Tokmok ( ky, Токмок, lit=hammer; russian: Токмак, Tokmak) is a city in the

Chüy Valley The Chüy Valley ( ky, Чүй өрөөнү, Chüy Öröönü; kz, Шу аңғары, Şu añğary; russian: Чуйская долина) is a large valley located in northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan, in the northern part of the Tian Sh ...

, northern

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 east. ...

, east of the country's capital of

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

, with a population of 71,443 in 2021. Its elevation is 816 m above sea level. From 2003 to 2006, it was the administrative seat of Chüy Region. Just to the north is the river Chu and the border with Kazakhstan. Tokmok was established as a northern military outpost of 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, Ky ...

c.1830. Thirty years later, it fell to the Russians who demolished the fort. The modern town was founded in 1864 by Major-General

Mikhail Chernyayev Mikhail Grigoryevich Chernyaev (Russian: Михаил Григорьевич Черняев) (3 November / 22 October 1828, Bender, Bessarabia Governorate – 16 August 1898) was a Russian major general, who, together with Konstantin Kaufman an ...

. Tokmok is a district-level city of regional significance within Chüy Region. Although the city is surrounded by the region's

Chüy District Chüy ( ky, Чүй району, Chüy rayonu) is a district of Chüy Region in northern Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its resident population was 54,622 in 2021. The district surrounds the city of Tokmok, but does not include it. The administrat ...

, it is not a part of it. Its total area is .

Medieval heritage

Despite its relatively modern origin, Tokmok stands in the middle of the

, which was a prize sought by many medieval conquerors. The ruins of

Ak-Beshim Suyab ( fa, سوی آب; Middle Chinese: /suʌiH jiᴇp̚/), also known as ''Ordukent'' (modern-day ''Ak-Beshim''), was an ancient Silk Road city located some 50 km east from Bishkek, and 8 km west southwest from Tokmok, in the Chu ...

, the capital of the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after t ...

, are situated 8 km southwest from Tokmok.

Yusuf Has Hajib Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...

Balasaguni, author of the

Kutadgu Bilig The ''Kutadgu Bilig'' or ''Qutadğu Bilig'' (; Middle Turkic: ), is an 11th century work written by Yūsuf Balasaguni for the prince of Kashgar. The text reflects the author's and his society's beliefs, feelings and practices with regard to quit ...

is said to have been born in this area. About 15 km south of Tokmok is the 11th-century

Burana Tower , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Burana tower 2009.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Burana tower as of 2012 , map = , map_type = Kyrgyzstan , map_alt = , m ...

, located on the grounds of an ancient citadel of which today only a large earthen mound remains. This is believed to be the site of the ancient city of

Balasagun Balasagun ( or ''Balasagyn''; ) was an ancient Sogdian city in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, located in the Chüy Valley between Bishkek and the Issyk-Kul lake. Located along the Silk Road, the ruins of the city were inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO Wor ...

, founded by the Sogdians and later for some time the capital of the

Kara-Khanid The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek K ...

empire. A large collection of ancient gravestones and bal-bals is nearby. Excavated

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

artifacts have been moved to museums in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and

Demographics

According to the Population and Housing Census of 2009, the population of Tokmok was 53,231. The largest ethnic groups in Tokmok are

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

(46.8%, 2009 census),

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

(20.5%),

Dungans Dungan, Xiao'erjing: ; zh, s=东干族, t=東干族, p=Dōnggān zú, w=Tung1kan1-tsu2, , Xiao'erjing: ; russian: Дунгане, ''Dungane''; ky, Дуңгандар, ''Duñgandar'', دۇنغاندار; kk, Дүңгендер, ''Düñgende ...

(16.5%) and

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

(8.6%).

Geography

Climate

Tokmok has a hot summer Mediterranean continental climate (

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''). The average annual temperature is 9.5 °C (49.1 °F). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 23.3 °C (73.9 °F) and the coolest month is January with an average temperature of −5.3 °C (22.5 °F). The average annual precipitation is 434.2mm (17") and has an average of 108.3 days with precipitation. The wettest month is April with an average of 70mm (2.8") of precipitation and the driest month is August with an average of 12.1mm (0.5") of precipitation.

Industry

The glass manufacturer Interglass LLC is based in Tokmok. The Tokmok plant produces about 2,800 tons of liquid glass per day and 600 tons of glass is produced of the mass per day. Annual production is 200 000 tons. At present, raw materials for glass production are mainly provided by Russia and Kazakhstan.

Notable residents

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

, Chinese

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

poet *

Dmitry Bivol Dmitry Yuryevich Bivol (russian: Дмитрий Юрьевич Бивол; born 18 December 1990) is a Russian professional boxer who has held the WBA light heavyweight title since 2017. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2013 World Com ...

, Russian professional boxer *

Alexander Kosenkow Alexander Kosenkow (russian: Александр Косенков; born 14 March 1977) is a German sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres. He represents the sports club TV Wattenscheid. Biography Kosenkow was born in Tokmok, Kirghiz SSR, but ...

, Olympic German sprinter * Maiya Maneza, Olympic Kazakh weightlifter *

Jengishbek Nazaraliev Jenishbek Nazaraliev ( ky, Жеңишбек Назаралиев ) is a drug rehabilitation professional and politician in Kyrgyzstan. He ran for the presidency in the presidential election of 2009, but withdrew from the election on election day ...

, drug rehabilitation professional and politician *

Athanasius Schneider Athanasius Schneider, ORC (born Anton Schneider on 7 April 1961) is a Catholic prelate, serving as the Auxiliary Bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. He is known for championing th ...

, Kazakh Roman Catholic bishop *

Elihan Tore Elihan Tore ( Uyghur: ئەلىخان تۆرە; ; 21 March 1884 – 28 February 1976) was the 1st president of the Second East Turkestan Republic. He was born in Tokmok, formerly known as Balasagun, Kyrgyzstan and in 1920 he escaped from the So ...

, president of the First Eastern Turkistan Islamic Republic *

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892
– 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian

, Hungary's exiled Stalinist dictator *

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу� ...

and

Tamerlan Tsarnaev Tamerlan Anzorovich Tsarnaev (; October 21, 1986 – April 19, 2013)russian: link=no, Тамерла́н Анзо́рович Царна́ев ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант Тамерлан ; ky, Тамерлан Анзор уул ...

, perpetrators of the

Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...

Dennis Wolf Dennis Wolf (German language, ger. Dennis Wolf, Russian language, rus. Деннис Вольф, born October 30, 1978) is a German International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB Professional bodybuilding, professional bodybuilder. Early life W ...

, German professional bodybuilder

Medieval heritage

Demographics

Geography

Climate

Industry

Notable residents

See also

References

External links