Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked, mountainous country in Central Asia, a rugged land dominated by the great Tian Shan range, the celestial mountains. A nation with deep nomadic roots, it preserves a strong tradition of herding, horse culture, and the felt tents known as yurts. Crossed in ancient times by the Silk Road and home to the vast alpine lake of Issyk-Kul, it has, since independence, been the most politically turbulent and arguably the most open of the Central Asian republics.
The Kyrgyz are a Turkic people with ancient roots in the region and a heritage of nomadic herding across the mountains and steppes, and their lands lay along the Silk Road trade routes. Over the centuries the region came under the sway of various Turkic and Mongol powers before being absorbed by the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century and then incorporated into the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan gained independence in 1991, and has since experienced several popular uprisings that have unseated its leaders.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the most mountainous countries in the world, with the ranges of the Tian Shan covering the great majority of its territory, their snow-capped peaks and high valleys giving the country spectacular scenery. Among its jewels is Issyk-Kul, one of the largest and deepest mountain lakes on Earth, which remains unfrozen through the winter despite its altitude. Fast rivers and glaciers feed the lowland valleys where most people live, and give the country significant hydroelectric resources.
The flag of Kyrgyzstan is a red field bearing a yellow sun with forty rays, and at the centre of the sun a stylised red image of the crown of a yurt, the traditional felt tent, seen from the inside looking up. The forty rays are said to represent the forty tribes united by the legendary hero Manas, and the yurt crown symbolises the home, family, and the unity of the nation, tying the flag closely to the country's nomadic heritage.
The majority of Kyrgyz are Sunni Muslims, a faith that arrived along the Silk Road and over the centuries blended with older nomadic traditions of shamanism and the veneration of nature and ancestors, producing a distinctive and relatively relaxed form of belief. Decades of Soviet rule left a secular society, and religious practice, while reviving, is often interwoven with these pre-Islamic customs. There are also minorities of Russian Orthodox Christians and others among the country's varied population.
Kyrgyz cuisine reflects the nomadic, herding way of life, centred on meat and dairy. The national dish is beshbarmak, meaning five fingers, boiled meat, traditionally mutton or horse, served over flat noodles and eaten by hand. Dairy products, including the fermented mare's milk known as kymyz, are central, especially in summer. Manty dumplings, grilled meats, and hearty breads complete a cuisine shaped by life on the high pastures and a culture of generous hospitality.
Agriculture in Kyrgyzstan is shaped by its mountains, with livestock herding the traditional mainstay: sheep, horses, and cattle are grazed on the high summer pastures in a continuation of the nomadic way of life. In the lower valleys, irrigated farming produces cotton, tobacco, wheat, and an abundance of fruits and vegetables. The country's mountains and rivers also give it considerable potential for hydroelectric power, an important resource for its developing economy.
The epic of Manas, an immense oral poem recounting the deeds of a legendary hero who united the Kyrgyz, is a towering monument of the nation's culture and one of the longest epic poems in the world. The Silk Road past and centuries of nomadic life shaped the people. Since gaining independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has stood out in its region for political upheaval, with several revolutions sweeping away governments, reflecting a relatively open and contentious public life.
Kyrgyzstan has a population of around 7 million people, the majority ethnic Kyrgyz, a Turkic people with a strong nomadic heritage, alongside significant Uzbek and Russian minorities. The population is concentrated in the valleys, especially the fertile Fergana Valley in the south, which it shares with its neighbours, and around the capital, Bishkek, in the north. Many Kyrgyz work abroad, particularly in Russia, and the remittances they send home are an important part of the economy.
