See Also

Bishkek

Bishkek is the capital Capital

In politics [i], a capital is the principal city [i] or town [i] associated with a country's government [i] ... 

 of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan, formerly the Kyrgyz Republic, is a country in Central Asia [i]. ... 

. It has a population of approximately 900,000 . Originally founded in 1878 as the Russian fortress of Pishpek , between 1926 and 1991 it was known as Frunze , after the Bolshevik Bolshevik

Bolsheviks were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Marxist [i] Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party [i] ... 

 military leader Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Frunze

Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze, Party name Arsenij, Trifonych was a Bolshevik [i] leader during and just pri ... 

. In Kyrgyz, a Bishkek is a churn used to make fermented mare's milk , the Kyrgyz national drink. Bishkek, at , is situated at about 800 m altitude just off the northern fringe of the Ala-Too range, an extension of the Tien Shan Tian Shan

The Tian Shan, also commonly spelled Tien Shan, and known as Tangri Tagh in the Uyghur [i] l ... 

 mountain range, which rises up to 4,800 m and provides a spectacular backdrop to the city.

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Bishkek is the capital Capital

In politics [i], a capital is the principal city [i] or town [i] associated with a country's government [i] ... 

 of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan, formerly the Kyrgyz Republic, is a country in Central Asia [i]. ... 

. It has a population of approximately 900,000 . Originally founded in 1878 as the Russian fortress of Pishpek , between 1926 and 1991 it was known as Frunze , after the Bolshevik Bolshevik

Bolsheviks were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Marxist [i] Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party [i]... 

 military leader Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Frunze

Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze, Party name Arsenij, Trifonych was a Bolshevik [i] leader during and just pri ... 

. In Kyrgyz, a Bishkek is a churn used to make fermented mare's milk , the Kyrgyz national drink.

Bishkek, at , is situated at about 800 m altitude just off the northern fringe of the Ala-Too range, an extension of the Tien Shan Tian Shan

The Tian Shan, also commonly spelled Tien Shan, and known as Tangri Tagh in the Uyghur [i] l ... 

 mountain range, which rises up to 4,800 m and provides a spectacular backdrop to the city. North of the city, a fertile and gently undulating steppe extends far north into neighboring Kazakhstan Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, also spelled Kazakstan, , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country th... 

. The Chui river drains most of the area. Bishkek is connected to the Turkestan-Siberia Railway by a spur.

Bishkek is a city of wide boulevards and marble-faced public buildings combined with numerous Soviet Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state [i] ... 

-style apartment blocks surrounding interior courtyards and, especially outside the city center, thousands of smaller, often privately built houses. It is laid out on a grid pattern, with most streets flanked on both sides by narrow irrigation channels that water the innumerable trees which provide shade in the hot summers.

History

Originally a caravan rest stop on one of the branches of the Silk Road Silk Road

The Silk Road or Silk Route was an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia [i] tra ... 

 through the Tien Shan Tian Shan

The Tian Shan, also commonly spelled Tien Shan, and known as Tangri Tagh in the Uyghur [i] l ... 

 range, the location was fortified in 1825 by the Uzbek khan of Kokhand Kokand

Kokand is a city in Fergana Province [i] in eastern Uzbekistan [i], at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley [i] ... 

 with a mud fort. In 1862, the fort was conquered and razed when Tsarist Russia Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was declared a republic in August 1917.
... 

 annexed the area. The site became a Russian garrison and was redeveloped and named Pishpek from 1877 onward by the Russian government, which encouraged the settlement of Russian peasants by giving them fertile black soil farms to develop. In 1926, the city became the capital of the newly established Kyrgyz ASSR and was renamed Frunze after Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Frunze

Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze, Party name Arsenij, Trifonych was a Bolshevik [i] leader during and just pri ... 

, Lenin's Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known to the world as Vladimir Lenin , was the founder of Russian ... 

 close associate who was born in Bishkek and played key roles during 1905 Russian Revolution of 1905

The Russia [i]n Revolution of 1905 [i] was an empire-wide [i] spasm of both anti-governme ... 

 and 1917 revolutions Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a series of political events in Russia [i], which, after the eliminat ... 

 and during the Russian civil war Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was fought from 1917 to 1922.... 

 of the early 1920s.

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union History of the Soviet Union

The History [i] of the Soviet Union [i] begins with the Russian Revolution of 1917 [i].... 

, Kyrgyzstan achieved independence in 1991, and the city was renamed Bishkek. Today, it is a vibrant, rapidly modernizing city, with many restaurants and cafes and lots of second-hand European and Japanese cars and minibuses crowding its streets. During the Soviet era the city was home to a large number of industrial plants, but most have been shut down or operate today on a much reduced scale. Bishkek was also home to a major Soviet military pilot training school; one of its students, Hosni Mubarak Hosni Mubarak

Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak commonly known as Hosni Mubarak has been the President of Egypt [i] ... 

, later became president of Egypt Egypt

[i] country in [[North Africa]... 

.

In 2002, the United States United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., a... 

 obtained the right to use the nearby Manas International Airport as an air base for its military operations in Afghanistan Afghanistan

Afghanistan ; Persian [i]: ?????? ?????? ?????????, Pashto [i]:' ... 

 and Iraq Iraq

The Republic of Iraq, is a Middle East [i]ern country [i] in southwestern Asia [i] encomp ... 

, naming its base Ganci Air Base. Shortly after the Air Force United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerospace [i] branch of the United States armed forces [i] and one o ... 

 had used this name it was found that an AFI dictated that foreign air bases could not bear the name of any heroes from the US. Since then the air base has been officially called Manas Air Base , yet local people and the media still tend to use the name Ganci. Russia Russia

Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country [i] that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia [i] ... 

 subsequently established an air base of its own in nearby Kant.

Current Events

Major Jill Metzger Jill Metzger

Major Jill Metzger is a United States Air Force [i] officer and was deployed for four months, from June ... 

, United States Air Force United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerospace [i] branch of the United States armed forces [i] and one o ... 

 reported missing Sept. 5, 2006 in Bishkek while deployed to Manas Air Base in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan, formerly the Kyrgyz Republic, is a country in Central Asia [i]. ... 

 in Bishkek. Four days later, a telephoned tip led police to discover Jill Metzger walking in a disoriented manner near a police station with her hair cut and dyed. It is unclear if she had been abducted or if she had been held against her will; however, Metzger claimed that she had been kidnapped by 3 men and a woman who held her against her will for the past four days. There are additional reports that someone placed an object on her person with "bomb" written on the object.

A USAF statement was issued after Maj. Metzger was found. The US military statement did not give details of her reappearance, although Metzger's superior, Colonel Scott Reese, praised "the cooperation between the base and local civil and police authorities during the investigation."

Sights


Bishkek is a fairly attractive city, especially in summer when its thousands of trees provide color and shade. Though the city is relatively young, the surrounding area has sites of interests dating from prehistory, the Greco-Buddhist Greco-Buddhism

Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism [i] between Hellenistic culture [i] ... 

 period, the period of Nestorian Nestorianism

Nestorianism is the Christian [i] doctrine [i] that Jesus [i] existed as two persons, the man Jesus and ... 

 influence, the era of the Central Asian khanates, and the Soviet period.

  • The Ala-Too mountain range, 40 km away, provides a spectacular backdrop to the city; in it, the Ala Archa National Park is a site worth visiting
  • State Historical Museum, located in the main city square
  • State Museum of Applied Arts, containing examples of Kyrgyz traditional handicrafts
  • Frunze House Museum
  • Several statues of Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin

    Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known to the world as Vladimir Lenin , was the founder of Russian ... 

     remain, the largest being opposite the parliament building in a leafy park — having been moved there in 2003 from its original more conspicuous location on the main square of the city
  • Statue of Ivan Panfilov Ivan Panfilov

    Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov was a Russian [i] general and Hero of the Soviet Union [i] 1942.

... 

 stands in the park near the White House White House

The White House is the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States of America [i] ... 

.
  • An equestrian statue Equestrian sculpture

    An equestrian sculpture is a statue [i] of a mounted rider. ... 

     of Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Frunze

    Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze, Party name Arsenij, Trifonych was a Bolshevik [i] leader during and just pri ... 

     still stands in a large park across from the train station.
  • The train station itself 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 White House

    The White House is the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States of America [i] ... 

    , is a huge seven-story marble block and the former headquarters of the Communist Party of the Kyrgyz SSR
  • At Ala-Too square, there is an Independence monument where the changing of the guards may be watched.

Sister cities

  • Sister cities Town twinning

    Town twinning or sister cities is a concept whereby town [i]s or cities [i] from geographical ... 

     of Bishkek include Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado

    Colorado Springs is a large city located just east of the geographic center of the U.S. state [i] of Colorado [i] ... 

      and Meriden, Connecticut Meriden, Connecticut

    Meriden is a city in New Haven County [i], Connecticut [i], United States [i] ... 

     .
  • Ankara Ankara

    Ankara is the capital [i] of Turkey [i] and the country's second largest city [i] ... 

    , Turkey Turkey

    Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a Eurasia [i]n country that stretches across the Anatolia [i] ... 



Government

Local government is administered by the Bishkek City/State Administration. City Administartar Zoe Xomsteinyz was appointed to a life term in 1999.

See also

  • Names of Asian cities in different languages

External links