THE Spektator №8 February 2010

Your monthly guide to what’s happening in and around Bishkek

Basmachi Rebels without accord

Plus:
Secrets of the
Dead
Roll up for the
Midget Circus
Twenty-four hours in
Bishkek
Soccer scandal
Kyrgyz style

. .
Tourist Map What’s On Restaurant Guide
 Metro Bar

Metro Bar . Prospekt Chui, 133

. spirits . wine . beer . p00l . spirits . wine . beer . p00l . spirits . wine . beer . p00l . spirits . wine . beer .p00l . spirits . wine . beer .
 Focus

ContentsThe Spektator Magazine

Got Kymyz?
Jake Fleming tries and fails to get drunk
on dairy.
14

Secrets of the Dead

One woman’s stirring account of how she
16
uncovered the Chon Tash massacre of the
Editor-in-Chief: Tom Wellings late 1930’s.

Managing Editor: Chris Rickleton

(editor@thespektator.co.uk)
Basmachi: Rebels without Accord
Dr Kirill Nourzhanov, a regional authority
18
on the subject, sheds some light on the
Staff writers: Alex Ward (alexward@ uprising which blighted the early years of
thespektator.co.uk), Robert Marks communism in Central Asia.
(robertmarks@thespektator.co.uk),
Andreas Hedfors, Natalya Wells,
Jake Fleming, Pavel Kropotkin
Anthony Butts (anthonybutts@
thespektator.co.uk) This Month
News and Views
Guest Contributer: Kirill Nourzhanov
Chinese yurts, passports for sheep, border 4
flare-ups and more.
Design: Alena Krivyh
The Tago & Tette saga
Two Kyrgyz football stars flee to Tajikistan, 8
Advertising Manager: Irina Kasymova then come back again.
(email: advertise@thespektator.co.uk)
Out & About
Published in the Kyrgyz Republic The World’s Smallest Circus
The Moscow State Midget Circus came to 10
town, and the Spektator was in the thick of
the action.

Bishkek in Twenty-Four Hours

A crazed caper around the thoroughfares,
12
drinking holes and parks of the Kyrgyz
Republic’s capital.
The Guide
Restaurants, Bars, Clubs
All the best bars and clubs in town.
22
What’s On
The pick of the entertainment listings. 25

www.thespektator.co.uk
City map
Don’t get lost.
26
Want to contribute as a freelance
writer? Please contact:
Weekend
Crosswords, sudoku, and other things
28
editor@thespektator.co.uk to do over a coffee.

ON THE COVER: Emir Alim Khan, the last emir

of Bukhara. Colour photograph taken by Sergei
Prokudin-Gorsky in 1911.

The Spektator Magazine is available at locations throughout Bishkek, including: (Travel Agencies) Adventure Seller, Ak-Sai Travel, Carlson Wagonlit, Celestial Mountains, Eotour, Glavtour,Kyrgyz Concept,
Kyrgyz Travel, Muza, NoviNomad (Bars & Restaurants) Cowboy, Hollywood, Metro, New York Pizza, No1, 2x2, Boulevard, Coffeehouse, Doka, Fatboy’s, Four Seasons, Live Bar, Lounge Bar,
Meri, Navigator, Stary Edgar’s Veranda, Adriatico, Cyclone, Dolce Vita, Santa Maria, Golden Bull (Casinos) Europa, Golden Dragon, XO (Hotels) Dostuk, Hyatt, Golden Dragon, Holiday,

Spektator
Alpinist (Embassies and Organisations) The UN building, The American base, The German Embassy, The Dutch Consulate, CAMP Ala-too, NCCR, The Bishkek Opera & Ballet Society.
THE

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The spektator is now online at www.thespektator.co.uk
 4 This Month
Are Synthetic Chinese yurts undercutting a Kyrgyz tradition?
DAVID TRILLING
(Eurasianet) -Yurts are a quintessential element
in Kyrgyzstan’s national identity. Not only are the
felt tents emblematic of Kyrgyzstan’s nomadic
past, they lend their shape to cemeteries, souve-
nirs and World War II monuments, and help frame
national consciousness.
“Every Kyrgyz family should have a yurt. If
they don’t have one, they’re not Kyrgyz,” says Ji-
nak Kasmalkulov. Jinak, his mother and family
friends make about six yurts a year as part of their
full-time business occupying a rural Soviet-era
general store in the village of Kara-Koo on the
southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul. Kasmalkulov
believes nothing should replace his felt and wood
yurts.
But at the far end of the lake, Anara Bolotova
for the past two years has been importing syn-
thetic cloth and metal yurts manufactured across
the border in China’s western Xinjiang Province.
Above The Chinese yurts can be put up in less than twenty minutes (photo David Trilling)
She sells up to fifteen a year and says business is
good. that only city dwellers or foreigners tend to buy a These days, the enduring test may be in ur-
Red spray-painted characters adorn the tin Chinese yurt. He says the imported yurts will only ban perceptions. For Damira Sakieva who rents
doors of her yurts. They are part of a deluge of in- last two or three seasons, while the traditionally traditional yurts for family events and parties in
expensive imports from China. According to the crafted felt yurts can last generations, if cared for Bishkek, a foreign-made yurt is an anathema.
Kyrgyz Ministry of Economic Regulation, Chinese properly. Ninety-five percent of her dial-a-yurt business is
imports exceeded $728 million in 2008, up from Bolotova admitted that the Chinese yurts funerals. “I don’t think our clients would be hap-
$78 million in 2003, an increase of more than 800 have not faced the trials of time, but she ex- py to hear that our services are held in Chinese
percent. By comparison, Kyrgyz exports to China pressed optimism that they would hold up. yurts. When they call us, they want information
reached only $44 million in 2008. In a grievance “We’ve had one Chinese yurt [...] for nine years about our yurts,” she says. “I don’t think that it
echoing around the world, many Kyrgyz these now. It depends on how you keep it and look after is time yet for Chinese yurts. When a close per-
days complain their country is being overrun it. If you keep it well, it will last long,” she asserts. son dies, family members want to give them a
with cheap and inferior Chinese goods. Even so, “The people we buy it from make it very well, so worthy burial. They want to bury them in a real
many Kyrgyz admit Chinese-manufactured yurts we don’t get embarrassed when we sell it here.” Kyrgyz yurt.”
are easier to assemble, and they are growing in
popularity.
“A Kyrgyz yurt requires very intense care,” Kyrgyzstan in brief
explained Bolotova, speaking in her home in
Toktoyan village. “It requires constant drying and
taking care of the felt to protect it from bugs. The
New pension scheme for Protestors demand more
wooden frame should be stored carefully so it Great Patriotic War veterans protection abroad
doesn’t get warped. Using a Chinese yurt is very
BISHKEK, Jan 28 (Spektator) - Veterans of BISHKEK, Feb 1 (RFE/RL) - About 100 protest-
comfortable for me because I just put it in a dry
the Great Patriotic War will now recieve life- ers gathered in downtown Bishkek on Febru-
place and take it out when I need to put it up. For
time pensions in Kyrgyzstan following a de- ary 1st to demand the government do more
me, it doesn’t really matter where it’s made. I buy
cree signed by President Bakiev in tribute to to protect Kyrgyz migrant workers’ rights in
whatever is more comfortable.”
the 65th anniversary of victory. The veterans neighboring Kazakhstan. The protesters said
“It takes two people 20 minutes to put one
will receive a monthly sum of three thousand that Kazakh city officials, migration officers, and
up. It’s much easier,” she added.
soms from April 1, 2010. Kurmanbek Bakiev has police in the main Kazakh cities treat Kyrgyz la-
The Chinese yurts provide the urban middle
charged the government with raising the funds bor migrants poorly and that they often work in
class with an easy means to stay in touch with cul-
required to pay the allowances. “slave-like” conditions.
tural tradition. “Before, Kyrgyz people used yurts
for funerals. Now, people see that it is nice to use
yurts for weddings, large family reunion parties,
Cameraman assailant gets Kyrgyz sheep get passports
for having guests,” said Bolotova. off with suspended sentence BISHKEK, Feb 2 (AFP) - Kyrgyzstan is prepar-
Traditional yurts are expensive. For an aver-
OSH, Jan 29 (RFE/RL) - A man found guilty of ing to roll out a new system under which the
age model, the felt alone requires the wool of 100
attacking and injuring a television news cam- nations sheep will receive their own high-tech
sheep. Felting the wool and building a wooden
eraman in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh has passport, state television has reported.
frame can take 15 people over two months and
received a suspended sentence of three years. First Deputy Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov
cost over $5,000. Because sedentary families are
Marat Mavlyanov was found guilty of “robbery said that the government has drafted a bill to
unlikely to purchase the costly Kyrgyz yurt simply
and beating” in an attack on Bahadyr Ken- deliver a cutting-edge passport to the nation’s
for special occasions, the cheaper Chinese yurts
jebaev of the Osh-TV news station in March. sheep: “We are ready to make a passport for
have broader appeal, Bolotova reasoned.
Mavlyanov left the courtroom a free man. each sheep making it possible to recognise each
Despite their advantages, Kasmalkulov does
Kenjebaev was hospitalized after the animal’s pedigree through laser scanning,” he
not see the Chinese imports as a threat to his
beating with a severe head injury, including a said. Dzhalalidin Gaybulin, head of the National
family business. “They don’t have a future. People
concussion and numerous bruises and other Center of Quarantine and Infectious Diseases of
will not like them much because they don’t last
injuries. His colleagues say the attack was con- the Ministry of Health, told reporters that the
long. Our yurts are like medicine to people, and
nected to his professional activities. passports would help contain disease.
people value that a lot,” said Kasmalkulov, adding

February 2010 The Spektator www.thespektator.co.uk


Murder of Kyrgyz journalist points to press freedom concerns
BISHKEK, Jan 28 (Eurasianet.org) - Central Asian
states are no strangers to free-speech contro-
versy, but the brutal murder of a journalist from
Kyrgyzstan in neighboring Kazakhstan marks a
new low in the region’s media environment. The
incident is stoking an international outcry and is
pushing press freedom up the agenda during Ka-
zakhstan’s chairmanship of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The circumstances surrounding the death of
Kyrgyzstan-based journalist Gennadiy Pavlyuk
in December remain shrouded in mystery, but
some aspects appear certain - someone with
a grudge who felt a certain sense of impunity
wished him serious harm. Pavlyuk was hurled to
his death with his hands and legs bound from
the sixth floor of an apartment block on a cen-
tral Almaty thoroughfare, Furmanov Street. He
was found unconscious on the overhang of an
entranceway on December 16 and died six days
later. Police found an empty laptop bag in the
apartment, sparking speculation that incriminat-
ing material that could point to the murderer’s
identity was stolen.
Kazakh law-enforcement agencies are lead-
ing the investigation into the killing, working in
collaboration with Kyrgyz police. But cooperation
between the two has been hampered by a public
spat that erupted after Kazakh media reported,
citing anonymous sources, that Kyrgyz intelli-
gence officers were suspected of involvement.
Kazakh investigators have not confirmed the re-
port, but they do suspect Kyrgyz citizens of the
killing.
“We have said previously that the main sus-
pects in the murder have been established. They
are several citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic,” Oleg
Ivashchenko, deputy head of Kazakhstan’s Inte-
rior Ministry press service, told EurasiaNet. Asked
about the investigation’s progress, he said details
could not be made public until it ends.
Bishkek photography exhibition cancelled, culture chief sacked
BISSHKEK, Feb 4 (Eurasianet) - The sudden can-
cellation of an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts
in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, along with the
subsequent sacking of the chief of the Central
Asian nation’s culture agency, is stoking a debate
over freedom of expression.
Kubanychbek Isabekov, a legislator with the
governing Ak Jol Party, told parliament on Febru-
ary 3 that the exhibit by Russian-American pho-
tographer Sergei Melnikoff, entitled “The Land
of the Kyrgyz,” must not be shown in Kyrgyzstan
because Melnikoff, who emigrated to the United
States in the late 1980s, has been critical of hu-
man rights abuses in Russia, a patron state of
Kyrgyzstan’s. “Russia is our major strategic part-
ner. How can we allow such a person to hold his
exhibits here in this country?” local media outlets
quoted Isabekov as saying.
After the parliamentary session, Kyrgyz Presi-
dent Kurmanbek Bakiyev fired the director of the
State Culture Agency, Sultan Raev, for allowing
the exhibition.
www.thespektator.co.uk
Pavlyuk, who wrote under the pseudonym
Ibragim Rustambek, had worked for the Kyrgyz
editions of the Russian newspapers Argumenty i
Fakty and Komsomolskaya Pravda and for the in-
dependent Kyrgyz outlet Beliy Parokhod, later re-
named Beliy Parus. He was also associated with the
opposition Ata Meken party and had announced
plans to launch a media project with it.
His violent death sparked an international out-
cry, with the OSCE and the European Union joining
media freedom organizations, including Reporters
“Pavlyuk was hurled to his
death with his hands and legs
bound from the sixth floor of an
apartment block on a central Al-
maty thoroughfare”
Without Borders and the Committee to Protect
Journalists, in expressing concern.
“Anti-media violence reaches far beyond the
persons attacked; it aims to impose censorship
on the whole of the free press,” the OSCE’s rep-
resentative on press freedom, Miklos Haraszti,
wrote to Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sar-
bayev in late December. “This is why fighting
violent intimidation of the media is crucial for
compliance with OSCE media freedom commit-
ments.”
Haraszti pointed to a week of violence against
journalists in Kyrgyzstan: on the same day Pavly-
uk was murdered, Russian BaltInfo news agency
correspondent Aleksandr Yevgrafov was assault-
ed in Bishkek by two men in police uniform, and
the previous day threatening notes and a bullet
were sent to the offices of the Osh Shamy news-
paper in southern Kyrgyzstan, whose deputy edi-
tor, Kubanychbek Dzholdoshev, was assaulted in
Yuristanbek Shiraev, director of the Kyrgyz
National Museum of Fine Arts, where the ex-
hibit was scheduled to open on February 11, ex-
pressed disappointment over the government’s
action. “I think arts and politics should be abso-
lutely separate,” Shiraev said February 4.
Noting that the exhibit featured a series of
nature photographs, Akmat Alagushev, head of
the Media Commissioner’s Institute, a non-gov-
ernmental organization, condemned the can-
cellation. “If a photo exhibition would be intro-
duced as something negative about Russians or
regarding Russians, that would a different case. I
think it is absolutely wrong that the exhibit was
cancelled and was prohibited. This is censorship.
I think authorities made the wrong decision,” Ala-
gushev said.
But Roza Otunbaeva, head of the opposition
Social Democratic faction in parliament, suggest-
ed Melnikoff’s exhibit was cancelled not because
of his political opinions, but because his work
lacked merit. “Here we are talking about low-
This Month 5
November. Eight journalists were attacked in Kyr-
gyzstan in 2009, Reporters Without Borders said
in December.
There have been thirty-one attacks on
journalists since 2005, Kyrgyz Interior Minister
Moldomusa Kongantiyev told a parliamentary
committee on January 26, adding that President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev has taken personal control
over investigations into such crimes.
Kongantiyev also surprised some observers
by stating that - in the government’s view - only
one of these attacks was linked to the journal-
ist’s work. That was the savage murder of Kyrgyz
journalist Alisher Saipov - editor of the Siyosat
newspaper, which was critical of the Uzbek au-
thorities - who was assassinated in Osh in 2007.
On December 9 the Kyrgyz Supreme Court re-
jected a bid to reopen the investigation into that
case. A man named Abdufarit Rasulov has been
charged with the murder amid suspicions that he
is a scapegoat.
“Authorities clearly have no interest in com-
pleting the investigation and would rather close
this sensitive case as soon as possible, especially
as it would be diplomatically embarrassing if
leads pointing to the Uzbek intelligence services
were pursued,” Reporters Without Borders said
after the court ruling.
The string of attacks on journalists culminat-
ing in Pavlyuk’s murder moved the US Embassy
in Bishkek to publicly express concern in a state-
ment issued December 24. “Journalists and free
media are essential to a democratic and open
society, and should be able to work without fear
or intimidation,” it said.
The EU weighed in with a statement on Janu-
ary 21, condemning “a climate of intimidation
that seriously jeopardizes freedom of expres-
sion” in Kyrgyzstan. It also called on Kazakhstani
authorities to investigate the crime “swiftly and
thoroughly.”
quality art, about scams and simple Photoshop
[techniques]. In his exhibition, “The Land of the
Kyrgyz,” there is only one picture with a Kyrgyz
shepherd and there were so many pictures with
people in Tibet. Probably, he thinks that Tibet and
Kyrgyzstan is the same thing,” she told EurasiaNet.
This is not the first time in 2010 that a
photographer’s work has come under political
fire in Central Asia. On January 13, Uzbek pho-
tographer Umida Akhmedova was charged in
Tashkent with insulting the “traditions of the
Uzbek people” with a series of photographs that
depict daily life in her country. The indictment,
cited by the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ), said that Akhmedova’s “unscientific, un-
sound, and inappropriate” photographs are “di-
rected at discrediting [the] values and traditions
of our people, and hold negative information
that can affect moral and psychological condi-
tions of the youth.”
Akhmedova faces up to eight years in pris-
on, if convicted.
February 2010 The Spektator
 6 This Month
Fence confusion causing bad blood between Kyrgyz & Uzbeks
KAMILA ABDULLAEVA, ILYA LUKASHOV,
DINA TOKBAEVA
NAMANGAN, Jan 21, (IWPR) - Recent spats on
the Kyrgyz frontier with Uzbekistan have high-
lighted the volatility of relations along parts of
this long and winding border.
In two separate incidents, a dispute or misun-
derstanding quickly led to a confrontation involv-
ing local civilians and border guards.
On January 17, Kyrgyz border guards in the
village of Chek, which is divided by the frontier,
challenged a two-man patrol of their Uzbek coun-
terparts, accusing them of being on the wrong
side of the border. According to a statement by
the Kyrgyz border guards’ press office, a group of
Uzbek locals gathered, stones were thrown, more
Uzbek border troops arrived on the scene, and a
Kyrgyz border guard was shot and injured.
The deputy head of Kyrgyzstan’s border
guards service, Colonel Cholponbek Turusbekov
told IWPR that he met his Uzbek counterparts to
discuss the issue on January 18, and that they de-
nied that their men had crossed out of their own
territory.
This meeting followed close on the heels of
another one between Uzbek and Kyrgyz officials
held on January 6 – to sort out another incident
four days earlier, in which two border guards
from Kyrgyzstan were seized by Uzbek villagers
and taken into police custody.
Turusbekov said that while patrolling in the
village of Aktam, two Kyrgyz border guards spot-
ted some livestock that they identified as belong-
ing to people on the other side. Like the village of
Chek, Aktam, in Kyrgyzstan’s jalalabad region, is
divided by a river from its counterpart Oktam, in
the Uzbek region of Andijan.
Under orders to drive such animals back into
Uzbekistan, the soldiers were surrounded by fif-
teen to twenty angry villagers. “Facing a threat to
their lives, the border guards were forced to fire
several warning shots into the air,” said Turusbe-
kov. The Uzbek villagers then disarmed the two
men and took them to a police station, where
they were held until January 6.
Elena Ivanova, the head of Egida Shans, a hu-
man rights group in Kyrgyzstan, visited the area
afterwards and explained to IWPR why this ill-
defined stretch of frontier was the source of so
much aggravation.
Aktam/Oktam used to be one village, but
after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 it
was decided that the river running right though
it would form the border between the two new-
ly-created republics. But as Ivanova pointed out,
this section of the frontier is not marked off or
fenced, so animals often stray across.
She said that in this case, the Uzbek villagers
were incensed because they suspected the Kyr-
gyz soldiers were about to “arrest” their cows.
“Our border guards often take animals fur-
ther inside Kyrgyz territory and then demand
money from their owners or ‘detain’ the animals,”
she said.
The two latest incidents are reminiscent of
another confrontation last year, which blew up
into a diplomatic row. When Uzbek police raided
homes – again in Chek – in April 2009, the foreign
February 2010 The Spektator
Above Animals that unwittingly stray over the border are liable to be ‘arrested’
ministry in Bishkek accused them of singling out
Kyrgyz nationals. The issue caused a storm in Kyr-
gyzstan’s media, which missed the point, made
by the Uzbek authorities, that the police action
took place inside Uzbekistan’s half of the village,
so there was no territorial encroachment. An
Uzbek who gave his first name as Sherzod, from
the city of Namangan, said confrontations over
livestock grazing rights were common in border
areas.
“Aktam/Oktam used to be one
village, but after the break-up of
the Soviet Union in 1991 it was de-
cided that the river running right
though it would form the border
between the two newly-created
republics.”
“The thing is that there’s a large amount of
unused pastureland in Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbeks
have a lot of livestock,” he explained.
In Soviet times, the administrative bounda-
ries between republics did not matter much, and
since then, farmers have found it hard to adjust.
Uzbeks still think they can go into Kyrgyz territory
and graze their animals as they always did. To wa-
ter their livestock, said Sherzod, they continue to
use “streams that have been used in common for
centuries”, wherever they lie.
According to Odiljon, a resident of Andijan
region, things have got worse over the last four
or five years, with Kyrgyz border guards grow-
ing increasingly intolerant of Uzbek-owned live-
stock straying over the border.
“It didn’t use to be like that,” he said. “The
Kyrgyz were OK about Uzbeks who grazed their
animals on their territory.” These days, said
Odiljon, even when Uzbek nationals travel into
Kyrgyzstan via the authorised crossing points,
they are subject to thorough questioning about
where they are going and the purpose of their
trip.
“Animosity is increasing on both sides, and
ordinary people are suffering,” he added.
Colonel Turusbekov acknowledged that
customary land and grazing rights often lay at
the root of frontier tensions. “The situation be-
comes tense during the spring irrigation and
harvest seasons,” he added.
As Turusbekov pointed out, reaching agree-
ment about to share land and water is hard
when it is unclear exactly where the frontier
runs.
The 1,400 kilometres of Uzbek-Kyrgyz fron-
tier loop round and through the Fergana Valley,
and to date 900 kilometres of its route have
been agreed and demarcated. Many of the
problems occur on the unmarked sections.
Thirteen areas remain formally disputed,
and are the subject of negotiations by an inter-
governmental demarcation commission.
However, the commission resumed work
only recently after a five-years break, with a
meeting in Tashkent at the end of December.
Colonel Turusbekov predicts there will be
more friction until the frontier is finally agreed
along all its length.
The frequent tensions, and the ever-present
risk that a local stand-off will escalate into
something more serious, reflect the fraught po-
litical relationship between Kyrgyzstan and Uz-
bekistan at national level.
Kamila Abdullaeva is a pseudonym for a jour-
nalist in Uzbekistan; Ilya Lukashov is a freelance
journalist in Kyrgyzstan and Dina Tokbaeva is
IWPR Kyrgyz editor in Bishkek.
www.IWPR.net
www.thespektator.co.uk

Kyrgyzstan’s migration crisis: Where have all the men gone?
BISHKEK, Feb 3, (independent) - For genera-
tions, life in Temir Kanat has stood still. High in
the Tian Shen mountains, 1,000 once-nomadic
villagers lead the timeless life of the jailoo, the
alpine pastures grazed by prized horse herds and
stalked by tamed hunting eagles. It is an ancient
existence which has withstood a succession of in-
vaders, from the Mongol hordes to the armies of
Soviet Russia.
But where Tamerlaine and the Kremlin’s
imperial commissars failed, there is alarming
evidence that poverty and an enforced re-awak-
ening of the wandering instincts of the Kyrgyz
people – taking an entire generation of young
men out of the countryside to find work abroad
– is imperilling centuries of tradition and culture
as never before.
With rural unemployment at epidemic levels
and the once-booming economies of neighbour-
ing Russia and Kazakhstan sucking in migrant la-
bourers, some 800,000 Kyrgyz, in particular men
aged 18 to 35, have simply left. The community of
Temir Kanat, where 75 per cent of those of working
age have already departed, is bitter testimony to
what happens to those left behind.
At this time of year, in temperatures that
average about minus 15C and regularly reach
minus 40C, the burden of sustaining the village
– a strip of tumbledown houses some 200 miles
east of the capital, Bishkek, and reached by an icy
track that twists through 2,000m mountain pass-
es – falls on its ranks of wizened grandmothers or
babushkas and their meagre pensions of barely
£25 a month.
As a result, Temir Kanat, whose name trans-
lates as Wing of Metal, is a ghost village. So are
thousands of places like it. These are places pop-
ulated almost uniquely by the very old and the
very young, where the certainties of an age-old
existence defined by livestock and the produc-
tion of such staples as kumys, a much-loved drink
made from fermented mare’s milk, appears to be
slowly dying out.
Kaken Kyrgyzova, 74, wrapped in the heavy
layers of colourful felted wool that villagers wear
to keep out the all-pervading cold, said: “My son
has left to work in the city. I look after my three
grandchildren. It is my duty. My son cannot send
money so we survive on my pension of 1,600 som
[£23] each month. It is hard. We eat noodles and
tea because I can no longer tend the crops. Our
fire is heated by animal dung. This is what our
lives have become.” Sat against a backdrop of
intricately patterned traditional felt rugs known
as shyrdak which, along with a pile of corn she
is looking after for a neighbour, represents her
worldly wealth, Kaken co-habits in a single room
with neighbours and struggles to send her two
granddaughters and grandson to school, each
attending on alternate days. Bolsunbek, 13, her
ruddy-cheeked grandson, is clear about what he
wants to do as soon as he is old enough to earn a
living. He said: “I want to join my father as a build-
er. I will leave here.”
The cycle of departure, and debt, is begin-
ning to erode the communal customs that hold
together a culture in one of central Asia’s least-
known countries, where men still hunt with ea-
www.thespektator.co.uk
gles taken as chicks from the nest and trained
to live with a human keeper for the rest of their
40-year lives.
It is a measure of the failure of modernity to
penetrate Kyrgyz society that the national obses-
sion remains traditional horse games, of which Kok
Boru or Grey Wolf is the epitome. Famed for their
horsemanship, all year through the Kyrgyz play this
visceral form of polo in which the “ball” is a decapi-
tated goat, wrestling over possession of the corpse
which must be heaved into a raised earthen plat-
form to score a “goal”.
The departure of so many young men, a trend
critics of Kyrgyzstan’s increasingly autocratic gov-
ernment claim the authorities are happy to accept
because it removes the strata of society most likely
to lead a political rebellion, means there are dimin-
“It used to be that the skills of
shepherding, hunting and riding
were passed on from grandfather
to grandson. What child will now
spend 40 years in the same place
to care for a hunting eagle?”
ishing numbers in the jailoo ready to continue
such traditions. Already, families have to make
up for their absence by paying shepherds to tend
animals, including herds of horses kept as much
for meat as riding, duties that would have been
looked after within the extended clan.
Salamat Omurov, 78, a village elder or akasal
(literally, “white beard”), spent his life as a shep-
herd in the pastures surrounding the village, living
in a traditional yurt or felt tent during the summer.
Mournfully, he said: “It used to be that the skills
of shepherding, hunting and riding were passed
on from grandfather to grandson. What child will
now spend 40 years in the same place to care for a
hunting eagle?”
Kyrgyzstan has been called “the Switzerland
of Central Asia” because of its unspoilt mountain-
ous terrain that shares borders with Kazakhstan,
China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. But beyond a
preponderance of snowy peaks, including the
forbidding Tian Shen mountains that separate
the country from China to the east and loom over
Temir Kanat, the legendary land of the 40 tribes
of the Kyrgyz bears little resemblance to its Euro-
pean alpine counterpart.
The country is ranked in the United Nations’
poverty index below Equatorial Guinea and Guy-
ana. Its per capita GDP of $951 for its population
of 5,200,000 is comparable to Haiti or Chad. But
between 2004 and 2008, about 800,000 Kyrgyz
men, and increasingly women, scratched togeth-
er the $100 to $500 required to make the journey
from Kyrgyzstan’s agricultural hinterland to work
in often wretched conditions on building sites,
tobacco farms and sweatshops from St Peters-
burg to Siberia.
With up to 90 per cent of migrants working il-
legally in their host country, the true figure could
be higher. Although at least 80,000 have returned
because of the downturn, most remain abroad,
This Month 7
either unwilling or unable to return. The exodus of
the most economically active tranche of the popu-
lation means Kyrgyzstan is now probably the third
most remittance-reliant nation, said to be after the
Philippines and Nepal. The annual sum sent home
by the country’s diaspora rose from $481m in 2004
to $1.2bn in 2008, accounting for 27 per cent of
GDP. Put another way, a third of Kyrgyz households
are reliant on money earned outside the country.
Women such as Kaken, who have become the
guardians of fading tradition, see hardly any of this
money. The British charity Help Age International,
set up by Help the Aged and Age Concern, has con-
ducted studies on their problems, amid evidence
that remittances make up less than 5 per cent of
the income of the “ultra-poor” in places much like
Temir Kanat or the nearby town of Bokonbaevo.
Eppu Mikkonen-Jeanneret, the regional repre-
sentative for the charity, said: “There is a perception
that migration works for developing countries be-
cause of the money that is sent home. The problem
in Kyrgyzstan is that it is not reaching those who
need it most. “In the towns and villages, we have
households of the old and the young where a very
modest income often cannot even meet the basic
needs of food, heating and providing education for
the children. Particularly in winter, we see house-
holds going into debt.”
There is much talk of a hardening of atti-
tudes among the haves and have nots of a newly
stratified society where the certainties of the So-
viet era are viewed with yearning. The custom
of koshumcha and raja, whereby each member
of a community pays a contribution between
£2.80 and £7 to each wedding and funeral, has
become a means of social isolation. Those fail-
ing to pay, often the elderly, can end up being
shunned. Batyrkanova Zarylkau, 73, said: “Life in
this community is extremely changed. People
were equal. They looked after each other. Then
all that stopped. Now there are some very poor
and some very rich. Nobody wants to help each
other because if you have something in your
hands, you will be respected by others. If you
have nothing, you will have a lot of troubles. That
is why we send our children away, even if we lose
them. There is nothing here for them. Those who
remain have no jobs. Instead, they sit around and
drink and play cards.”
Attempts to counteract the corrosive effects
of migration are at a fledgling stage. The govern-
ment last month added an extra 200 som (£2.80)
to pensions to help offset a proposed tripling in
electricity prices, and 400 per cent rise in electricity
costs. There are plans to increase tourism to bol-
ster what remains an agrarian economy. But the
elders of Temir Kanat and the surrounding area are
resigned to the ebbs and flows of global capital-
ism and seek merely to survive.
Rosa Konobyava, 70, a Russian Tartar who
cares of her four grandchildren and has not heard
from her two sons in Kazakhstan since they left six
months ago, said: “I love them. I can hug them and
kiss them. They bring only good things. But our
way of life has changed and we are losing things
that were once certain. There is an old Russian
proverb, ‘Old age is not happiness and youth is not
life’. There are many who feel that way.”
February 2010 The Spektator
 8 This Month
The
Tago &
Tette
Saga
This month the Spektator has been plug-
ging the murky depths of the local football
scene to bring you the story of an African
prince and his compatriot’s attempted
escape from Kyrgyz league champions
Dynamo Dordoi to Tajik heavyweights FC
Vakhsh.
I
CHRIS RICKLETON
T WAS A FOOTBALL FIASCO, the tremors
of which are unlikely to disturb even the
lowest ranking FIFA functionary, but the
abortive escape of two Ghanaian soccer
stars from the best team in the nine-strong
national league to the Republic of Tajikistan has
embarrassed football fans all over this small, land-
locked, mountainous country.
Normally migration works in the other direction.
Year on year, hundreds of Tajik nationals pile into
Batken, Kyrgyzstan’s southernmost administra-
tive region, in search of better land and employ-
ment opportunities. They rarely find them but stay
anyway. Relations between the two impoverished
countries are tense, border delimitation talks stall
periodically. So it was no surprise that politicians
on both sides were more than happy to wade in
when this very ugly, very public spat about the
contractual status of Daniel Tago and David Tette
first kicked off at the beginning of the year.
On January 8th, Kyrgyzki Novosti’s evening pro-
gramme featured interviews with several parlia-
ment members and representatives of the Kyrgyz
Football Federation when it emerged that both
Tago and Tette had failed to report for training af-
ter the New Year holiday, and were now training
with Vakhsh, the champions of the Tajik league
instead. These two Ghanaians were the jewels in
the crown of Dynamo Dordoi, a club owned by
the franchise that runs Dordoi Market and Dor-
doi plaza, and a club which has won the last six
Kyrgyz national championships. Tago, the son of
a tribal King and the heir to a chain of supermar-
kets in the West African country, was voted the
best player in Kyrgyzstan in 2009. Tette was the
national league’s top goal scorer the year before.
Both claimed that their contracts had run their
course and that as of December 31st, 2009 they
had become free agents, a claim furiously refuted
by Dynamo Dordoi.
Soon, people with no apparent interest in the
conflict were chipping in with their two-penneth.
“The Dynamo Dordoi leadership are hanging pas-
ta from their ears,” blasted Charles Nakuti, another
Ghanaian who plays in the Tajik league for CSKA
February 2010 The Spektator
Pamir. “I have spoken to my countrymen several
times and they have assured me that no new
contracts were ever signed. They told me that
Dordoi’s representatives have repeatedly tried to
persuade them to come back to Kyrgyzstan. They
told them that Tajikistan was a poor country with
rubbish football.”
In fact, the Kyrgyz game is hardly flush with
cash either. Games are free to attend and foot-
“The Dordoi leadership are
hanging pasta from their ears,”
blasted Charles Nakuti, another
Ghanaian who plays in the Tajik
league.’
ball clubs are generally run as appendages to
bigger corporate entities, vanity projects for
politicians looking to garner votes and business-
men seeking to amass clients. Sometimes both.
Take Abdysh Ata for instance, Kyrgyzstan’s second
placed team and Dynamo Dordoi’s biggest rivals.
The name translates from Kyrgyz as ‘Father Ab-
dysh’, and the figure in control of this club is Ab-
dysh’s son, Sovet Sakebaev, football-mad owner
of the Abdysh Ata company that makes ‘Zhivoi’
beer and a mover and shaker with powerful con-
nections in the Jogorku Kenesh parliament. This
club, which plays its fixtures in Kant, just north
of the capital, only narrowly lost to Dordoi in last
year’s championship playoff final. Then there is
Sher, a sausage manufacturing concern who’s
Bishkek-based club of the same name consti-
tutes the third of Kyrgyzstan’s ‘big three’. The
two Vice-President positions in the skeletal Kyr-
gyz FA are occupied by Sakebaev and Dynamo
Dordoi’s owner Askar Salimbekov, a man who
enjoyed a brief stint as Mayor of Bishkek in 2005.
Opportunities for career development within
the organization are limited in the extreme.
The Tago and Tette saga trickled to a tepid con-
clusion on January 19th, when it was announced
that both players did actually have running con-
tracts with the Kyrgyz club and would return to
Bishkek before the end of the first round of the
CIS cup, a tournament currently taking place in
Moscow. As awkward coincidence would have
it, representatives of both Vakhsh and Dynamo
Dordoi were staying in the same hotel. Both
teams had hoped for Tago and Tette’s services in
the tournament and without them finished bot-
tom of their separate groups with a point each.
Asslydin Khabibulliev, the head coach of the Tajik
champions, expressed his “extreme surprise” at
the behaviour of the Africans in a disingenuous
statement released on the same day. “It was the
mistake of our selection department,” he blus-
tered. “We had invited them for a trial at our club
before the CIS cup with the understanding that
they were free agents. When we found out that
they still had running contracts with Dordoi we
were extremely shocked and decided to send
them back to Kyrgyzstan.”
Blame was lavished on the Ghanaians by both
clubs and the insult trading of the previous ten
days was forgotten as their respective leader-
ships happily posed for photographs in Moscow.
But the affair raises deeper and more pertinent
questions about the state of the beautiful game
in Central Asia. First and foremost, how did the
bloodline of a small African kingdom thousands
of miles away come to play and star for a football
team in Kyrgyzstan? How will this rupture in rela-
tions between the two Ghanaians and their club
affect the balance of power in Kyrgyz football?
And what sort of reception from fans can Tago
and Tette expect when they next turf out for Dy-
namo Dordoi? As ever, the Spektator has its finger
firmly on the pulse.
Top Dordoi striker David Tette (No.15) makes
a nuisance of himself in last year’s watermark
league clash with Abdysh Ata. (Photo Timur
Rayimkulov for kloop.kg)
Bektour Iskender of kloop.kg contributed to
this report.
www.thespektator.co.uk
 10 Out & About
The
World’s
Smallest
Circus
Bishkek was bursting with anticipation
last month as posters popped up all over
the city advertising the visit of the Mos-
cow State Midget Circus. Chris Rickleton
got caught up in the hullabaloo and set
out in search of the ‘glow of little stars’, weekend. “I’m going to stay at home,” “I’m going
only for the quest to end in giant disap- to visit my relatives in the village,” “I’m going to
pointment. prepare for an exam.” The same voices regurgi-
Top Bishkek’s circus, an ominous concrete
fortress in the centre of the city (H. Firouzeh)
Opposite page The Barnum and Baily Circus
was more than a job to these travelling little
people, it was a home (Charles Eisenmann)
Below Brass duets like this have disappeared
in countries that value health & safety above
good old fashioned fun (Archive)
February 2010 The Spektator
I
CHRIS RICKLETON
T WAS A MILD FRIDAY afternoon in Janu-
ary and I was winding down a routine
conversation class at the school where I
teach English. We were using the structure
‘I’m going to’ to describe our plans for the
tated responses identical to those mumbled the
Friday before, one big hulk of a lad had his head
on the table, sleeping. The communal mood was
cosy and lethargic. Finally the chain of monotony
reached a small girl who hadn’t uttered a word up
until that point and she decided to shatter it with
a bullet of a weekend plan. “I’m going to the cir-
cus to see the midgets!” she exclaimed with shrill
excitement. I about-faced and looked the girl
dead in the eye. She had searched for a transla-
tion of the Russian term lilliput in her dictionary.
“Just the midgets?” I asked. “What about the acro-
bats and the jugglers, the knife-throwers and the
lions?” “No,” she beamed, shaking her head, “Its
just midgets. Many, many midgets.”
“Really?” My train of thought derailed and
I packed my bag up, bidding my class goodbye
as I prepared to make a beeline for the circus.
This impish girl’s announcement in my class was
most surley a portent of journalistic destiny. My
own plans for the weekend had been irreversibly
changed.
The Scoop
“Ystroitye menya pazhalusta, vstrech s lilliputami.”
Get me a meeting with the midgets. The woman
at the circus ticket desk regarded the request
with impartial grey eyes. “Tickets cost 300 som for
a cheap seat up to 500 som for the front row.”
“Yes, I know, I’ve seen the notice. I don’t want a
ticket, I want an interview.”
“You’ll have to call administration,” she
answered. “Can’t you just get them for me?” I
pleaded, “I’m sure they’re just the other side of
that brown door behind you.” She stonewalled
and handed me a piece of paper with a mo-
bile number on it. It dialled out. I returned to
the point-of-sale, changing tack. “Look,” I said,
“I edit an English language magazine called the
Spektator. I want to do a story on the circus and
the midgets. We can even advertise any upcom-
ing events in our ‘What’s on’ section,” I manically
shoved a crumpled issue through the porthole in
the glass divider that separated us. “But I need an
interview.” She leafed through the battered mag.
“I’ve never seen it before,” she said. “I’ll see what I
can do.” Then she made a brief phone call, nod-
ding twice before putting the receiver down. “Tak
ne paluchitsa segodnya,” she said. That’s not going
to happen today. My heart sank. “The midgets are
resting. Come back tomorrow after lunch.”
In the sanitized circuses of Western Europe,
Lilliputians, dwarves or midgets, have been per-
manently phased out along with bearded ladies,
lion-taming and trick-performing Siamese twins.
Whilst this may have appeased campaigners for
growth defect charities and a small minority of
squeamish spectators, it certainly hasn’t ben-
efited regional midgetry any. Whereas previously
most travelling circuses employed a minimum of
four dwarves who would rotate between behind-
the-scenes and performance roles, now little
folks on the wrong side of the old ‘iron curtain’
have only limited opportunities to make it big.
The steady decline of theatre troupes, previously
reliable employers, and the monopoly on mini-
ature roles in Hollywood mean that routes to the
golden gates and slippery slopes of show busi-
ness are off limits for most midgets. Despite the
fact that so many of the roughly 170,000 little
persons who roam the planet are good natured
and of above-average mental capacity, their bid
for the limelight is hampered by perennial asso-
ciations with debaucherous cocktail parties, 19th
century opium dens and perhaps chiefly, those
dark, taboo-ridden circuses of old.
The Non-Shoot
Thankfully, there still remains such an institu-
tion in Bishkek, and its situation in the capital of
a Former Soviet Republic ensures that the path
to its door is still regularly beaten by the beasts,
gymnasts and oddities that make up the greatest
travelling circus in the world: the Moscow State
Circus. Except this time, true to the words of my
student, it was a little people only affair.
“Ruslan, I’m at the circus. I’m going to get
tickets for the lilliputi, do you want to come?”
www.thespektator.co.uk

“No,” replied my contact, a second year student
at AUCA. “I don’t like midgets, I prefer tigers.”
Surprised by his ambivalence and baffled by the
comparison I continued to scroll down the direc-
tory of my phone book, trying to get enough
people together to use as barter in my quest for
an interview.
“What sort of dwarves?” asked someone else.
“What sort of a question is that?” I responded in-
credulous. “Well I was going to see Avatar with
my girlfriend on Sunday.” “Tell her to come to
the circus instead!” Eventually I found five peo-
ple willing to pay the 500 som entrance charge
for a front row seat, and the circus administration
agreed cagily to a supervised interview.
“You’ve got ten minutes.” Ten minutes was cut
to five as our photographer came late, swarthy
and full of Bishkek cognac. “Leave the guy with
the long hair outside,” the manager said on his
arrival. “What?” “No photos.” The manager then
proceeded to explain that a Russian news firm
Rianovosti had bought the rights to photograph
the dwarves throughout their tour and cameras
wouldn’t even be allowed into the arena for the
event. “But we need photos for the article!” I
clamoured. The administration suggested that
I buy the photos from Rianovosti’s website. Our
photographer turned and made tracks, swaying
his tripod around as he cursed the ‘fascist’ admin-
istration and their ‘stinking circus’. I understood
his anger. Photographers of the bygone past
like Charles Eisenmann made their fame captur-
ing the images of renowned little people such as
Leopold Khan (aka ‘The El Dorado Elf’ and ‘Admi-
ral Dot‘) and the Spektator’s regular snapper had
missed a unique opportunity to add to his portfo-
lio. Nevertheless, in circus-speak, the show had to
go on, and on it went as I was hustled through the
door of a sweaty, unplastered changing room for
the shortest, strangest interview of my life.
The Madness
“Are you responsible for these men and women?”
“Completely and utterly,” the ringmaster an-
swered, unsmiling. He was a tall, tan, towering
man with a resonant voice and almost comic
gravitas. Although he lacked for the top hat that
concludes the cliché of his vocation, his wax-
www.thespektator.co.uk
Out & About 11
It was a cut and paste response to an admittedly
banal question.
“Money!” panted the dwarf from the Autono-
mous Republic of Tartarstan. “Money, money,
money, money, money!” More raucous laughter
followed. One of the administration staff made a
‘cut’ signal to me, indicating that it was time to
end the interview, but the mayhem died down
as I fielded a few questions about Manchester
United and Princess Diana. Soon I had the atten-
tion of everyone in the room apart from a shaven
headed dwarf who was lying on a mat in the cor-
ner, doing stomach crunches with a training ball
half his size.
“You, what’s your name?” I asked him. “So you
can put it in your magazine?” he countered. “No
thanks.” “Don’t mind Vasily,” one of the women
advised. “He’s a zanuda.” A moaner. “What are you
training for?” I asked moving closer, out of the
earshot of the other little people. “I’m a gymnast,”
he replied evenly, continuing his crunches. “I have
to do a double back flip off a ladder one and a
half times your height. Do you know how much
strength that takes?”
“You probably get sick of height jokes,” I said,
twizzled moustache was sufficiently ample as to
bereft of a better question to round my five min-
prevent disillusion.
utes off with. “A short person gets sick of height
“Do you consider a midget circus to be politi-
jokes,” he shot back. “I am a lilliput. It is different.
cally correct?” I opened. “I consider politics is rare-
You build a stronger outlook.”
ly correct,” he returned. The administration hung
I nodded and turned my back on Vasily, wish-
in the doorway of the changing room, evidently
ing him and his comrades luck for their final
anxious. They needn’t have worried however, the
two performances as I was ushered out of their
ringmaster was a professional. “How much do you
changing room by the administration. As much
pay your performers?” “We don’t talk figures. My
as I was grateful for my brief session with the
midgets earn far higher than the average salary
planet’s most diminutive travelling circus troupe,
in Russia and are suitably well pensioned.” I found
I still had no idea of what to expect from the
this last boast especially hollow, considering few
weekend’s entertainment.
dwarves live to a pensionable age, often suc-
cumbing to heart conditions resulting from their
The No-Show
abnormal proportions.
“They’ve left,” said the grey-eyed woman at the
“How often does your circus visit Bishkek?”
ticket desk. It was our third interaction in the
“This is the second time I have been here with
space of 48 hours but she registered my arrival
my troupe,” he answered, “The first time was three
with the same unflappable indifference as she
years ago.” “What does the future hold for you
had on the other two occasions. “I’m doing a
and your midgets?”“Anything and everything, my
story for the Spektator, I spoke to Roma the other
company are capable of all.”
day…” The repetition of my spiel had me stressed
“Mikail Jamalovich,” I addressed him formally,
like a telephonist in an outbound call centre.
“May I have a moment with your performers?” “Of
“Roma’s left, the animals have left,” she mut-
course,” he replied. “Don’t tire them out. Tomor-
tered. “The animals? We came to see the dwarves
row afternoon’s show is our last in Kyrgyzia.” I as-
perform, I brought four others down with me,
sured him I would be in attendance and moved
we’ve all got tickets.” My accompanying quartet
into the centre of the room, taking my place
stood quietly waiting. Our photographer had reli-
amongst a throng of curious little people.
ably informed me that he had attached a digital
“Ztrastvitye,” I piped up. “Ztrastvitye! Salom! Hel-
camera to the inside of his trouser fly in order to
lo!” chimed a succession of voices. Some of the
avoid detection on the way in. Slowly and sullenly
dwarves looked excited, others perplexed and
the cashier counted out 2,500 som in 500 som
the rest plain scary. I reflected for the first time
notes, a complete refund for our tickets.
that the appearance of some half-baked British
“No animals means no dwarves. They had a
hack waving a two-bit magazine in their faces
disagreement with the animals.”
might be construed as a provocation.
“Who did? The dwarves?!”
“I’m from England,” I said. “Where are you guys
“No, the administratsiya,” she hissed.
from?” “Moskva!” screamed one, “Samara!” called
“But what happened during the last show?” I
out a petite blonde with large green eyes. “Khiva,
begged. “Did Vasily make his back flip? Did Irina
Uzbekistan!” announced a dwarf with meeting
and Gustav salsa well?” Having met Mikail and his
eyebrows. The roll call continued. “Kazan, Sevas-
performers I had made an emotional investment
topol…..” As the names of towns were reeled off
in the midget circus, and an eight quid reimburse-
one by one, I realized I was witnessing the Former
ment felt like scant compensation. The grey-eyed
Soviet Union in microcosm. These stunted heroes
woman simply shrugged her shoulders and slid a
had been gathered from practically every pocket
plastic panel across our correspondence for the
of the Eurasian landmass.
final time. The animals were gone, the dwarves
“Why did you join the circus?” I probed. “I ran
were gone. The world’s smallest circus had shrunk
away from home!” cracked one of the largest in
into oblivion.
the posse, mock-crying to a chorus of laughter.
February 2010 The Spektator
 12 Out & About
Bishkek
inTwenty-four hours
Want to see Kyrgyzstan’s capital city but
don’t have much time on your hands?
Follow Tom Wellings as he guides you
through some municipal highs and lows
in a Jack Bauer-esque twenty-four hours
of mayhem. or Bukhara. Either way, you’ve heard of the daunt-
Taxis:
Don’t get fleeced
To be on the safe side it is always best to use
official cabs in Bishkek. We recommend call-
ing Alfa Taxis (57-9999; 65-7777; or *5799 from
a fonex mobile) who offer the best service for
inner city hops - all the taxi rides needed for
this itinerary should cost no more than 80 som
(2 USD). Never take a taxi waiting outside the
Golden Bull as they will rip you off - if you can’t reproach, for Fatboys is a laid back oasis of calm shoot backgammon and drink bottled beer.
do it yourself, ask the barman to order you an
Alfa Taxi.
Top Left The revamped Ala Too Square (all
photos Tom Wellings)
Opposite page left Osh Bazaar, Bishkek’s most
authentic bazaar
Opposite page right One of the Soviet era
posters from the National Museum
February 2010 The Spektator
M
TOM WELLINGS
AYBE YOU’VE ARRIVED in Bishkek filov Park with its hall of mirrors, tin can alleys, go
on a short business trip, or maybe karts and shooting galleries. Therefore, from the
you’re a backpacker just pass- doors of Fatboys, proceed north along Tynystano-
ing through on your way to sexier va and take a left down Abdyrakhmanova which
sounding towns such as Samarkand will lead you all the way up to the park’s fairytale
gates. The crowning glory is surely the Bishkek
ing wealth of sightseeing offered by the Kyrgyz Eye, a cranking rust bucket of a Ferris wheel that
capital and you’re scared you won’t be able to affords you a peek into the (admittedly uninterest-
make the most of your time here for want of a little ing) back garden of the President’s White House.
local knowledge. Allow the Spektator to step in…
11am National museum on Ala Too square:
8am Jog down Erkindik Boulevard: Reluctantly leaving this enclave of fun behind you,
Formerly named after Polish communist Felix Dz- rejoin Prospekt Chui and the real world and march
erzhinsky - head of the CHEKA secret police and the short distance to the huge, imposing and very
proprietor of the Lubyanka - Bishkek’s most el- communist looking Alatoo Square. The square was
egant boulevard now goes by the more savoury built in 1984 to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of
name of Erkindik (freedom) and, thanks to its the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic and was until
traffic free central promenade, serves as an ideal 2003 guarded by a large statue of Vladimir Lenin.
stretch of paving for an early morning jog and a During March, 2005, the square was the site of
healthy start to the day. There are even conven- large anti-government protests during the Tulip Rev-
iently placed benches painted in tasteful rainbow olution. On March 24, after a week of unrest, protes-
colours should you wish to take a breather from tors stormed the nearby White House forcing Presi-
your strenuous exertions and phlegm up in the dent Askar Akayev to flee the country and later resign
gutter. All this activity should allow you to work up from office. Possibly in realization that the square was
an appetite for… the ideal space for pitching protest yurts and hold-
ing nefarious gatherings, a system of flower beds
9am Breakfast in Fatboys (Tynystanova/Chui) was installed last summer to break up the featureless
Fear not that your repulsive flushed face and expanse of concrete and in warmer weather the area
sweaty back will cause other diners to stare in is now a popular place to hang out in the evening,
and tolerance geared towards ex-pats and tourists Today, however, we are interested in the boxy
just like you. Take a copy of your favourite Kyrgyz building on the north side of the square – the Na-
magazine from the bar and indulge yourself with tional Museum. In addition to ancient artifacts
American pancakes and a fruit smoothie (400 charting the nation’s history, the museum also
som), alternatively for Brits abroad, lay into a full houses a disorienting collection of more recent rel-
English, reasonably priced at 220 som. ics from the crazy days of the Soviet Union and is
well worth the nominal admission fee.
10am Amusement park, ride the big wheel, Photo opportunities: On the hour, a short chang-
shoot an air rifle, race the go karts: ing of the guard ceremony takes place under the
Your guidebook probably lists an interminable super-sized national flagpole with a display of
checklist of monuments for the earnest traveller; I goose-stepping that would leave even John Cleese
however, am willing to wager that cement heads impressed. Lenin is also on hand for tourist snaps,
will provide you with less entertainment than the having been put out to pasture behind the National
kitsch-fantastic collection of amusements in Pan- Museum. Finally, the White House, grand sized
www.thespektator.co.uk
 Out & About 13

and evocative of a James Bond villain HQ, also of- the VEFA Centre (Gorky/Sovietskaya), work an er- as it looks: whack ‘em as hard as you can and shoot
fers an interesting shot and can be found a short ratic path back towards the centre of town and cul- vodka at will. Condor (Kulatova/Elibayeva) provides
distance from the square down Prospekt Chui to minate in a boozy assault on the Golden Bull. a shiny modern setting for a few frames (150 som/
the West. If the sun is still up, you may wish to visit Veranda hour), alternatively, Bar Progress (Gorky/Elibayeva)
Café on the VEFA Centre roof terrace (take the lift to is more spit, saw dust and Jimmy White (120 som/
1pm lunch in Jalalabad the fourth floor and follow the signs) which serves hour).
From the square head west along Prospekt Chui as a great vantage point for photographing the
and take the third left down Togolok Moldo. mountains. Whilst you’re there, sup from a soothing 11pm Beer in Metro
Jalalabad, an unmissable ethnic-looking edifice cup of tea to fortify you for the hours ahead. Metro (or the American Pub), one of the few places
named after Kyrgyzstan’s southern spa town, lies in town where you can sometimes get a Guinness,
a block down the street just before the Kievskaya 7pm Beer in Hollywood is on the other side of town meaning another taxi
intersection. If the weather allows, stretch out on From Vefa, head a block and a half south along ride is in order. By this time of night the place will
a topchan table and select from a number of glori- Sovietskaya Street until you see the familiar white be in full swing and should serve well as a staging
ously cheap local favourites. I recommend the po- lettering of the Hollywood sign. Seven is perhaps a pint before the night’s climax at the Bull.
tato varennyki, lashings of uxus (white vinegar) and little early for this popular venue to be at its best but
a couple of sticks of lamb shashlyk (shish kebab). one has to start somewhere. Perch at the bar or take 12:30am Golden Bull nightclub
Other options include manti (dough pockets filled a table in one of two rooms (one non-smoking) as As the last few beered-up mining contactors head
with lamb and onion) and plov (a typical Central a generally young and occasionally affable crowd off guffawing into the night, order a taxi to take
Asian dish of rice and, you guessed it, more lamb). chatter away. Beer from 70 som. you down the road to the Golden Bull at Chui/
Hopefully the traditional surroundings will put you Togolok Moldo. Entrance to Bishkek’s premier
in the mood for your next adventure… 8pm Beer in Beatles/Michael Jackson meat-market is free for foreigners. The dance floor
From Hollywood, head back towards Gorky/Sovi- at the Bull churns all night, pausing occasionally
2pm Osh Bazaar: etskaya. Beatles lies on the southeast corner of the for raunchy shows and games until eventually, at
For a real taste of the East we now head to the crossroads (look out for the big red ‘битлы’ [Beatles] around 4:30am, the sweaty congregation begins
famous Osh Bazaar, near the city’s western limits. sign in Cyrillic) and Michael’s place is over the road to subside and the natural selection of those with
As an alternative to another taxi journey, insert on the southwest. As yet unendorsed by Paul and dodgy blondes and those with dodgy kebabs
yourself into any marshrutka mini bus traveling Ringo or the Jackson estate, you can decide ac- takes place in the blurry light of another dawn…
west down Kievskaya that advertises ‘Ош базар’ cording to your own tastes which of these musi-
(Osh Bazaar) or just ‘ОШ’ (Osh) on the destination cally themed bars to visit for your second pint of the 5am coffee in Doka (Kievskaya/Turesbekova)
board, and travel in style for eight som. Although evening. In Beatles we recommend the Arpa beer at …make sure you finish your kebab in the taxi on
undoubtedly spawning the dirtiest, sketchiest part 50 som. the way as you won’t be allowed into Doka Pizza
of town, Osh Bazaar easily surpasses the cleaner with your own food. Doka is a twenty-four hour
Orto-Sai and the sprawling Dordoi in terms of 9pm Dinner in Konak drinking establishment and a reasonably inoffen-
authenticity and atmosphere. Shuffle on down On the southwest side of Gorky/Sovietskaya is Kon- sive locale to round off the day - order a timelessly
through the picturesque meat aisles, haggle over ak, a Turkish restaurant that not only serves great fashionable Irish coffee and reminisce with friends
spices you’ll never use and buy your auntie some food at decent prices but is also perfectly situated over missed opportunities on the dance floor,
taposhkee (slippers) - they’re twice as expensive in for tonight’s dinner. In a continuing lamb-fest, try lucky escapes, felt hats and sprained ankles.
the tourist shops. the juicy ribs prizola served with chips and rice and
a selection of salads (230 som). 8am Oblivion
5pm Back to town, freshen up At this point, alas, I strongly recommend sleep.
Now is the ideal time to take a breather, return to 10pm Vodka and billiards Should you make it back to your bed in one piece
your accommodation, deposit your shopping and As a minor cultural diversion, make time for some you can pat youself on the back and rest assured
change into something sharper before the evening’s Russian billiards. At first a perplexing game, after a that you have well and truly ‘done’ Bishkek - and
carnage begins. Our bar crawl will commence near quick consultation with the local barfly it’s not as bad need never visit again. Congratulations.
www.thespektator.co.uk February 2010 The Spektator
 14 Focus

Got
Kymyz?
If milk does a body good, and booze Popular acclamation places the finest kymyz night at a different yurt to stay with a different
does a body better, then surely it is a wise in the Suusamyr Valley of Central Kyrgyzstan, 90 family of herders and sample the kymyz.
drinker indeed who combines the two. km south of Bishkek (which, incidentally, is prob- Feeling like a favored steppe-child, you’ll
ably the only capital city in the world named af- crest the horizon atop your steed, sitting skylit
ter booze paraphernalia: a bishkek is the stick against the vermilion of the setting sun, thirsty

F
JAKE FLEMING used to stir the ripen- after a long day’s ride.
ing milk; up to 3,000
ROM TATARSTAN TO Kyrgyzstan to Tuva,
stirs per day to ensure
“Be forewarned, you’ll have The woman of the yurt,
an applecheeked de-
in what used to be the great thirsty inte-
evenness of fermenta- to lay into vat of kymyz to get scendent of perhaps
rior of the Soviet Union, Central Asian no-
mads have the right idea: kymyz. Without tion). Nearly every car canned. Even a strong batch tops Genghis Khan himself,
on the nearby high-
question the world’s finest alcoholic dairy sees you and rushes
product, kymyz is a toothsome brew of ferment- way stops at roadside out at less than 3% alcohol” forward through the
ed mare’s milk, and the intrepid inebriate who stalls for quick rounds waving grass, a bowl of
and a pint or two to
finds himself in these far reaches would be a fool kymyz in her upraised
not to embark on a kymyz-tasting tour. bring to parched city-dwelling relatives. Here hand. You sit upon your horse and drink deeply.
The enterprising Russians long ago introduced the elixir comes from jailoos to the east, where You dismount, and the windblown, Fu Manchu-
the tribes of Central Asia to the blinding bless-enterprising gentlemen in 4-wheel-drives make ed patriarch, legs bowed to perpendicular from
ings of vodka, and it’s never too early in the weekly stops at remote yurts, filling 55-gallon years in the saddle, comes to join you for another
day to get nuked on the nectar of the potato drums with the fresh stuff. cup. Even if your Russian is rusty and your Kyrgyz
in these parts. But in the face of this alcoholic But the best way to hit the horse-juice is on nonexistent, in this moment you understand
imperialism, kymyz has maintained its hold on a horse of your own. If you’re not feeling up to each other perfectly. With a wipe of the lips and
the boozer’s bowl in the nomad’s yurt (the tra- dropping a few hundred dollars on a mount at a sigh of contentment, you speak the universal
ditional portable tent of Central Asia). It’s notthe cutthroat animal bazaars, local travel agents languageof alcohol appreciation fluently.
can outfit you with a horse and guide for as lit-
hard to see why. The stuff is healthy, full of the Be forewarned, you’ll have to lay into vat of
same vitamins that allow foals to gain up to fourtle as $30 a day. Arrange your trip in Bishkek or kymyz to get canned. Even a strong batch tops
pounds a day, and was once used as medicine in villages closer to the action, like Kochkor, its out at less than 3% alcohol (though some groups,
main street lined with kymyz vendors, or Barsk- like the Tuvans of Russia and Mongolia, distill
for tuberculosis patients. As far as taste is con-
cerned, though first experiences with kymyz oon, on the south shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, one theirs into a stronger potion called araka). If, like
draw comparisons to sausagey milk or rotten of the largest mountain lakes in the world and the locals, you’re low on aldehyde dehydroge-
ranch dressing, the refreshing sour tang of a the quintessential Soviet resort destination. nase 2, your so-called “Asian flush” means you’re
good vintage quickly becomes the perfect way With a little effort, it’s no trouble at all to arrange all set. For the rest of us, not to worry, vodka runs
a week-long tour into the hills, stopping each 60 cents a bottle.
to end a hot day. Or begin it, if that’s your thing.
And as it is the gravest of insults not to invite
passers-by into the family yurt for a taste of the
home-brew, you’ll find yourself a connoisseur in
no time.
Like a fine wine, a lip-smacking kymyz is the
product of both terroir and artisanship. Altitude
is key: the best kymyz comes from northern Kyr-
gyzstan’s jailoos, rich pastures 8,000 to 10,000
feet above sea level, where herders spend the
summer. At lower elevations, the taste of the
grass and the mix of herbs and wild flowers in
a mare’s diet produce a disappointing libation
barely worthy of the name, while higher eleva-
tions are just too cold. Soil, geology, mesocli-
mate, and aspect undoubtedly play a part as
well, though little systematic work has been
done on the matter. As for artisanship, each
family tweaks the simple recipe in its own way,
adding special herbs, barley germ, a little cow’s
milk, or sugar for the weak-kneed. Yeast starters
are jealously guarded and cultures kept alive all
year, and the special horse-leather sack in which
the drink is aged, the saba, is among a herder’s
most-prized possessions. Keep in mind that the
taste of a given batch changes as the drink ages,
starting out sweet and tangy and finishing the
season a riot of unholy gustatory explosions in
the sinuses. Above Pass me another bowlful, sir!
February 2010 The Spektator www.thespektator.co.uk
 Visa Services Tours and Excursions
Maps and Postcards
Accommodation Transport Winter Tours
Torugart Pass Crossing

28 T. Moldo St, Bishkek

Phone: +996 512 622581
novinomad@elcat.kg
www.novinomad.com
 16 Focus
Secrets
Dead
of the
LOIS KAPILA & ALEXANDRA PRENTICE
W
As Bubura Kydyralieva’s father lay on his E WANDER AROUND the fairground
deathbed he told his daughter the dis- of Ataturk Park and scan the faces
turbing truth about a curious episode of the passersby. While all we have
from her childhood. At the bottom of the is a name, it is not difficult to spot
garden where she had played as a child, Bubura Kydyralieva among the
the Soviets had buried the evidence for gold-toothed candyfloss vendors, young couples
one of their worst atrocities commit- and mewling children. Standing in the shade of the
ted on Kyrgyz soil.  Now in her eighties,broken down ferris wheel, the Kyrgyz apa has a se-
Bubura tells Lois Kapila and Alexandra renity which is at odds with the bustle around her.
Prentice how she guarded the secret for After she embraces us warmly, we walk to her flat
nearly twenty years until the truth couldwhere we are overwhelmed by Kyrgyz hospitality at
be told. its most generous - jams, biscuits and chocolates all
washed down with endless cups of sweet tea.
Like others born in the 1920s in Kyrgyzstan,
Bubura has lived through forced settlement, mass
collectivization, revolution and war. What makes her
experience unique is the secret she kept until the
fall of Soviet Union. Once the tea cups have been
cleared away, she spreads out a few faded photos
and begins her story.
Bubura grew up in the countryside about 10 kilo-
metres from Bishkek. Her father was the caretaker
at the NVKD country retreat just outside the village
of Chon Tash, where weary officials would come to
unwind. Like many at the time, he was expected to
work hard with no holidays. It was a surprise then
for the family, when on the 5th November 1938,
word came that they had been granted a twelve
day break, which they were told to spend away from
the retreat.
When they returned home, their familiar sur-
Top Bubura Kydyralieva as a young woman roundings were not quite as they had left them.
(All photos Lois Kapila) One of Bubura and her sister’s favourite games was
hide-and-seek and the best hiding place was in the
Top Right The monument to the victims at old brick kiln, a tumble down building at the back of
Chon Tash the estate. After the holiday, the sisters rushed back
February 2010 The Spektator
to their secret hideaway only to discover a large
heap of earth where the kiln had once stood.
“Where has the kiln gone? Where are we going to
play now?” Bubura recalls asking her father. Even to
the young girl, his reply seemed somewhat strange:
“The weather was bad while we were away. The
heavy snow and strong winds must have torn up
the earth and buried it.”
Life continued as normal, until early December
when the family noticed an unpleasant smell per-
vading the entire estate. As the days went by, the
odour became stronger and almost unbearable.
Bubura’s parents resorted to nailing shyrdaks (heavy
felt carpets) across the doors and windows of their
house in a vain attempt to escape the stench, which
had become so noxious that it turned fresh milk
sour. The dogs howled continuously; a bad omen
in Kyrgyz culture. Their uneasiness only increased
in February. At night, they noticed the greenish
glow of phosphorescence emanating from the
mound where the kiln used to be. Bubura’s father
spent more and more time at his prayers, but these
strange occurrences were never discussed.
“We never talked about it, not once,’”she stresses.
It was only in 1973, when her father was on his
deathbed that he called the two sisters into his
room and told them, “I need to tell you a secret.’” For
35 years, Bubura’s father had never mentioned the
disturbing winter of 1938. Now that he was dying,
he felt the need to share all that he knew.
He told them that while they had been away on
their two week holiday a large number of prisoners,
all ‘enemies of the people’, had been executed at
the retreat near Chon Tash. The bodies were piled
up in the old kiln, which was then covered with
soil. Sworn to secrecy and fearful for his family’s
www.thespektator.co.uk

life, Bubura’s father had kept silent, suffering with
the knowledge that he alone knew what had hap-
pened to these people. “Their relatives have never
found out where their loved ones lie.”
Bubura’s sister died the following year. Through
the remaining Brezhnev years and later under An-
dropov and Chernenko, Bubura guarded the secret
alone, waiting for a time when she could safely re-
veal everything she knew. She describes how her
health deteriorated as she got older. “I would see
the ghosts of those who died around my bed. The
secret was like a weight on my neck.” It was only
when Gorbachev came to power, and the spirit
of glasnost made it seem less dangerous to speak
out that Bubura decided to tell all. In 1987 she ap-
proached a number of local newspapers, but was
either ignored or ridiculed. She spent the next three
years desperately trying to find somebody who
would believe her story.
When in 1990 Bubura received a phone call from
the KGB, she panicked fearing that one of her fam-
ily members had got into trouble. The official, Bolot
Abdrakhmanov, informed her that he would pay
her a visit the following day. Bubura proceeds to
tell us with a coy smile how she opened the door
to find “takoi krasavits!” (such a handsome young
man) standing there, an unlikely representative of
the dreaded KGB.
Bolot had heard that Bubura had a secret to
tell and expected her to denounce one of her
neighbours as a spy, still a common occurrence
in the early 1990s. He realised that it was a differ-
ent matter altogether when the old woman, tired
of having her story ignored, insisted on breaking
bread with the official as a symbolic gesture of
trust and openness. As she told her story to him,
www.thespektator.co.uk
she realised that he was actually listening with in-
terest. Today, almost twenty years later, Bubura’s
eyes fill with tears as she recalls the overwhelm-
ing relief and the gratitude she felt towards this
unlikely ally.
Bolot believed her. He suggested that they
travel to Chon Tash together to find the site. It
“I would see the ghosts of those
who died around my bed. The se-
cret was like a weight on my neck”
was mid-winter and despite an extensive search,
the deep snow made it impossible to find any-
thing. Nevertheless, Bubura’s story had made
such a strong impression on Bolot, that he prom-
ised to return with her again in summer. Bubura
describes the intervening months as a purgatory
of sleepless nights and constant worry. May even-
tually arrived and when they went back, the snow
had been replaced by drifts of red tulips.
Without the snow obscuring the landscape,
Bubura managed to lead Bolot relatively easily to
the location of the old kiln. A cursory excavation
revealed several old bricks, confirming that they
were in the right place. A few days later, Bolot re-
turned with a couple of soldiers and two archaeol-
ogists and began to dig. It did not take them long
to make their first discovery: a human skull with a
perfectly round hole through the temple.
Although on the fringes of an ailing Soviet Un-
ion, Bolot’s activities had not gone unnoticed by
Moscow. Late one night, he received a phone call.
“What are you doing digging? You’re a KGB agent,
not a JCB.”
Focus 17
Find out more:
Chon Tash Museum
An informative and well-conceived museum
now stands at the site of the old brick kiln just
outside Ata-Beyit (Grave of our Fathers).
Despite initial media attention, few people
are aware of its existence and the event
itself seems to be gradually fading from
memory. When we attempted to get a taxi
to the museum, the driver nodded enthusi-
astically before trying to deposit us at the
Manas amusement park.
How to get there:
By bus: The Lonely Planet claims that there
are three buses a day to Chon Tash (10:00,
13:15, 15:40) from the Osh bazar bus stand.
Although we asked around for some time, we
failed to find one so decided upon a taxi. Oth-
ers might have more luck.
By car: The site lies just out of Chon Tash, off
a dirt road linking Kaskha-Suu and Koy-Tash.
About nine kilometres from Kashka-Suu, turn
south. If you ask around, then locals should be
able to point you in the right direction. A taxi
to the museum and back again costs 300-400
som.
Ignoring the Kremlin ridicule and scepticism, the
team continued to dig. Further excavation uncov-
ered yet more skulls and an assortment of cigarette
holders, old coins and a shattered pince-nez. Half-
smoked cigarettes served as a poignant reminder
of these victims’ untimely end. On closer inspection,
Bolot noticed that the majority of the skulls had
gold teeth. This was their first clue to the identity of
those buried. The initial assumption had been that
the victims were ordinary citizens who had fallen
foul of the authorities in the dark days of the Great
Terror, but the expensive dentistry suggested that
they came from among the ranks of the elite.
Gradually more concrete evidence came to light.
Carefully stitched onto the waistband of a pair of
trousers was the name Dzhamansariev. In the coat
pocket of another was a crumbling official docu-
ment. In faded, yet stark letters it condemned the
accused, Yusup Abdrakhmanov to death by firing
squad. The next name that they found was recog-
nisable to any Kyrgyz citizen: Aitmatov. The father
of Kyrgyzstan’s most famous literary figure, Torokul
Aitmatov had been a member of the Soviet nomen-
klatura in the late thirties. His fate, following his dis-
appearance along with the rest of the Kyrgyz Soviet
elite in 1938, had remained a mystery until now.
By the time Bolot and the team of archaeolo-
gists completed the excavation, they had found a
total of 138 skulls. The name tags, judicial orders
and personal effects confirmed them to be former
ministers, teachers and scientists. This was one of
the first mass graves dating from the Great Ter-
ror to be discovered and excavated in the Soviet
Union. For more than half a century, Bubura’s fam-
ily had guarded the secret of Chon Tash. Finally,
Bubura felt herself freed of her burden.
February 2010 The Spektator
 18 Focus
Opposite page Mikhail Frunze, the Bishkek
born General charged with ridding Turkestan
of the Basmachi (Archive)
Basmachi:
Rebels without
Accord
Part military, part political, part religious –
the Basmachi revolt against Soviet rule in
Central Asia is still misunderstood. Dr Kirill
Nourzhanov searches for the motivations
that lay behind the bloodshed.
Top left Qurbashi Kurshirmat ‘the one that
got away’ - photographed here wearing Brit-
ish Officer’s uniform in Afghanistan (Archive)
Top right Qurbashi Aman-palvan, who was
captured by other qurbashis and executed
in Namangan in 1923 (Archive)
February 2010 The Spektator
DR KIRILL NOURZHANOV
T
HE BASMACHI RISING remains an
enigma. Characterised by some as reli-
gious radicals, remembered by others
as dashing freedom fighters, it is dif-
ficult to know for sure what motivated
individual Basmachi rebels to take up arms. What
is clearer, however, is that the roots of the con-
flict can be traced back to the Russian Civil War
and the establishment of Soviet rule in Central
Asia. The Bolsheviks gained power in Tashkent,
the capital of Turkestan, in 1917, and initially em-
ployed a policy of diplomacy towards the Mus-
lim population, hoping to win them over to the
revolution. However, an inevitable breakdown in
relations soon occurred and fifteen years of ex-
hausting conflict ensued during which bands of
Basmachi proved a constant thorn in the side of
the Soviet authorities.
The Basmachi movement has entered na-
tional history text books across the region and
has periodically aroused the interest of contem-
porary academics, policy-makers and military
practitioners from further afield, especially those
specialising in counter-insurgency and guerrilla
warfare. The Basmachi even contributed to So-
viet pop culture, spawning the cinematic genre
of ‘Easterns’ – the USSR’s response to ‘Westerns’
– where gallant and quick-drawing Red Army of-
ficers fight crafty and treacherous Basmachi over
the rugged frontier territory. Easterns such as The
Seventh Bullet have achieved cult status across
the former Soviet bloc, and to this day cosmo-
nauts are treated to a special screening of the
stirring Partisan vs Basmachi classic White Sun of
the Desert before blasting off to explore the final
frontier.
Despite the Basmachi’s historical prominence,
or maybe because of it, there is little consensus
about their origins and objectives. What is known
for a fact is that from early 1918, well-organised
paramilitary units consisting of indigenous men
on horseback, called jighits and led by qurbashis,
began to proliferate across Central Asia. Reaching
at times the combined strength of 25,000, they
presented a serious challenge to the Bolshevik
authorities, fighting the regular army and police,
controlling vast swathes of territory, collecting
taxes and dispatching rough justice at will. A typi-
cal qurbashi would recognise no higher authority,
although occasionally he would join a tactical al-
liance with other field commanders or pay token
respect to a stronger qurbashi or a distant politi-
cal figure such as the Emir of Bukhara in order to
get supplies and extra legitimacy. Normally a Bas-
machi unit would comprise between ten and fifty
jighits armed with rifles, but at times a charismatic
qurbashi could muster several thousand warri-
ors with machine guns and artillery and capture
whole cities from the Red Army garrisons. Thus,
Madamin-bek managed to seize Osh in September
1919, and Enver-pasha took Dushanbe in February
1922. The Red Army command labelled them the
Basmachi, a pejorative word derived from a Turkic
root denoting pillage and brigandage, which later
on became a fairly common term and to some ex-
tent lost the veneer of criminality.
www.thespektator.co.uk

The Basmachi operated in three main ar-
eas: the Ferghana Valley between 1918-1923,
Turkmenistan between 1918-1927, and Eastern
Bukhara between 1920-1931. Orthodox Soviet
historiography regarded them as a movement
of the exploiter classes aided by British imperial-
ism who opposed the proletarian revolution. The
dominant Western perspective, promoted by na-
tionalist scholars in Central Asia, is that the Bas-
machi represented a national-liberation move-
ment against Russian colonial rule in Turkestan.
Finally, historians in Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan
identify the Basmachi with jihad. None of the
above theories adequately explains the complex
dynamics of the indigenous resistance move-
ment in the region.
I believe the Basmachi movement is best
viewed as the reaction of traditional local com-
munities to situations of extreme crisis. The first
years following the collapse of the Russian Em-
pire in 1917 were marked by acute political un-
certainty, privation, and famine in Turkestan.
In order to survive and prosper, a tribe, town or
group of villages would often produce a warlord
to serve as protector and provider. This warlord
would resist any threat from external forces,
whatever ideology they may espouse.
Naturally, the Soviet regime represented a
clear danger. Confiscatory policies of War Com-
munism, Red terror, militant atheism, and atroci-
ties committed by Soviet troops antagonised the
local population. In May 1920 the Bishkek born
Mikhail Frunze, the newly appointed commander
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of the Turkestan Front, wrote wistfully: “People
believe the Basmachi to be a means of protection
against the authorities.” Nonetheless, quite often
the Bolsheviks were considered a distant and
thus less immediate menace compared to the
“The Basmachi were brilliant
horsemen, unsurpassed in terms
of individual training, bravery,
and knowledge of the environ-
ment”
threats posed by traditional enemies, neighbour-
ing warlords or a strong centralising ruler.
As an example one may take the history
of Ibrahim-bek who operated in the south of
Tajikistan. Ibrahim-bek was a chieftain of the Uz-
bek Laqay tribe, which for centuries thrived on
raiding sedentary Tajik and Turkic settlements
nearby. He was supported by the exiled Emir
Alim Khan of Bukhara, who sent money and am-
munition in return for fighting the advancing
Red Army. But in October 1921, the Emir ap-
pointed Enver-pasha as Commander-in-Chief
of all resistance forces in Eastern Bukhara. This
ambitious Turkish general brimmed with novel
ideas about forging a disciplined fighting force
from the Basmachi units and creating a strong
pan-Islamic state. Ibrahim-bek and his fellow
tribesmen were opposed to any form of cen-
Focus 19
Mikhail Frunze
Famous son
Frunze was born in Bishkek in 1885 and was a
committed Bolshevik throughout his adult life.
An important leader during the failed 1905 Revo-
lution, Frunze was later arrested and sentenced
to life imprisonment in a hard labour camp. After
ten years in Siberian prisons, he escaped to Chita,
where he became editor of a Bolshevik newspa-
per ‘Vostochnoe Obozrenie’.
After the October Revolution Frunze en-
joyed a highly successful military career during
the Russian Civil War, ultimately being given
control of the entire Eastern Front by Leon Trot-
sky and going on to rid his native Turkestan of
Basmachi insurgents and White troops. In 1921,
he was elected to the Central Committee of the
Russian Bolshevik Party, and, in January 1925, be-
came the Chairman of the Revolutionary Military
Council. Frunze was widely respected in the par-
ty and had at one point been considered a pos-
sible successor to Lenin, however his support of
Grigory Zinoviev brought him into conflict with
Joseph Stalin, one of Zinoviev’s chief opponents.
Frunze died of chloroform poisoning dur-
ing surgery for chronic stomach ulceration in
1925. As the operation was a simple proceed-
ure it has been speculated that Stalin arranged
his death, although there is no hard evidence
to support this. In 1926 Bishkek was renamed
Frunze in his honour. It reverted back to its
former name in 1991.
tral government. He sabotaged Enver’s orders,
informed the Red Army about his plans, and
openly clashed with his forces. Ironically, follow-
ing his own appointment to the job in July 1923,
Ibrahim-bek faced exactly the same problem
with independent, calculating and back-stab-
bing qurbashis from other areas in Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan.
The situation in the Ferghana Valley was
quite similar. As early as March 1918 some forty
warlords operated there. One of them, Irgash,
overthrew the fledgling nationalist government
in Kokand. He was eclipsed by Madamin-bek,
who was then lured into a trap and decapitated
by rival qurbashis Kurshirmat, Aman-palvan, and
Hal-khoja. Muetdin, a Kyrgyz warlord from the
Osh district, waged campaigns against all of the
above, who had the added misfortune of being
Uzbeks. None of these qurbashis hesitated to
negotiate with Soviet authorities when it suited
them; some even joined the Red Army with their
whole units. Qurbashi brothers Ahmet-bek and
Yaqub-bek captured Aman-palvan and brought
him as a prize to Soviet authorities in 1922; he
was subsequently shot.
Contrary to the Soviet class-based interpre-
tation of the Basmachi, the majority of the qur-
bashis and practically all jighits were from the
less affluent strata. For a poor peasant, joining a
gang often meant a better life. A jighit would get
a horse, some money, and an enhanced chance
of finding a spouse without paying a hefty bri-
deprice.
February 2010 The Spektator
 20 Focus
Left & right Enver Pasha and a statue of Ibra-
him Bek. Despite a shared taste in extravagant
facial hair they were unable to overcome their
political differences
Opposite page left The movie poster for the
cult Soviet Eastern White Sun of the Desert
(1970) - a cosmonauts’ favourite
Opposite page right Emir Alim Khan in
Bukhara, 1911 (photo by Sergei Prokudin-
Gorsky)
Enver Pasha
Pan-Turkic leader
Enver Pasha had served as Minister for War in the
Ottoman Empire. On the fall of the empire in 1918,
he was forced to flee, ending up in Moscow. Here
he convinced Lenin that he could bring Central
Asia, Afghanistan and British India to heel, and
was despatched to Bukhara in November 1921 to
prepare an army for the conquest.
Pasha had different plans, however. He
wanted to create a Pan-Turkic state with Cen-
tral Asia as it’s power base. Once in Bukhara he
set about conspiring with Basmachi leaders
who, with their grassroots support and intimate
knowledge of the mountainous geography, had
already proved worthy opponents of the Soviet
fledgling government. Pasha hoped to provide
the one thing that they lacked - a leader who
could unite them.
Sneaking out of Bukhara he amassed a force
of 20,000 recruits. Initially his army scored great
successes, capturing Dushanbe and most of the
former Emirate. He refused to negotiate with the
Bolsheviks who responded by sending an army
of 100,000 men and announcing a raft of reforms,
thus eating into the support of the rebels amongst
the populace. Other support also faded away, or
failed to materialise. His troops disappeared back
into the mountains, and the Emir of Afghanistan
refused him reinforcements, instead signing a trea-
ty with the Bolsheviks. In August 1922, he rode out
from Dushanbe with a band of loyal officers and
supporters. No-one really knows what happened
to him - his body was never recovered - but it is
thought he died sword in hand, along with all his
men, storming a machine gun post in the Parmirs
east of Dushanbe.
February 2010 The Spektator
The warlords hailed from three main catego-
ries of people: former officers and local govern-
ment officials; tribal and clan leaders (not neces-
sarily the richest individuals in the community);
and criminals. The last group is particularly inter-
esting given that it conferred the name of the Bas-
machi upon the resistance movement as a whole.
Irgash, Madamin, Kurshirmat and many other
qurbashis had done time in Tsarist jails which may
have widened their horizons and equipped them
for future struggle.
Before 1917, Bahram Khojaev, also known as
Hal-khoja, appeared to be an upright citizen of
the city of Osh in the Ferghana valley. He gave
to charity and contributed to the construction of
mosques in the neighbourhood. But in his spare
time he dabbled in smuggling goods from China
and ran an illegal gambling parlour. In 1918 he was
arrested for the aggravated robbery of a Chinese
citizen but escaped from prison via a dug-out tun-
nel with two dozen other inmates and took to the
mountains, where he formed an armed gang. He
ruthlessly killed Soviet officials and once massa-
cred an entire column of former Austro-Hungarian
prisoners of war on their way home. His particular
hatred was reserved for Russian peasant settlers.
At the same time, Hal-khoja was a Central Asian
Robin Hood, sharing his loot among the local in-
digenous population, adjudicating disputes and
promising protection.
A warlord’s strength lies in his support by
the local community. The qurbashis resorted to
various methods of augmenting their legitimacy.
Practically all of them cultivated the myth of their
personal invincibility and invulnerability to bul-
lets. Many added a touch of piety to their image,
visiting holy places and seeking the guidance of
Sufi sheikhs on a regular basis. However, they re-
mained in power only so long as they could fulfil
the obligation to provide for and protect their
constituency. Despite regional variations, the end
of the Basmachi was always the same: the Soviet
regime beat them both militarily and socially.
The Basmachi were brilliant horsemen,
unsurpassed in terms of individual training,
bravery, and knowledge of the environment.
Tactically, they preferred lightning raids and am-
bushes on the numerically inferior enemy. When
faced with an overwhelming force, they split
into small groups and melted into the moun-
tains or the civilian population in villages. The
Red Army despatches noted that the Basmachi
always recovered their dead and wounded from
the battlefield. They had eyes and ears every-
where, and put intelligence to good use. None-
theless, the technical superiority of the Red
Army began to tell.
By mid-1920, Frunze had eighteen regular
regiments at his disposal to deal with the 15,000
Ferghana Basmachi. These regiments were not the
marauding rag-tag militiamen of the old Tashkent
Soviet, but battle-hardened veterans from the civil
war fronts in Siberia and European Russia. Over the
next two years all major qurbashis sustained heavy
blows. Irgash surrendered, Hal-khoja was killed by
an avalanche while fleeing from the Red Army, and
Muetdin was publicly executed by firing squad at
Solomon’s Throne in Osh; only Kurshirmat man-
aged to escape to Afghanistan and died in exile.
A much more important factor in the victory
of the Soviet regime was its flexibility and readi-
ness to compromise. The draconian measures of
War Communism were rescinded in 1922. Grain
and fodder requisitions were stopped, free trade
was allowed, Islamic courts were re-opened, and
local notables were allowed access to power. The
warlords began to be viewed unfavourably by the
population at large. The trickle of recruits, supplies
and services to the Basmachi dwindled; Muetdin
was captured largely because villagers who once
www.thespektator.co.uk

catered to his every will refused to clear a snowed-
under mountain pass for him. More and more fre-
quently, self-defence units loyal to Soviet authori-
ties, dubbed Red Sticks, were organized by local
communities. Once these units proved themselves
in the fight against a regional qurbashi, they were
entrusted with weaponry from the Red Army.
This strategy of reducing the Basmachis’
popularity was repeated in Turkmenistan and
Eastern Bukhara. In the former, the Bolsheviks
simply bought off the loyalty of Turkmen tribal
leaders and set them against their arch-rival Ju-
nayd-khan, the de-facto ruler of Khiva. In Janu-
ary 1920 Junayd was defeated, but continued
to harass Soviet authorities from across the Af-
ghan and Iranian border until 1931. In the latter,
the combined military and politico-economic
pressure was so successful that the Laqay tribe
turned against its erstwhile leader Ibrahim-bek.
In 1924 the council of Laqay religious leaders
pronounced his struggle anti-Islamic and called
for his surrender. Subsequently the south of
Tajikistan was exempted from taxation, received
emergency food aid, and was flooded with con-
sumer goods and cheap agricultural credit. On
June 23, 1931 Ibrahim-bek was captured by a
Red Stick unit from a Tajik village, whose com-
mander was more than happy to settle scores
with an old enemy.
I was keen to find out how the Basmachi are
remembered in Central Asia today. My general
observation from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is that
the younger generation, i.e. people under thirty,
don’t know much about the Basmachi, especially
in the urban environment. In the countryside
oral history is better preserved. Old men at the
mosque or the chaikhana are usually happy to
talk about the Basmachi, and provide many valu-
able insights.
Each locality seems to have a favourite home-
www.thespektator.co.uk
grown protagonist from the ranks of the Bas-
machi. Qurbashi Mullo Davran is widely known
among the predominantly Uzbek population of
the village of Suzak in southern Kyrgyzstan as a
‘patriot’, but his Kyrgyz associate Botur-bek from
the same region is unknown. Homid-qurbashi is
a hero among residents of the Mastchoh Valley in
northern Tajikistan. His grave has been preserved
until today, and a schoolteacher from the village
of Obburdon referred to him as a ‘fighter for the
truth’. Yet in Veshab, merely twelve kilometres to
the west, Homid is remembered as a butcher and
a sadist. Meanwhile, residents of Shamtuch on the
border of Mastchoh proudly tell the story of how
their forefathers cleverly accommodated both the
Red Army soldiers and Homid’s jighits in separate
areas of their village.
The disparate and conflicting accounts of
Basmachi history point to the fact that they were
not a unified movement. Instead, it seems that the
label was applied to any group that resisted any
of the numerous competitors for domination dur-
ing this tumultuous period in Central Asian history.
Despite the efforts of charasmatic leaders such an
Enver Pasher, the Basmachi proved unable to find
an enduring banner under which to unite, with
internecine conflict leaving them vulnerable to
bribery, treachery and deceit. Nearly one hundred
years after the first Basmachi rebels carried out
their swashbuckling raids under the desert sun,
we are left to wonder what might have been had
the rebel forces put aside their local rivalries and
disputes for a united defence of their Central Asian
homeland.
Dr Kirill Nourzhanov holds an MA from Moscow
State University and and a phD from the Australian
National University. He is currently researching a
book on the Basmachi movement.
Focus 21
Alim Khan
The Last Emir
Emir Seyyid Mir Mohammed Alim Khan was
the last emir of the Emirate of Bukhara, reign-
ing from 1911 to 1920. He was, supposedly, a
direct descendant of Genghis Khan.
In March 1918, activists of the Young
Bukharan Movement (Yeni Bukharlylar) in-
formed the Bolsheviks that the Bukharans
were ready for the revolution and that the
people were awaiting liberation. The Red
Army marched to the gates of Bukhara and
demanded that the emir surrender the city
to the Young Bukharans. As Russian sources
report, the emir responded by killing the Bol-
shevik delegation, along with several hun-
dred Russian supporters of the Bolsheviks in
Bukhara and surrounding territories. The ma-
jority of Bukharans did not support an inva-
sion and the ill-equipped and ill-disciplined
Bolshevik army fled back to the Soviet strong-
hold at Tashkent.
However, the emir had won only a tempo-
rary respite. As the civil war in Russia wound
down, Moscow sent reinforcements to Cen-
tral Asia. On 2 September 1920, an army of
well-disciplined and well equipped Red Army
troops under the command of General Mikhail
Frunze attacked the city. After four days of
fighting, the emir’s citadel was destroyed and
the red flag was raised from the top of the
Kalvan Minaret. Alim Khan was forced to flee,
first to his base in Dushanbe (in present-day
Tajikistan) and finally to Kabul, Afghanistan,
from where he continued to finance Basmachi
activity. He died in 1944.
February 2010 The Spektator
 THE GUIDE
22
Bars and
restaurants
There’s a fine line between ‘bar’ and ‘restaurant’ in unusual Chinese delicacies to throw in. Beware, the
Bishkek. Places more suitable for drinking sessions ‘spicy’ sauce, although delicious, may leave delicate
are marked with a star *
Price Guide (main course and a garnish)
$ - Expect change from 150 som
$$ - A little over 200 should do the trick
$$$ - Expect to pay in the region of 350
$$$$ - A crisp 500 (or more) needed in this joint
American
Cowboy* (Toktogul/Orozbekova)
Bishkek’s all-American restaurant-cum-dance club
has now gone a little more up-market, but wild
nights are still to be had. Dig in to a kilo of chicken
wings and then hit the dance floor. $$$
Hollywood* (Druzhba/Sovietskaya)
As you would probably guess, decorated with
movie posters, photos of cinema icons and a
bunch of American kitsch. Hollywood is popular
with a younger crowd and is usually packed from
mid-evening onwards. A fun place for a few drinks
before heading off to the clubs. $$
Metro* (133, Chui)
In the impressive location of a former theatre, Met-
ro remains the première drinking hole for ex-pats.
A high ceiling, a long bar and friendly staff compli-
ment a good Tex-Mex menu and a wide selection
of drinks. Metro is one of the best bets for catch-
ing sporting events on TV, although thanks to the
hideously late kickoff times for Champions League
football matches, don’t count on the staff waiting
up unless it’s a big one. $$$
New York Pizza (177, Kievskaya)
Decorated with pictures of the Big Apple and serv-
ing a fine selection of steaks and other American-
themed dishes, NYP is sure to get New Yorkers
thinking of home. For home delivery ring (0312)
909909. $$$
Armenian
Landau (Manas/Gorky)
Fancy something a little different? If you can tol-
erate the arthritic service, Landau isn’t a bad spot
for a pork steak or some other Armenian culinary
goodies. Also, treat yourself to some decent Arme- Excellent little stolvya (canteen) full of the timeless
nian conjac whilst your here, you’ll never go near regional favourites. Being an Uighur restaurant its gero bar, there’s a strip bar downstairs, Doka Kievskaya
Bishkek conjac again. Ever. $$$
Chinese
Ak-Bata (108, Ibraimova)
This place must serve up pretty authentic dishes 2x2* (Isanova/Chui)
as it’s always full of Chinese playing mah-jong and Trendy drinking hole with a circular bar and friend- Glamorous VIP complex including a restaurant, bar
waving their chopsticks about. Smoky and stuffy, ly staff. A good place for knocking back a few pre- and casino. A decedantly decorated and perculiarly
but in a nice way. $
February 2010 The Spektator
Bishkek life
Chuchuara Hoga (117, Chui)
With this Chinese restaurant, a little out of the way and
rarely visited by tourists, you really feel you are get-
ting the real deal. Request a хого (your own personal
Avant Gard (127, Sovietskaya)
We’re not so sure what’s so avant-garde about
Avant-Gard. They put candles on the tables in the
evenings, but there is a distinct lack of Parisian Bo-
Chinese boiling-pot) and randomly select a variety of hemians. Still, the food is fine and the relaxed ambi-
ence means AG is a good place for a conversation,
or a debate on existentialism. $$
stomachs in some distress several hours later - con- Beatles Bar* (Gorky/Sovietskaya)
sider the ‘not-spicy’ sauce as a suitable alternative $$ A Beatles themed bar to make Bishkek scousers feel
at home. Huge screen outside for sporting events.
Shaolin (Jibek Jolu/Prospect Mir)
Shashlyk and cool beer. $$
This tidy looking restaurant sticks out for its sheer
range of oriental dishes and its large, round tables that Buddha Bar (Sovietskaya/Akhunbayeva)
make it ideal for extended gatherings. $$ Much anticipated, but yet to be investigated as The
Spektator is currently broke. Chilled out lounge music
and comfy furniture, any reviews welcome! $$$$
Peking Duck I & II
(Soviet/Druzhba & Chui/Tog. Mol.) Captain Nemo’s (14, Togolok Moldo)
Huge portions to feed even the biggest of glut- Small nautically themed restaurant with a selection
tons and an English language menu that provides of evocatively named dishes including ‘Fish from the
plenty of amusing translations. $$ ship’s boy’ and ‘Tongue from the boatswain’s wife’.
Cosy wooden interior and porthole style windows
create an underwater log cabin experience. Spirits,
Dungan cocktails and a good business lunch. $$$
Hui Min (Relocated to the Hotel Dostuk)
Coffee House (9, Manas & Togolok Moldo/Ryskulova)
A former favourite, we have been told that Hui Min
Treat yourself to some of the finest coffee and cakes
has now relocated to the Hotel Dostuk. Apparently
Bishkek has to offer at the imaginatively named
the menu has been revamped and the prices in-
‘Coffee House’, a cosy boutique café with a Europe-
creased. The Spektator will be checking it out soon.
an flavour. Curl up and read a book, or just drop in
We hope they still serve the special Dungan tea, as
for a caffeine hit and a chocolate fix. $$$
it’s rather good.
Concord (Alatoo Square)
Georgian Waiting staff dressed as airline stewards and an
Mimino (27, Kievskaya) interior featuring some aeronautical paraphernalia
Mimino is nice, cosy and serves up bowl-fulls of steam- attempt to lend a little glamour to this small diner
ing, hearty Georgian fare with pomegranate seeds just off Ala-too Square. Good, cheap food and fur-
a-plenty. We recommend the kjadjapuri, khinkali and ther deals for lunch during midweek make this a
anything that’s served in a pot. Watch out for Uncle Joe popular spot during the daytime. $$
at the door. $$$$ Cosmo Bar* (Sovietska/Toktogul)
Board the sweet smelling elevator, ascend to the
German top-floor Cosmo Bar and splash the cash with your
fellow free-spending cosmonauts. Elegant interior,
Steinbrau* (5, Gerzena)
plush sofas, fancy drinks and pretty waitresses.
Don your beer drinking trousers and head down to
Huzzah! $$$$
Bishkek’s take on a Bavarian-style beer hall. They brew
their own stuff - such a relief from the insipid bilge Crostini (191, Abdrahmanova)
that’s normally sold as lager. Compliment your pint Situated inside the Hyatt Regency, this is a joint to
with a plate of German sausage with sauerkraut. $$$ be reserved for a high end business lunch or mar-
riage proposal only. Renowned chef Taner Erdemir
serves up mouth-watering international cusine,
Uighur but at a price. $$$$
Karavan (Almatinkskoya/Chui) Doka Pizza* (153, Kievskaya)
More sexed up than its former Akhunbaeva sister
lagman or lagman pa Uighurski particularly stand out. is often a post-party chillout venue for Bishkek’s
No smoking, sit, eat and leave. $ young, rich kids. Enjoy the good food, the lively vibe,
and the coquettish waitresses – just don’t break your
International beer glass, there’s a stiff fine. Also non-stop. $$$
Dillinger* (Gorky/Tynystanova)
nightclub cocktails. Slouch into one of the comfy endearing homage to the notorious bank robber -
lounge seats and try to look cool. $$$ we’re sure he would appreciate it. $$$$
www.thespektator.co.uk
 Bars, Restaurants & Clubs 23
Kellers (Moskovska/Karpinka)
Navigator (103, Moskovskaya) Cyclone (136, Chui)
Serving the opinion-dividing Tajik-brewed beer of the
A pricey, but pleasant place to while away an after- Smart Italian restaurant with plush interior, efficient,
same name, Kellers also offers stone-baked pizzas and
noon. Sit in the bar area over a beer or lounge in the polite serving staff and a warm atmosphere to al-
large portions of hearty snacks. If you fall on the ap-
airy non-smoking conservatory. Attentive service leviate Bishkek’s winter chills. Pasta dishes stand out
preciative side of the divide, take home a squeezy litre
and a refreshing selection of salads, a good place among a menu of traditional Italian favourites. $$$
bottle of beer on your way out. $$$
for a light, healthy lunch when fat and grease are
Fatboy’s* (Chui/Tynastanova) getting you down. $$$$
Dolce Vita (116a, Akhunbaeva)
Civilized, friendly cafe bang in the middle of town and
Stary Edgar’s* (15, Panfilova) Cosy Italian restaurant with smiling waitresses serv-
a popular ex-pat meeting point. Sensible spot for con-
The concrete monstrosity of the Russian Theatre con- ing excellent pizza. Also serves salads and European
versation, but if you’re alone there’s a mini-library to pe-
ceals one of Bishkek’s finest attempts at a cosy base- cuisine. Small terrace outside for summertime din-
ruse (although literary classics are thin on the ground).
ment bar. Friendly staff, a decent menu and a collection ing. $$
Check out the American pancakes for breakfast, top
marks. $$$ of old bits and bobs decorating the walls make Edgar’s
an attractive alternative to the city’s mainstream cafés. Japanese
Four Seasons (116a, Tynystanova) A blues band plays most nights and a pianist adds a ro-
One of the poshest places to eat out in Bishkek. El- mantic ambience on some Sunday evenings. $$$ Aoyama (93, Toktogula)
egant, yet modern interior and polite service. Great Elegant sushi joint frequented by serious looking
place to splash out on a special occasion or just for Sky Bar* (Razzakova/Moskovskaya) suited-types concluding their latest dodgy deals.
the hell of it. $$$$ The food’s excellent though - if you can scrape to-
Sky Bar opened only recently on the eleventh floor
gether enough soms. $$$$
Griffon (Microregion 7) of a highrise but it already seems to have taken off
A cosy log-cabin affair with a large meat-roasting - popular with a trendy crowd on most evenings. Watari (Shevchenko, Frunze)
central fireplace. On one disturbing occasion the The windows offer fine views of the city, although A small Japanese-owned restaurant that serves su-
waiting staff were about as plesant as a bunch of wouldn’t it be better if they faced the mountains shi as well as dishes with a more indian flavour. The
chavs, but hopefully that was a passing phase. $$$ rather than the grey sprawl of Bishkek? Decent food, refined atmosphere makes it ideal for a business
even if the menu isn’t overly adventurous $$$$ meeting or just a sophisticated night out $$$

Do you want to play

Football?
U Mazaya (Behind ‘Zaks’ on Sovietskaya)
Possibly Central Asia’s only rabbit themed restaurant. Korean
Descend into this underground warren and tuck in.
Petel (52, Zhykeeva Pudovkin)
We want to get a team together Also check out the fairy-light adorned flagship sister- Operating in the back room of a Korean family’s
rabbit-restaurant in Asenbai micro region. $$$
for weekly five-a-side kick house, this is Korean style home-cooking at its most
arounds. If you’re interested personal. Closed on Sunday. Ring: 0543 922539 $$
Vavilon (Microregion 7)
email:
Finely presented dishes, reasonably priced beer (60
kickaround@thespektator.co.uk som) genuinely friendly and attentive service and a Santa Maria (217, Chui)
Plush Korean restaurant offering Eastern favourites,
music playlist that mixes up a bit of soul, jazz, swing
including exciting Korean barbecues where you get
Jam* (179, Toktogula) and classical tracks played at just the right volume.
to cook your own dinner, plus an extensive Euro-
An underground oasis of cool. Jam is a cafe with a Live music from 8-ish on most evenings. Definitely
pean menu. $$$
full menu, kalians (shisha pipes) and a lounge bar worth the trek out to the suburbs ( tell your taxi driver
atmosphere, open till 3am . $$$$ to turn left at the yuzhniy vorota and head towards
Asenbai for about 1.5km) $$$ Lebanese
Jumanji (Behind the circus)
It’s strange. This place is decorated with fake jungle Veranda* (Gorky/Soviet. Vefa Centre roof ) Beirut (Shevchenko/Frunze)
foliage and is based on a crap kids’ film yet still sort Wow, what a view. Eat rather decent international cui- Now in a new location, Beirut continues to serve en-
of works. You also get to roll a pair of Jumanji dice sine whilst taking in a superb view of the mountains ticing Lebanese goodies including falaffle, humus,
before you order for the chance to win a special se- from the 4th floor terrace above the Vefa centre. A and tasty little meat pie things. $$$
cret prize - we like this. $$$ great place for some outdoor summer dining. $$$$
Moldovan
Live Bar* (Kulatova/Pravda - near Ibiza club )
Twenty-four hour sports bar with live music at week- Moldova Restaurant (Kievskaya/Turusbekova)
ends. Plenty of leather couches provide the ideal Indian If it’s been a while since you last went out for a
place to sip cocktails whilst watching the Champi- Moldovan, this wooden paneled, sturdy-tabled ea-
The Host (Sovietskaya, opposite the Hyatt) tery may be the answer to your prayers. Also, the
ons league at three in the morning. $$$$
A varied and interesting menu including fine Indian Moldovan Embassy is next door should you care
Lounge Bar* (338a, Frunze) food make this place a real treat. On midweek days to learn more about the world’s favourite budget-
One of our favourite places to drink in the Summer- there are also several excellent business lunch deals wine exporting country. $$$
time, when we can afford it. Outdoor balcony-cum- offering a soup, salad, main course and dessert for
terrace high above the street with slouch-couches 250-350 som. A real stand out and a Spektator fa-
and fine veiws of the circus - which you can some- vourite! $$$$ Regional/Central Asian
times smell in hot weather. Nice. $$$
Arabica* (Mederova/Tynastanova)
Meri (33, Gorkova) Italian This formerly sophisticated laid back shisha pipe)
In the summer months, Meri has one of the prettiest Adriatico (219, Chui) bar has moved to a new location and, by the looks
dining areas in Bishkek. International cuisine served 24 Classy restaurant with it’s own Italian chef serving of the bath in the toilets, may still be under devel-
hours a day, more lively nights see jiving on the dance up possibly the best pizza in town. Attentive ser- opment. Three floors, VIP rooms, kalians aplenty.
floor to all your favourite Kyrgyz pop tunes. $$$ vice, and a fine selection of pasta dishes. $$$ $$$

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 24 Bars, Restaurants & Clubs
Arzu-II (Sovietskaya/Lev Tolstoy bridge)
Twenty-four hour joint that’s a godsend for those
who get cravings for lagman or manty at four in
the morning. Sometimes smoking isn’t allowed,
sometimes it is, however the food and prices are
constantly pretty good. Comfy booth style seats to
dig yourself into after a heavy night. $$
Arzu-I (Togolok Moldo, next to the stadium)
Offers a hearty selection of Kyrgyz and European
dishes and a homely atmosphere. It’s probably a
little too chilly for al fresco dining these days, but
there’s also a great outdoor terrace. $$
Derevyashka* (Ryskulova, behind Dvorets Sporta)
Atmospheric drinking hall that serves a range of
Central Asian and Russian cuisine, as well as cheap-
as-chips Arpa on tap. Well worth it on football
nights, when the locals are rather rowdy. $
Faiza (Jibek Jolu/Prospect Mira)
Possibly the best place to munch traditional grub
Turkish Arbat (9, Karl Marks)
Tel. 512094; 512087
Carlson (166, Sovietskaya) Smart ‘elite’ club popular with a slightly older
A good outdoor terrace and some hearty food, but crowd. Strip bar and restaurant in same building.
the Karaoke style crooners who provide evening (Entrance charge 200/350 som midweek, 350/450
entertainment are an acquired taste. $$ som Fri/Sat. Strip bar 700 som)
Huzur (Kievskaya/Togoluk Moldo,) City Club (85/1, Zhukeyeva-Pudovkina)
Convivial proprietor Ali claims to have Steven Ger- Tel. 511513; 510581
rard’s 2005 Champion’s League winning Liverpool So exclusive it makes the Spektator crowd feel like
shirt. If you don’t believe that, belive in free lipyosh- cheap scum bags, City Club is one of the posh-
ka and good, affordable Turkish cuisine. $$ est clubs in town. Get past the ‘face control’ (ugly
people beware) and spend your evening with gang-
Konak (Sovietskaya/Gorkova)
This Turkish joint used to be ‘Restaurant Camelot’ ster types, lecherous diplomats, Kazakh business-
hence the incongruous suits of armour in the back men and a posse of young rich kids who all seem to
room, and the rather crappy castle facade. However, have studied in London. (Entrance charge: girls 200/
the food is often great, the salads are large and fresh, boys 300, Fri/Sat girls 300/boys 500
and the staff are always pleasant. Recommended!
Golden Bull (Chui/Togolok Moldo)
(And now open 24 hours a day) $$
Tel. 620131
Night A Bishkek institution. Full of ex-pats and tourists liter-

Clubs
in town. Their fried pelmeni and manti are so good ally every night of the week. Long bar, friendly staff,
that they have often run out by supper-time. Save cheapish beer, everyone’s happy. (Entrance charge
an appetite and go early. $$ [girls/boys] free/400 midweek, 150/400 Fri/Sat. ‘For-
eigners’ free.)
Forel (Vorentsovka village)
There are some Bishkek old-hands who say that Ibiza (9, Kulatova)
Twenty minutes outside of Bishkek, Forel is a fish-
things aren’t what they used to be when it comes to A cavernous space with a large dance floor. Danc-
based ‘relaxation centre’ set amongst babbling
nightlife in Bishkek. They talk of legendary nights of ers suspended on platforms 15 feet above the
streams and offering fine veiws of the mountains. Fish
carnage, vomit, and debauchery - delights that con- floor, strobe lighting, smoke machines and bang-
your own trout out of a pool and have it deep fat fried
temporary Bishkek struggles to offer. ing dance tunes. Bishkek’s (half-arsed) attempt to
for your pleasure. Only salads, bread, tea and juice are
Not so, we say. Take your pick from the list below and create a little bit of the party island. Efforts to ne-
sold on site but you are welcome to bring any booze
we’re sure there’s still enough carnage, vomit and gotiate a cheaper entrance fee are futile. (Entrance
or garnish you desire, it’s also possible to rent a BBQ.
debauchery in town to keep everyone happy. charge 350-400 som)
To get there take a taxi to Vorentsovka village and, if
your taxi driver doesn’t know the exact location, ask a
friendly villager. Trout is 800som/kilo $$$ Diskoklubs Retro Metro (24, Mira)
Heaven (Frunze/Pravda - in the Hotel Dostuk) www.retrometro.kg
Jalalabad (Togolok Moldo/Kievskaya) As Heaven is found inside a hotel it is surprisingly Bright, happy, 80’s kitsch bar, the DJ spins his rec-
Basically the cheapest food (that won’t give you gut unseedy. In fact it stands out for being a bastion of ords from inside the front of a VW camper van. One
rot) in the centre of town. While it should stand out the well-dressed (if one is generous). Turn up in tatty of the most popular places for post-2am partying.
for its fresh lagman, Jalalabad is sometimes over- jeans and a t-shirt and you may feel a little out of (Entrance charge: 200/300 som midweek, 350/450
looked. Probably at its best in summer, when the place; then again, you may not give a shit. Tables by som Fri/Sat. Reserve for 200 som)
shashlyk masters flanking the entrance offer their the dancefloor cost 1000 som but include drinks up
creations straight to guests sitting at Eastern-style to this value. (Entrance charge 200-400 som) Live Music
tables – cross your legs and see how long you can
Fire & Ice (Tynystanova/Erkindik) Promzona (16, Cholpon-Atinskaya)
last before cramp sets in. $
A slightly grittier version of Golden Bull. Again, for- www.promzona.kg
Syrian eigners can often get in for free. Popular throughout Promzona’s far-flung location sadly means a taxi
ride or a long walk home are in order at the end
the week. (Entrance ‘foreigners’ free)
Damashq (54, Manas - opposite the Humanities Uni) of a night. Nevertheless, this trendy live music
A no nonsense affair serving up Levantine fa- Pharoah (East side of the Philharmonic) venue has a lot going for it: good bands, an exten-
vourites. $$ An underground lair packed with eyecatching nods sive menu, and a hip industrial interior featuring,
to Ancient Egypt. Foreigners can sometimes negoti- strangely, a wind tunnel fan, make this one of the
ate cheaper or free entry, but be prepared for the big
Russian/Ukrainian sting inside - beer costs the best part of 200som.
best nights out in Bishkek. Tuesday is Jazz night.
Rock or blues bands normally play at the week-
Charge 400-500 som) ends. (Music charge 200-350 som)
Pirogoff-Vodkin (Kievskaya/Togolok Moldo)
Classy restaurant with a turn of the 20th century Infinity (Micro region 7) Tequila Blues (Turesbekova/Chui in the Metro Pub)
atmosphere serving Russian specialities. Have your Yet to be investigated. Ask a taxi driver to take you Having been turfed out from their underground bun-
tea in a giant samovar. $$$ to ‘Infinity’ (and beyond) in the 7th micro region.
ker, the Tequila now have occasional evenings in the
It’s located way out near the hotel Jannat. Any re-
Khutoryanka (Sovietskaya/Lev Tolstoy bridge) Metro Pub’s back room. Whether this will become a
ports would be welcome! (Entrance charge ?)
Unassuming, to put it mildly, on the outside, this Platinum (East side of the he Philharmonic) regular fixture is as yet unknown.
place is a revelation on the inside. Delicious food, Take a seat at the snazzy 360 degree bar and do bat- Sweet Sixties (Molodaya Gvardia/Kievskaya)
reasonable service, Ukrainian brass band music tle with some of Kyrgyzstan’s most convivial ‘elite’ for Live cover bands most nights. Full menu, popular
on the cd player. We love it! $$$ gold-digging temptresses. (Entrance charge 400- with a younger crowd. $$
Taras Bulba (Near the Yuzhniy Vorota on Sovietskaya) 500 som) Zeppelin (43, Chui)
Like all the Ukrainian restaurants we’ve tried in Apple (28, Manas) Zeppelin is in the same vein as the old Tequila
Bishkek, Taras Bulba serves great food. We liked the Fat, old, lecherous foreigners not welcome, this Blues but not quite so spit and sawdust. On the
potato pancakes with caviar, the delicious soups place is for a younger cooler crowd. Multiple bars, nights we’ve visited, there’s been a line up of young
and fresh salads. $$$ large dance floor, friendly atmosphere. Thursday rock or punk bands strutting their stuff, heavier
Zaporyzhia (9, Prospect Mira) usually a big night. (Entrance charge 100-300 som) beats seem to go down best with the young Rus-
Recently opened, Zaporyzhia is a cossack fla- Mojito (Micro region 12) sian crowd. Full restaurant menu.
voured restauraunt in a varnish-scented log cab- Another place to be checked out. Do they actu- (Entrance charge 100-150 som)
in. Hearty rustic dishes and a homely atmosphere. ally serve mojitos? Possibly. Is it a Hemingwayesque Live music also common at Stary Edgar’s and Bea-
Recommended! $$$ club reminiscent of 1950s Havana? Probably not.
tles Bar (see ‘bars/restaurants’)

February 2010 The Spektator www.thespektator.co.uk

 17 18 19 20

21 What’s On 25
Valentine’s Day 22 Live updates 23 Entertainment Directory
The patron saint of romance is new to Bishkek but For all the Bishkek opera, ballet and concert listings, The Puppet Theatre
wily entrepreneurs have been quick to catch on check our frequently updated What’s On listings at: Sovietskaya/Michurina
to the fad. Buy a cheap rose from one of a glut of Performances on Sundays at 11:00am.
www.thespektator.co.uk
street vendors and head down to one of the fol-
24 25
lowing to find your beau or belle. End of the Month Russian Drama Theatre
26th February Tynystanova, 122 (Situated in Oak Park)
Valentine’s Night
American Roulette Tel.: 662032, 621571
Smooch to tunes spun by star DJ Dominic Joker
Pharoah Club, by the Philharmonia
Across
Comedy in Russian, repeats in March.
13 So
Hours: to speak
Mon-Sun, (2,2,4)
10:00-18:00
Tickets 700 som boys/ 500 som girls Russian
1 Make Drama Theatre 18:00
a deep Tel 66 20 32
impression (4) 15 Tall tapering pillar (7)
Tickets 30-100 som
A range of local and international plays in Rus-
3 Periods away (8) 16 Traditional Scottish dish
sian.
Love Story 27th February
(6)
Happy ending not guaranteed 9 Run
Pirates of out (7)
the Carribean
Heaven Club 22:30 Tel 68 53 07 In Russian, without Keira Knightly The In a dominant position
18 Conservatory
10 Cattle round-up (5)66 20 32
Tickets 400 som Russian Drama Theatre 18:00 Tel (2,3) 115
Jantosheva,
11 Zodiacal sign also known Tel: 479542
28th 20 Eraby(5)
Apple love asFebruary
the Ram (5) Concerts students and professors.
Drum+Bass courtesy of a foreign DJ Snow Queen 21 Parody (4)
Apple Club 20:30 Tel 0551 75 09 45
12 Under
Fairy tale play control
in Russian (2,4) Kyrgyz State Philharmonic
Tickets: TBC 14 Be kept
Russian waiting
Drama Theatre 18:00(4,4,5)
Tel 66 20 32 Chui Prospect, 253
Tel: 212262, 212235
February 16th -20th 17 Read ofSki (anag) — brimmed
Directory Hours: 17:00-19:00 in summer
felt hat (6) Tickets: 70-100 som (sometimes much more for
A heavy dose of snow has given Bishkek a winter special performances)
16th February 19 Visitor (5)
wonderland feel and many of those too old to be
Midnight Robbery There are two concert halls featuring classical,
Musical Comedy in Russian
22 Austrian
pulled around onpainter
sleighs by their parents will be
traditional Kyrgyz, and pop concerts and a variety
Russian Drama Theatre 18:00 Tel 66 20 32 influenced
itching byHere’s
to hit the slopes. Art how:
Nouveau of shows.
(5)
Karakul
17th February
Criminal Event
SkiDisgusting
23 Resort to sight or smell Opera Ballet Theatre
Kyrgyzstan’s
(7) biggest and best. 20 runs, rental, Sovietskaya/Abdymununova
Melodrama in Russian
pool lifts, chair lifts and decent accommoda- Tel: 66 15 48
Russian Drama Theatre 18:00 Tel 66 20 32
tionAppear
24 around the(4,4)resort. 7km from Karakol by the Hours: 17:00-19:00
25 Clarified
northern shore ofbutter
Lake Issykused
Kul in Tickets: 150-600 som
New Names
Tickets for performances sell out very quickly and
Kyrgyz Pop Idol Indian cookery (4)
Kashka-Suu itSolution
is necessary no
to book a seat in advance.
Dvorets Sporta 18:30 Tel 62 51 77 Skiing and Ice Skating
12,380
Likely to be awful in a way that few other live events Chair lift and pool lift plus café and bar at this
can promise to be, New Names features a series of modest Down resort 35 km form Bishkek
J A I L B I R D S T A B
fresh, unseen faces looking to break into the do- 1 Tel Refinement
E N U E D U A
59 48 35 (8)
mestic pop scene. There will be tears, there will be E L F I N A D O P T E D
heartbreak, but emerging from the devastation will 2 Island in the Bay of Naples
Orlokova P A C L I O I
be one lucky contestant with a shot at being the Ski(5) Resort
next Kubanich Sataev I N T H E L O N G R U N
An Doctor’s
4 hour and twenty approach
minutes driveorfrom the capi-
tal on the road towards Issyk Kul. Nine different A T O Y G A
19th February attitude to a patient (7,6)
runs suitable for all levels, a range of lifts and an S T A F F A A WN I N G
For two hares 5 Planet
artificial snow(5)machine S F A O T E
Musical comedy in Russian Tel 53 18 70/1
Russian Drama Theatre 18:00 Tel 66 20 32 6 Inflection of the voice (7) E X O T I C D A N C E R
7 Work
Toguz Bulak(or walk) involving M U V O D R Z
20th February Skigreat
Resort effort (4) B U G B E A R E V A D E
Salam Paris! 40km South-East of Bishkek. Decent bar and rental L
Forces (anag) H S E R T U
Drama about Kyrgyz in the city of love 8
facilities, runs and lifts not— wallfor beginners
suitable
Russian Drama Theatre 18:00 Tel 66 20 32 Tel painting
93 64 79 (6) Y E T I O D Y S S E U S

What’s On is sponsored by
www.davebrand.com
Map: Location guide 7. Beta Stores Supermarket 14. New York Pizza 21. Stary Edgars
1. Tequila Blues 8. Derevyashka 15. Cowboy 22. TSUM Department Store
2. Metro Bar (American Pub) 9. Cyclone 16. National Museum 23. Jam
3. Watari 10. Coffee House (II) 17. Navigator 24. Mimino
4. Zaporyzhian Nights 11. Adriatico 18. Sky Bar 25. Arabica
5. Coffe House (I) 12. Santa Maria 19. Boulevard 26. Konak
6. 2x2 Bar 13. Faiza 20. Fatboy’s 27. VEFA shopping Centre (& Veranda)

www.thespektator.co.uk February 2010 The Spektator

 26 Map
a Gvardia
o l o d aya Gvardi Mo l o d aya
M

Jibek
Jolu
Kievskaya
THE MOUNTAINS

Chui
Engelsa
Lva Tolstogo

Toktogula
1 2 13
23 ve.
Manas a
ve.
Manas a4 5

Ryskulova

Jumabe
ve.
Manas a

Kievskaya
Moskovskaya

Isanova

k
6 11

T. Abdymom
Isanova 8 Koenkozo
va
Isanova 7
12 Dvorets
Sporta
9 10

unov stadium
oldo
Togolok M

Jibe
Michael Frunze
Spartak

k Jo
Chui
Toktogula

k o 14
Logvinen
Moskovskaya

va
Orozbeko
15
Juma

Baeto
16
Lva Tolstog

va
Orozbeko a
Razzakov
Bokonbaeva

bek

va
18
Razzakov
a 19
17 Erkind
Abdym

Erkindik
Tugolbay

Michae
omuno
o

21
l Frunze

a ova
Fatianov Tynystan
va

ova
Tynystan 20 AYA
SOVETSK
AYA
Circus

26 27 SOVETSK
Chui

AYA
Kievskaya

SOVETSK aeva 24
22
Shopoko
va
A. Usenb
Toktogula

25
Lva

va
Shopoko
Pravda
a
Elebaev
Tol

Pravda
s

lya
Gogo
tog

Ogonbae
Moskov
o

North
Bokonb

lya
Gogo
va

February 2010 The Spektator www.thespektator.co.uk

 Ski Map 27

Ski resorts
1. Strelnikova.
2. Uzun-Bulak
3. Politekh
4. Kashka-Suu (2100m)
Restaurant, bar, sauna, ice-skating, 2 conference halls. Six ski-runs
of up to 2000m in length. Chair lift and rope tow.
5. Great Alarchinsky Glacier (summer skiing)
6. Edelweiss
7. Kalga-Kar
8. Oruu-Sai (2100m)
Conference hall for 30 people, cafe, bar, sauna, billiards, table ten-
nis. Three ski runs of up to 1000m in length.
9. Kyzgyz-Bezel
10. Almaluu
11. Noruz (2000m)
Slopes up to 2300m in length
12. Toguz-Bulak (1900m)
Ski runs up to 3000m in length. Chair lifts. Home of the Kyrgyz
national snowboarding team.
13. Orlovka
Nine ski runs of up to 2800m in length. Two chair lifts and two rope
tows. Tel. 0773-121 215 (base) 937 873 (Bishkek office) Restaurant,
bar, billiards, sauna.
14. Sosnovka
15. Tö-Ashu
No lifts, car lift 100 som or use your own. In this high-altitude loca-
tion, snow remains through April. Chair and cabin lifts planned for
2009. Spectacular scenery. Heliskiing.
Prices (approx.):
Renting gear: 300-800 s. Try ‘Snowland’ near the Narodny in the
10th mikrorayon, ‘Limpapo’ on Isanova opposite Beta Stores (phone
610 120, call here also to reserve places on Mikhailov’s tours), ‘Red
Fox’ on Sovietskaya/Gorky and in Tashrabat precinct, or ‘Avtogid
Gazeta’ on Moskovskaya/Korchinskaya. Most ski bases also offer a
rental service, but stocks are limited.
Lift tickets: All day 400-500 s for systems with chair lifts, 150-250
s for the others.
Instruction: 500 s/h adults, 400 s/h children.
Heliskiing
There are many companies that specialise in heliskiing (flying the
wilds in a sexy Soviet helicopter for a bit of off-piste skiing). Try the
following sites for more info: www.kyrgyzstan-mountain-sports.
com, www.edelweiss.elcat.kg, www.ak-sai.com and tien-shan.com

www.thespektator.co.uk February 2010 The Spektator

 28 Weekend The End
Quick crossword no 12,380
CROSSWORD QUICK QUIZ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1. The first sinking of a ship by a sub-
marine occured during which war?
8 2. Albert Henry Woolson, who died in
1956, was recognised as the last surviv-
9 10 ing veteran of which war?
3. The island of Hispaniola comprises
which two nations?
4. Put the following historical figures in
11 Five Remarkable little people
the order of their birth: Chengiz Khan,
Tamerlane, Marco Polo. Inspired by the midget circus which delighted Bishkek,
12
we take a look at the lives of five famous little people
5. Which Central Asian City was former-
13 14 15 ly known as Verny? who have made it big in showbusiness.
5. Leopold Kahn
6. What is the technical term for the
16 dot on a letter i or j ? How you know him: Toured with P.T. Barnum’s travel-
ling circus in the late 19th century.
7. Which country has three conecu-
17 18 Kahn is known best by two of his several stage names:
tive dots in its name? Name the only
Admiral Dot and the El Dorado Elf. Discovered by Bar-
other word in the English language
19
num in 1870, he joined the circus as a living oddity. He
to also use three consecutive dots.
was dressed in a tiny mockery of an admiral’s uniform
20 21
and appeared alongside his mother as Admiral Dot.
5) Almaty 6) a tittle 7) Fiji, hijinks
Kahn toured with Barnum and with the Locke & Davis
co Polo (b.1254), Tamerlane(b.1336)
Royal Lilliputian Opera Company, a troupe composed
public 4) Chengiz Khan (b.1162), Mar-
22 23 entirely of midgets, for several decades.
US CivilWar 3) Haiti/Dominican Re-
4. Michael J. Anderson
Answers: 1) The US civil War 2) Also the
How you know him: Best known for playing the iconic
AcrossAnswers to this month’s 16 Worshipped (6)
crossword can be found on page 23 dancing midget in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.
1 Convict (8) PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.com
18 Should (5)
19 Supreme god of the Andersons backwards-talking dancing dwarf from
5 Pierce with something
Across
pointed (4)
Puzzle Set #E3668 Level: Easy
ancient Greeks (4) SUDOKU Twin Peaks is surely one of the most memorable char-
1 Convict (8) EASY acters in TV history.
9 Small, mischievous and
5 Pierce(5)
charming with something pointed (4) Shining moment: Appeared in Lynch’s 2001 mind-
9 Small, mischievous and charming (5)
10 Taken up (7)
10 Taken up (7)
2 9 6 7 bender Mulholland Drive as a normal-sized man
11 Eventually (2,3,4,3) through the use of full-body prosthetics. This might
11 Eventually (2,3,4,3)
13 Hebridean island: site of
13 Hebridean island: site of Fingal’s Cave (6)
1 9 4 8 6 also be considered his low point depending on how
Fingal’s Cave (6) you look at things.
14 Canopy (6)
14 Canopy (6)
17 Striptease artist (6,6) 8 3 1 5 3. Verne Troyer
17 Striptease artistof(6,6) How you know him: Played Dr. Evil’s homunculus Mini-
CROSSWORD CLUES

20 An object terror, dislike or annoyance (7)

20 An object of terror,
21 Sidestep (5) dislike 1 8 7 9 Me in the Austin Powers movies.
or annoyance
22 Abominable (7) snowman (4) Verne Troyer has translated his success as Dr. Evil’s side-
21 Sidestep
23 Greek(5)hero of an epic journey home from 9 3 6 2 1 kick into a career as the most recognizable little per-
22 Abominable
Troy (8) snowman (4) son currently working in the movie industry. He also
23 Greek hero of an epic 4 5 9 6 participated in VH1’s c-list celebrity horror show The
journey
Down home from Troy Surreal Life. Troyer gained infamy for being combative,
(8) 1 Military four-wheel-drive vehicle (4)
2 Spanish princess (7) Solution no 12,379
8 6 1 9 sulking and, ultimately, becoming intoxicated and uri-
nating on the carpet.
Down3 Fist (slang) (5,2,5) A C R O P H O B I A 5 4 Shining moment: Was married to 186cm tall yoga in-
1 Military
vehicle
four-wheel-drive
4 In truth (6)
PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.com
(4) instructor Puzzle
M Z E A V N structor and model Genevieve Gallen... for 24 hours.
Set #D7698 Level: Difficult 5 7 4 2
6 Private (5) E X T R A C T E V E N T
T E M O R R U 2. Warwick Davis
2 Spanish princess (7)
7 Frivolous repartee (8)
Achieving marvelous results (5,7)H O C K D I C T A T O R A
How you know him: Hollywood’s go-to-guy for little
3 Fist8(slang) (5,2,5) TOUGH
12 Gathering (8) U C S U I N people roles, but probably best known for his appear-
4 In truth (6)
S T R E A M A R R A N T
15 Repeat
6 Private (7) (5)
instructor E U R H E 9 U 6 ance as the titular character in the film Willow.
16 Worshipped
7 Frivolous repartee (8) (6)
L I S T E N E R 6 S O U R4 5 8 Davis received his big break from George Lucas, patron
T5 2 3
18 Should
8 Achieving (5)
marvellous A T L R W C
saint of the vertically challenged, when he was given
the roll of Wicket in Return of the Jedi. Then, after a few
19 Supreme
results (5,7) god of the ancientHGreeks A L V(4)E M A R S H A L
R2 E
7
12 Gathering (8) E S E E 1 4 years of hiding behind a fur suit, Davis landed the lead
15 Repeat (7)BRAINTEASERS D R E S S S E N S E2 6 3 role of heroic dwarf Willow in the hit fantasy flick.

Rearrange the following groups of letters to

5 2 7 Shining moment: Appeared opposite Ricky Gervais in
the HBO series Extras. Davis also physically attacked
4 6 9
form words. What are the four associated words? 1 5 4 Gervais for hitting on his wife, a fight that Davis lost.
1. Herve Villechaize
DEZZRIL DOCUL HUSSINNE TORFS HENDTUR 8
8 3 How you know him: Best remembered as the swarthy
Eleanor is going to Rome for 5 days, Nicholas 2 7 5 9 miniature major domo of Fantasy Island, he also ap-
is going to Sydney for 14 days and Fiona is 8 3 6 peared as an evil henchman in the James Bond movie
The Man With the Golden Gun.
going to Athens for 6 days. Is Sam going to 8 1 2 7
Madrid or Paris and for how long is he going? 6 7 Villechaize looked and behaved like a miniature date
Is Sam going to Madrid or Paris and for how 7 5 1 8 3 4 rapist in most of his roles, cooing over women five
long is he going? PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.com 6
PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.com 2 1 times his size and practically dripping with hair shel-
4 298 9 4 5 6 7 173 3 9 157 6 8 4 5 A2 lac. This lustful exuberance carried over into his private
Puzzle Set #E3668 Level: Easy [Key] Puzzle Set #D7698 Level: Difficult [Key]

life and he is rumored to have been nearly fired from

Answers to last month’s brainteasers Flip 3 5 1 9 2 7 4 8 6 4 6 5 9 2 3 8 1 B7 Fantasy Island for harassing women on the set. He was
ANSWERS

switch A and wait ten minutes, then switch it off. 7 6 4 8 3 1 2 9 5 7 2 8 5 1 4 9 6 3

later fired for reportedly unrelated reasons.
Now flip switch B. Go up the stairs. If the bulb is 1 9 7 8 43 6 2 5 4 1 1 7 3 2 8 9 5 4 6 Shining moment: Was an advocate for abused women
6 2 3 1 4 5 8 7 9 9 5 6 3 4 1 2 7 8

on you know switch B works, if the bulb is off but 4 1 5 7 8 9 6 3 2 2 8 4 6 7 5 1 3 9 and children in the 1980s and was so passionate about
864 6 2 1 319 5 7 5 1 2 8 3 2 the subject that he would go to crime scenes to com-
warm you know switch A works, if the bulb isInstructions, off Tips, Answers, Reprints &6More
7 6 9 4
Sudoku Puzzles Online!
1 9 2 5 7 8 3 6 4 4 7 1 9 2 3 8 5
and cold you know switch C works. Fifty pence. fort victims. Nothing soothes shattered nerves quite
- 5 3 7 6 9 4 1 2 8
2 9
8 3 9 4 5 6 7 2 1
7 like a tiny hand patting you on the shoulder.
A A

8 6 5
6 7 4 2 1 3 9 5 8 1 2 4 3 9 7 8 6 5
February 2010 The Spektator 8 5 3 9 4 7 1 6 2 9 6 7 1 8 5 4 2 3
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