Ancient History: Bishkek

Before I get into China, there’s one more thing I wanted to write about from Bishkek: the history museum. I've written about how Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have radically rewritten their history after gaining independence, and have a whole new set of museums to display that. Uzbekistan has done the same, though not to quite the same extent. All those countries (and Georgia and Armenia, too) have tried to remove pretty much every trace of what Soviet symbols were there, with some exceptions: native son Stalin lives on in Gori, Georgia, and this oddly undersized statue of Lenin remains in Ashgabat.

Kyrgyzstan is another story. Kochkor has kept these ornaments on their light posts:

And old government buildings in Bishkek still have the red stars or hammer and sickle insignia from the old days.

But the most surprising part, to me, was the museum. There were three floors. The first was small and had a variety of gifts from other states to Kyrgyzstan. These included both gifts from former Soviet republics to Kyrgyzstan; the anniversary of it becoming part of the Soviet Union seemed to be the most common occasion for gift-giving.

And, as if nothing had changed, these Soviet-era gifts segued into gifts to independent Kyrgyzstan, like a cheesy eagle statuette given by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, or an equally cheesy crystal chess set given by Vladimir Putin.

The second floor was devoted to Lenin and the October Revolution, in a fashion that showed no evidence of any change since 1991. There were all sorts of clippings from Pravda of important events in the revolution or Lenin’s life, rows of photos of Lenin’s comrades, and at least 20 of these massive bronze relief sculptures:

The third floor was mainly ethnographic things about Kyrgyz people. The highlights of this floor, however, were the murals on the ceiling. I spent a long time looking up at these, trying to figure out what on earth was going on. There were some celebrating Soviet soldiers liberating Nazi concentration camp victims…

…some post-WWII victory celebrations…

… some hippies…

… and some anti-US protests.

I also visited the museum celebrating the life of Mikhail Frunze, the Bishkek-born general who conquered Central Asia for the Soviets. His museum is still totally intact, too, except for a couple of photos of the Tulip Revolution, which was odd.

Anyone with any ideas on why Kyrgyzstan would not bother to get rid of this stuff, let me know. Obviously money is a factor: Kyrgyzstan doesn’t have the oil-and-gas money that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan do. People I asked about this said Kyrgyzstan hasn’t really figured out an identity for itself, and that’s why all this stuff remains. But again, that begs the question of why it doesn’t have an identity.

And one thing I noticed in Kyrgyzstan – no matter how terrible the museum, there are always other people visiting it. In Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan the governments have built these fancy new museums and during my visits to most of them I was the only visitor. Here, the museums are almost invariably Soviet leftovers and incredibly dull, but have a steady stream of Kyrgyz visitors. For me, a foreigner who’s never visited the former Soviet Union, they’re fascinating. But for a local? I can’t fathom what they’re thinking, what possesses them to go to these museums. Again, anyone with any ideas, chime in.

Comments

[W. Shedd]

A few comments.

Locals probably keep visiting this museum because there just isn't a heck of a lot to do in Bishkek.

Regarding Kyrgyz identity or the lack thereof - you should realize that Kyrgyzes are a displaced people living in a poor region of the world. Their central myth or hero of legend is Manas, and you would think that would exhibit itself more throughout the city and country, but it doesnt. My friends in Bishkek have indicated this is due to the Soviet government running things in Kyrgyzstan for so long and manipulating the Manas myths for their own purposes, etc.

[Josh]

Well, there's not much to do in Ashgabat or Nakhcivan, either, but nobody goes to those museums. And the Soviets manipulated everyone's history -- which is why everyone else has changed their museums (in ways often just as manipulative). And there's a bit of Manas stuff, but not much, which surprised me, too. I think the nomad thing has potential -- Kazakhstan and Mongolia seem to be plugging that as an identity.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

[cjhazell]

Those of us westerners who have spent a long time in Kyrgyzstan have always noted the openness and tolerance that the Kyrgyz have shown us. They seem to be very comfortable with us even when we have a different way of doing things. I have spent a lot of time thinking about why Americans who come to Kyrgyzstan with one project or another tend to keep coming back here. My conclusion is that it does have a lot to do with their cultural history, and ties into why they haven't felt it necessary to totally rewrite their past. We should remember that the Kyrgyz weren't just nomads, they were the caravan people who conducted trade along the Silk Road. They were responsible for doing this for centuries. As traders, they were often in contact with and worked with people from different cultures. I believe that this has led to a heritage of tolerance for others that is not found in some of the other Central Asian cultures. The Soviets were just another blip in their history, to be accepted as part of who they are just as Chingiz Khan and the Mongols are.

[Parnell]

I like the layout of your site. Where did you get it. I have a few web sites. I have a history blog www.parnellshistoryblog.blogspot.com