The Kyrgyz people are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. They primarily reside in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China. A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. They speak the Kyrgyz language, which is the official language of Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in eastern Central Asia, lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the capital and largest city. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east and southeast. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's over 7 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians.
Kyrgyz music is nomadic and rural, and is closely related to Turkmen and Kazakh folk forms. Kyrgyz folk music is characterized by the use of long, sustained pitches, with Russian elements also prominent.
The Epic of Manas is a lengthy and traditional epic poem of the Kyrgyz people of East and Central Asia. Versions of the poem which date to the 19th century contain historical events of the 18th century, though Kyrgyz tradition holds it to be much older. Manas is said to be based on Bars Bek, the first khagan of the Kyrgyz Khaganate. The plot of Manas revolves around a series of events that coincide with the history of the region, primarily the interaction of the Kyrgyz people with other Turkic, Mongolic and Chinese peoples.
Chinghiz Torekulovich Aitmatov was a Kyrgyz author who wrote mainly in Russian, but also in Kyrgyz. He is one of the best known figures in Kyrgyzstan's literature.
The Kyrgyzstan national football team, officially recognised by FIFA and AFC as Kyrgyz Republic, represents Kyrgyzstan in international football and is controlled by the Kyrgyz Football Union, a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Central Asian Football Association.
The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, formerly known as the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, chairs the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The culture of Kyrgyzstan has a wide mix of ethnic groups and cultures, with the Kyrgyz being the majority group. It is generally considered that there are 40 Kyrgyz clans, symbolized by the 40-rayed yellow sun in the center of the flag. The red lines inside the sun visualise the crown of a yurt, the traditional dwelling of nomadic farmers, once the main population of the Central Asian area. The dominant religion of Kyrgyzstan is Sunni Islam (91%). The Russian population is Russian Orthodox.
Scouting in Kyrgyzstan was founded in November 1994 and is not yet a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, but is working toward WOSM recognition. Kyrgyzstan has multiple Scout associations, several of which are members of Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn Skaut Kengesh, the Kyrgyz Republic Scouting Union.
The Kyrgyz Football Union is the governing body of football in Kyrgyzstan. The organization controls the Kyrgyzstan national football team, Kyrgyzstan national futsal team and sponsors the Kyrgyz Professional Football League.
Tynchtykbek Chorotegin, also known as Tynchtykbek Kadyrmambetovich Choroyev, is a Kyrgyz historian, publicist and journalist. President of the Kyrgyz History Society, Doctor of History (1998), Professor of the Kyrgyz State National University named after Jusup Balasagyn (2002). Tchoroev is well known as an independent history researcher, Turkologist and journalist. Until September 2011, he worked as a broadcaster at Radio Azattyk, i.e. Kyrgyz Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He was chairman of the Board of the Muras (Heritage) Foundation under the Office of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Christianity has a long history in Kyrgyzstan, with the earliest archaeological remains of churches belonging to the Church of the East in modern-day Suyab dating back to the 7th century. By the 9th century an archdiocese of the Church of the East cared for the Christians of Kyrgyzstan and adjacent areas in eastern Turkestan. Although primarily Turkic there was also an Armenian community in what today is Kyrgyzstan by the 14th century. By the 15th century, however, there were no longer ecclesiastical structures of any church caring for what is today Kyrgyzstan and Islam gained the ascendancy amongst the Kyrgyz people.
Salamat Sadikova is a folk singer and the head of the coordinating council for the El-Ene Party in Kyrgyzstan. Widely regarded as a national treasure, she is often referred to by the sobriquet "The Voice of Kyrgyzstan," which is also the name of one of her albums.
The history of Kyrgyz literature dates to the early 19th century, from the poems of Moldo Nïyaz to stories written in "Old Kyrgyz". It is an important facet of the culture of Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz literature is not only written, but also spoken, and passed down from generation to generation. Much of the literature in Kyrgyzstan is poetry.
Jamilya is a 1968 Soviet war romance film directed by Sergei Yutkevich and Irina Poplavskaya.
Fedor Ivanovich Samokhin was a Soviet-Kyrgyz writer of prose, journalist and translator, member of the Union of writers of the USSR. One of the founders of lieutenant and village prose in Kyrgyz literature.
Kasymaly Jantöshev was a Kyrgyz writer and playwright. Jantöshev is regarded as one of the most important Kyrgyz writers, and is considered to be one of the founders of Kyrgyz drama and theatre. Many of his works portray the transformation of Kyrgyz society during the 20th-century, and contain socialist themes. One of Jantöshev's novels, Kanybek, has become part of Kyrgyzstan's cultural heritage, and remains very popular within the country.
Ilya Zhakanov was a Soviet and Kazakhstani writer, composer, and art critic. They were an Honored Worker of Culture of the Kazakh SSR (1990), Distinguished Cultural Contributor of Kyrgyzstan (1994), Distinguished Cultural Contributor of Kazakhstan (1998), and Hero of Labour of Kazakhstan (2022).
Miss Grand Kyrgyzstan is a national beauty pageant title awarded to Kyrgyz representatives who were elected to compete at the Miss Grand International pageant. The title was first awarded in 2014 to Samudinova Nurzhamal, and then to Jamilya Jyrgalbekova in 2021, as the supplemental titles in the Miss Kyrgyzstan pageants.
