flyw ...
(born 1988) kickboxer and UFC champion
* Tugelbay Sydykbekov
Tugelbay Sydykbekov (Kyrgyz: Түгөлбай Сыдыкбеков, Tu̇gȯlbaĭ Sydykbekov) (14 May 1912 – 19 July 1997) was a Kyrgyzstani writer, known as the "patriarch of Kyrgyz literature". He was awarded the honor of Hero of the Kyrgyz Re ...
(1912–1997), writer
* Natalya Tsyganova (born 1971), 800m medallist at the World and European championships, representing Russia
Twin towns – sister cities
Bishkek is twinned with:
* Almaty, Kazakhstan (1994)
* Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, Turkey (1992)
* Ashgabat
Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشقآباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...
, Turkmenistan (2018)
* Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, United States (1994)
* Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
, Qatar (2014)
* Gumi, South Korea (1991)
* İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...
, Turkey (1994)
* Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
, Ukraine (1997)
* Lianyungang
Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its name derives f ...
, China (2015)
* Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
, Kazakhstan (2011)
* Qazvin
Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...
, Iran (2003)
* Samsun
Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...
, Turkey
* Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
, China (2016)
* Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
, Uzbekistan
* Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Iran (1994)
* Trabzon
Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...
, Turkey (2014)
* Ufa
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...
, Russia (2017)
* Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
, China (1993)
* Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
, China (2016)
* Yinchuan
Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its buil ...
, China (2000)
See also
* List of monuments of Bishkek
The following is a list of public monuments in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Monuments in Bishkek
See also
* Culture of Kyrgyzstan
* Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism (Kyrgyz Republic)
* Tourism in Kyrgyzstan
References
{ ...
* Outline of Kyrgyzstan
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Kyrgyzstan:
Kyrgyzstan – sovereign country located in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan t ...
References
Bibliography
External links
The Spektator – society, culture, and travel articles on Kyrgyzstan and Bishkek city guide
(archived)
{{Coord, 42, 52, 29, N, 74, 36, 44, E, region:KG_type:city, display=title
1825 establishments in Asia
Capitals in Asia
Cities in Central Asia
Populated places along the Silk Road
Populated places established in 1825
Populated places in Kyrgyzstan
Regions of Kyrgyzstan
Semirechye Oblast