The History of Kyrgyzstan Through the Eyes of Witnesses.
About this ebook
Readers will follow the dissolution of the Kokand Khanate, the colonisation of Turkestan, and successive waves of migration that brought Dungan, Uyghur, Tatar, Korean, German and other communities into Kyrgyzstan. The book explores the dramatic transformations of the Soviet era — collectivisation, dekulakisation, and the Great Terror — showing how these events shaped entire villages and families.
Special attention is devoted to Interhelpo, the unique cooperative from Czechoslovakia whose members — often called “communist missionaries” — came to build factories and a socialist future in Frunze. The book also examines the suppression of religious life, the closing of mosques and churches, and the quiet resilience of faith that endured despite persecution.
By combining the “grand narrative” of history with vivid, individual life stories, this work reminds us that repression touched all layers of society — intellectuals and party leaders, peasants and herders, believers and members of minority groups — and that its legacy continues to shape Kyrgyzstan’s collective memory and moral consciousness to this day.
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About the author
Petr Kokaisl is a cultural anthropologist and Associate Professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. His research focuses on ethnic minorities, social change, and the history of Central Asia. He has spent many years in Kyrgyzstan conducting fieldwork and collecting life stories. In 2019, he was appointed Honorary Professor at Osh State Pedagogical University.
Amirbek Usmanov is a Kyrgyz historian and Honorary Professor at Osh State University. For decades he has collaborated with Radio Liberty and travelled widely across Kyrgyzstan, gathering oral histories and preserving local memory. His deep network of contacts made possible the unique testimonies presented in this book.
