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Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz: Кыргызстан, variously
transliterated), formally the Kyrgyz Republic,
and sometimes known as Kirghizia, is a country
in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it
borders China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and
Uzbekistan. Its capital is Bishkek. Once a
republic of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has
been independent since 1991. Remaining
reasonably stable throughout most of the 1990s,
the country's young democracy showed relative
promise under the leadership of former President
Askar Akayev, but moved towards autocracy and
authoritarianism.
Following a somewhat unexpected revolution after
the parliamentary elections in March 2005 and
President Akayev's resignation on April 4, 2005,
opposition leaders formed a coalition and a new
government was formed under President Kurmanbek
Bakiyev and Prime Minister Feliks Kulov.
Political stability appears to be elusive,
however, as various groups and factions
allegedly linked to organized crime are
jockeying for power. Three of the 75 members of
Parliament elected in March 2005 have been
assassinated since then, most recently Tynychbek
Ahmatbayev. All three are reputed to have been
directly involved in illegal business.
Early History
Main article: History of Kyrgyzstan
According to recent findings of Kyrgyz
historians, Kyrgyz history dates back to 201 BC.
The earliest ancestors of the Kyrgyz,peoples of
a Turkic origin, lived in the northeastern part
of what is currently Mongolia. Later their
tribes migrated to the region that is currently
southern Siberia and settled along the Yenisei
River, where they lived from the 6th until the
8th centuries. They spread across what is now
the Tuva region of the Russian Federation,
remaining in that area until the rise of the
Mongol Empire in the 13th century, when the
Kyrgyz began migrating south. In the 12th
century, Islam became the predominant religion
in the region. Most Kyrgyz are Sunni Muslims of
the Hanafi school.
During the 15th-16th centuries, the Kyrgyz
people settled in the territory currently known
as the Kyrgyz Republic. In the early 19th
century, the southern territory of the Kyrgyz
Republic came under the control of the Khanate
of Kokand, but the territory was occupied and
formally annexed by the Russian Empire in 1876.
The Russian takeover instigated numerous revolts
against tsarist authority, and many Kyrgyz opted
to move into the Pamir Mountains or to
Afghanistan. The ruthless suppression of the
1916 rebellion in Central Asia, triggered by the
Russian imposition of the military draft on the
Kyrgyz and other Central Asian peoples, caused
many Kyrgyz to flee to China.
Geography
Map of KyrgyzstanMain article: Geography of
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in Central
Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan. The mountainous region of the
Tian Shan covers the majority of the nation,
with the remainder made up of its valleys and
basins. Issyk-Kul in the north-western Tian Shan
is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second
largest mountain lake in the world after
Titicaca. The highest peaks are in the Kakshaal-Too
range, forming the Chinese border. Pik Pobedy
(Victory Peak), at 24,400 ft (7,439 m), is the
highest point and is considered by geologists
(though not mountaineers) to be the northernmost
7,000 m peak in the world. Heavy snowfall in
winter leads to heavy spring floods which often
cause serious damage downstream. The runoff from
the mountains is also utilized, however, for
substantial generation of hydro-electricity.
The climate varies regionally. The south-western
Fergana Valley is subtropical and extremely hot
in summer, with temperatures reaching 40°C
(104°F.) The northern foothills are temperate
and the Tian Shan varies from dry continental to
polar climate, depending on elevation. In the
coldest areas temperatures are sub-zero for
around 40 days in winter, and even some desert
areas experience constant snowfall in this
period.
Kyrgyzstan has significant deposits of rare
metals including gold and also some coal,
petroleum and natural gas. Less than 8% of the
land is cultivated, and this is concentrated in
the northern lowlands and the fringes of the
Fergana Valley.
Bishkek in the north is the capital and largest
city, with approximately 900,000 inhabitants in
2005. The second city is the ancient town of
Osh, located in the Fergana Valley near the
border with Uzbekistan. The principal river is
the Naryn River, flowing west through the
Fergana Valley into Uzbekistan, where it meets
another of Kyrgyzstan's major rivers, the Kara
Darya and forms the Syr Darya which eventually
flows into the Aral Sea -- although the massive
extraction of water for irrigating Uzbekistan's
cotton fields now causes the river to dry up
long before reaching the Aral Sea. The Chui
river also briefly flows through Kyrgyzstan
before entering Kazakhstan.
Enclaves and exclaves
There is one exclave, the tiny village of Barak
[1], (population 627) in the Fergana valley. The
village is surrounded by Uzbek territory and
located between the towns of Margilan and
Fergana.
There are four Uzbek enclaves within Kyrgyzstan.
Two of them are the towns of Sokh (area 325 km²
and a population of 42,800 in 1993, although
some estimates go as high as 70,000; 99% are
Tajiks, the remainder Uzbeks), and Shakhrimardan
(also known as Shakirmardon or Shah-i-Mardan,
area 90 km² and a population of 5,100 in 1993;
91% are Uzbeks, the remainder Kyrgyz); the other
two are the tiny territories of Chuy-Kara (or
Kalacha, roughly 3 km long by 1 km wide) and
Dzhangail (a dot of land barely 2 or 3 km
across). Chuy-Kara is on the Sokh river, between
the Uzbek border and the Sokh enclave.
There also are two enclaves belonging to
Tajikistan: Vorukh (exclave area between 95 and
130 km², population estimated between 23,000 and
29,000, 95% Tajiks and 5% Kyrgyz, distributed
among 17 villages), located 45 km south of
Isfara on the right bank of the Karafshin river,
and a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway
station of Kairagach.
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