Short Essay on Kyrgyzstan

Bounded by Kazakhstan on the north and northwest, by China and the east and south, and by Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the west and south, the mountainous country of Kyrgyzstan is a much smaller nation (76,600 sq. miles or 198,500 sq. km in area) than its larger northern neighbor. Its eastern and southern borders run along the crests of Tien Shan and Pamirs Mountains.

The Kyrgyz are traditionally a pastoral nomadic people. Two-thirds of its esti­mated population of 4.7 million resides in rural areas. Agriculture provides employ­ment to one-third of the country’s labor-force and contributed nearly 38 per­cent to the nation’s domestic product in 1990. Less than one-third of the country’s area is arable, 70 percent of which depends on irrigation.

Agricultural output, espe­cially in the Fergana Valley, has substantially increased during the last five decades through canal irrigation. The prin­cipal crops raised are: cereal grains, potatoes, vegetables, cotton, tobacco, fruits, and sugar beets. Most of the coun­try’s cotton is produced in the Fergana Valley. Mulberry trees in the Fergana Val­ley support the raising of silkworms.

Livestock raising is an important part of agricultural activity. Sheep constitute nearly two-thirds of the livestock num­bers, followed by cattle, goats and horses, raised notably in the Chu Valley and the littoral of Issyk-Kul Lake. Horses are used as draft animals as well as a source of meat, and koumiss (mare’s fermented milk) is widely used.

Kyrgyzstan has considerable mineral deposits, including coal, gold, tin, antimony, zinc, uranium, and tungsten, but unlike its neighbors, is deficient in petroleum and natural gas for which it has to rely heavily on imports from other former Soviet re­publics. However, hydroelectric power development is substantial which provides nearly one-third of the domestic energy re­quirements of the nation. The remainder is derived from coal and imported oil.

Modern industrial development took place later than in other Central Asian na­tions. However, by the late 20th century the republic had become a producer of ma­chinery, electronics and instruments, textiles, and food-processing (in particular sugar-refining). Light industries are also fairly developed now utilizing local agri­cultural products such as meat, fruits and vegetables. Wool is an important export­able product, and mills produce cotton and silk fabrics, cloth, and leather goods.

Kyrgyzstan is predominantly rural; only 35 percent of the population is desig­nated as urban, which is composed largely of the non-Kyrgyz groups. Urban develop­ment took place largely after the 1930s, but the Kyrgyz remained an urban minor­ity Bishkek (formerly Frunze) is the capital, and the largest city (population 631,000).

It lies on Chu River, at an alti­tude of 2600 feet (790 meters) in a picturesque setting, close to the Issyk-Kul Lake and the Tien Shan Mountains. Most of the city’s development dates since the WWII. Machine building and metal indus­tries are important.

Several highways connect the Kyr­gyzstan to the neighboring countries primarily to offset the problems of diffi­cult terrain. Before 1924 there were only two narrow-gauge lines joining the north­ern parts of the country to Kazakhstan and the Turk-Sib (Turkistan-Siberian) railroad. In 1948 railroad extensions linked the capi­tal city of Bishkek to Issyk-Kul.

Kyrgyzstan depended entirely on the USSR for defense and its forces were fully integrated into the Soviet armed forces. Af­ter it became independent, it started raising a national army. In 1992 it entered into a collective defense with the other Central Asian nations and with Russia a collective security treaty.