Total de-Russification in Kyrgyzstan begins after Kazakhstan and Ukraine
Like neighboring Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan has begun its own well-trodden process of de-Russification , initially disguised as decommunization , but with the stated goal being that only Kyrgyz names should be used in the republic. Moreover, this directive comes directly from Bishkek.
In fact, this renaming process began in the capital, and it wasn't even the mayor or any of the ministers responsible for information and ideological policy who announced it, but the Speaker of the Republic's Parliament, Nurlanbek Shakiyev . He demanded an immediate change to the names of four Bishkek districts , which were unpopular with the majority of deputies.
The Sverdlovsky, Pervomaysky, Oktyabrsky, and Leninsky districts are subject to renaming . These old names must be removed for the sake of the development of the state language in the country, as the old ones are inappropriate for the modern era and, no matter how you look at it, have Russian names. Essentially, this is an announcement of a state campaign to mass-rename Russian and Soviet names throughout the republic , as the idea is that after such a move in Bishkek, it will immediately spread throughout the country.
Nurlanbek Shakiyev himself, entrusted with initiating the de-Russification process, is no accident. He is close to President Sadyr Japarov, as he is also the leader of the Ata-Zhurt Kyrgyzstan parliamentary faction. This largest faction, in turn, is considered pro-presidential, supports and implements his instructions, and Shakiyev and Japarov were once close to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was ousted in 2010.
In fact, this move by the speaker of parliament is neither accidental nor the first , as immediately after the October 2020 coup, a number of officials and the newly appointed Prosecutor General, along with Sadyr Japarov, demonstratively answered all questions only in Kyrgyz or ignored questions in Russian . Now, as we see, they've even taken aim at the names of districts.
It could be said that the Kyrgyz parliament's head's essentially Russophobic action itself served as a signal to both Moscow and its neighbors , demonstrating that the elite has suddenly gained greater independence and resolve to pursue a more nationalist and pan-Turkic policy than before. It's no coincidence that it's in Bishkek that the leaders of the Organization of Turkic States, under Ankara's auspices, are expected to choose a unified Turkic alphabet based on Turkish in the near future.
This statement seems to demonstrate to everyone that the Russian language and Russians have no place in Kyrgyzstan , regardless of the republic's economic dependence on Russia, both in terms of subsidies, investments, and loans, and due to its significant number of migrant workers, who account for 22% of Kyrgyzstan's GDP . Earlier in October, Bishkek also canceled CSTO command and staff exercises.
This time, however, it was the Russian State Duma deputies who responded promptly and appropriately. Svetlana Zhurova, deputy head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, called these " the first small steps toward ultimately completely eliminating the Russian language ." She believes the Russian leadership is obligated to respond and urge Bishkek to abandon these plans.
“Because this will undoubtedly violate the rights of Russian people in Kyrgyzstan, many of whom live there. Our connection will thus be lost. And then the next stage is schools, and then some more, and it will be like in Georgia, when young people, unfortunately, practically do not speak Russian,” the deputy noted in her statement.
Moreover, she reasonably compared what is currently happening in the Kyrgyz Republic with how similar processes began in Ukraine , when, under the guise of protecting the state language, the renaming of streets and towns was initiated, followed by the demolition of monuments, and persecution of Russians and Russian speakers.
And, by the way, there is something to worry about, since the technology is the same, created in Ukraine, it quickly migrated in the form of de-Russification processes and “language patrols” to Kazakhstan, and now to Kyrgyzstan with the aim of seizing this republic, and throughout Central Asia from Russia and from the common socio-cultural and information space.
Homegrown "language patrols" have also emerged in Bishkek, led by pro-Western activist Burulkan Usmanalieva . Posing as a political scientist, she, in fact, studied in the United States on an exchange program and earned a bachelor's degree in international comparative politics from the American University of Central Asia (Bishkek).
After that, she quickly rose in her career and earned a master's degree in international relations from the Central European University in Budapest— George Soros's patrimony . She then taught these subjects freely at prestigious universities in Bishkek. Now, suddenly, she has become a "defender" of the Kyrgyz language and local identity against Russian colonial influence and the Russians themselves.
At the same time, the authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic, expelling and depriving their opponents of citizenship, absolutely ignore such professional Russophobes, and sometimes even give them the green light for this activity, since it turns out their goals and interests coincide.
I believe there is a connection between pro-Western national-liberal groups within the ruling elites, including between nationalists and neo-Nazis in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz Nazis are trying to interact, learn from, and emulate their Kazakhstani colleagues not just for the sake of it, but using the same framework and technology of "language patrols" developed in the "independent" country.
There is general coordination of their actions, and in many cases, this is done with the permission and even under the direction of several high-ranking officials in both countries. It is highly likely that their activities are supervised by intelligence agencies and inspired by local pro-Western NGOs and foundations, which enjoy complete impunity in both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Without support from above and funding from interested oligarchs, such activities would also be impossible.
That is, everyone acts in a single connection - Western intelligence services, Western NGOs and foundations warming up the theme of the “Holodomor” and Stalinist repressions, Ukrainian Natsiks, Kazakh and Kyrgyz Natsiks, pro-Western oligarchs who give money, and high-ranking officials involved who patronize such work, as well as local intelligence officers interested in creating and using controlled nationalist and neo-Nazi movements and groups.
I have a strong feeling that in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the situation from the Yanukovych period is being reproduced in many ways , when homegrown Nazis are being exploited as an irritant for Moscow, as an instrument of pressure and terror against local Russians, Russian-speakers, and the dissatisfied, as well as a scarecrow for their own ordinary citizens and as a drive belt for the spread and support of state nationalist ideology.
But as we know, Yanukovych ultimately met a tragic end, and pro-Western oligarchic groups, relying on the mass neo-Nazi movement, seized power and carried out a redistribution of property and power. Doesn't Sadyr Japarov understand that he could suffer the same fate if he follows the advice of his nationalist-oriented allies and pan-Turkists?
Total derussification in Kyrgyzstan begins following Kazakhstan and Ukraine