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Derzhinsky - West side of the National Library - Sovietskaya - Felix Dezhinsky (1877-1926) was the founder of the Cheka - which was the forerunner of the KGB. His statue stood in Oak Park, at the foot of Derzhinsky Avenue - now Prospect Erkindik on a pedestal until 1999 when he was replaced by a statue to Liberty. His name was removed shortly after independence.

Victory Monument - Victory Square - the memorial was completed in 1984, the 40th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the second world war (the Great Patriotic War). A woman, (a mother/a wife), stands over the eternal flame, waiting for her son/husband who will never return home from the war, standing under a tynduk in the form of a funeral wreath (one of the symbols of the nation) held aloft by three ribs of red granite representing a yurt. The image is a wistful reflection on the great cost of victory. The monument stands in Victory Square - which was once the site of the main Bishkek Market. It is not unusual to see parties of newlyweds stop here to lay flowers in remembrance. Bibisara - Sovietskaya - South of the Theatre of Opera and Ballet - now in the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Hotel - She was a famous ballerina who in her later years trained several generations of dancers and was one of the founders of the Kyrgyz ballet school. She appears on the 5 som note.

The Theatre of Opera and Ballet - on Sovietskaya, has an interesting façade, a relief and some statues. Inside there are several fine examples of Soviet style painting depicting many nationalities gathering for a wedding and scenery from the republic. Toktogul Satylganov - On Sovietskaya, South of the Opera and Ballet theatre. The poet, singer, instrumentalist lived from 1864 until 1933. Toktogul not only has a street in Bishkek, a power station and Water Reservoir named after him, but there is a museum dedicated to him and he appears on the 100 som note. This bronze statue was cast in 1974 and the Komuz featured can be seen in the Historical Museum.

Alay Tokombaev - On Sovietskaya, South of the Fine Arts Museum, opposite the Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Tokombaev was a famous 20th Century akym (bard) who was instrumental in developing the modern form of written Kyrgyz using a modified version of the Cyrulluc alphabet.

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels - Oak Park, facing, across the Central Square, the building of the Supreme Soviet.

The Red Guards Memorial - Oak Park - a red granite obelisk stands over the common grave of the Bolshevik casualties of the 1918 Belovodsk uprising. On December 6th, 1918, in the small village of Belovodsk about 30 kilometers West of Bishkek, a counter-revolution broke out with the capture of the post office and large tracts of the surrounding countryside were quickly captured. The Bolshevik hold on the region was under serious threat. The rebels marched on Bishkek and an eight day battle ensued. Reinforcements arrived from Almaty under the command of Yakov Nikoforovich Logvinenko and the counter-revolution was defeated.

The burial took place on New Years Day, 1919, - the first anniversary of the Bolsheviks seizing power in Bishkek. When he died in 1933, Logvinenko was also buried here. The canons once stood in one of the Mansions in the cetre of Bishkek, but after the revolution they were taken to a museum in St. Pertersburg - to be returned when the monument was constructed in 1960, replacing an earlier simple wooden marker, and an "eternal" flame lit, (the gas was turned off in 1994 but it is sometimes relit, for example on the Victory Day holiday - May 9th). The text translates as "Eternal glory to the fallen who fought for the power of the soviets." This is another site visited by newlyweds.

Busts of prominent Kyrgyz politicians - Oak Park. Monument to the glory of Labour - Oak Park - a plinth in a square at the back of the Historical museum with a number of plaques dedicated to the workers and the glory of labour. Panfilov - Panfilov Park - behind the white house. On November 16^th, 1941, 28 soldiers in an Amaty infantry unit under General Ivan Panfilov died fighting off Nazi tanks in a village outside Moscow.

In Almaty there is a striking war memorial including individual plinths, each with the name of one of the 28 who were later declared "Heroes of the Soviet Union" - In Bishkek, as well as this statue to the "Defender of Moscow" there is also a bust of Nickolai Jacovlevich Anyenov, one of the soldiers who was born in Issyk Kul, on Molodaya Gvardia along with busts of other locals who were granted the title Hero of the Soviet Union in the war. On the plinth there are some reliefs of soldiers in battle. Maxim Gorky - in Gorky Park, on Isanovna, behind the Sports Palace and Open air swimming pool. The park is not as big as it"s namesake in either Moscow or Almaty but was dedicated to the Russian writer Alexey Peshkov (1868-1936) who wrote under the pen-name of Maxim Gorky.

Shabdan Ata Baatyr - in the walkway between Frunze and Chui by the Philharmonia - am important Kyrgyz political figure The Fathers of the Nation - on Turusbekova, to the West of the Philharmonia - The monument contains statues of many important Kyrgyz personalities.

Martyrs of the Revolution - Prospect Chui-Sovietskaya. The main figure is Urkuya Salieva (1910-1934), and early socialist organizer in Southern Kyrgyzstan - apparently murdered by "rich peasants". Around her are the "awakening" proletariat. The monument was erected in 1978 by Sadykov … and was awarded the All Union Lenin Prize.

Erkindik - The Kyrgyz Statue of Liberty Unveiled in 1999 to commemorate the eighth year of independence, this represents a Kyrgyz woman holding a flame ringed tynduk. The statue replaced the one of Derzhinsky - founder of the Cheka - the forerunner of the KGB.

Lenin - Ala Too Square - arm outstretched, pointing to the future, or to the mountains(?). This remains the only statue of Lenin left in Central Asia presiding over the ceremonial heart of the capital city. The Kyrgyz have decided that he and his legacy are still very much a part of the country"s history - and although there are occasional debates in the press and parliament, there is a special law on the preservation of the statue. The Alley of Statesmen - to the east of the Historical Museum behind Friendhip house there are busts of some important statesmen including several who also have streets named after them in Bishkek..

The Official State Flagpole - built in 1998. The guard is changed every day, on the hour, from 07:00 till 18:00. Do not try going into the fenced off area - unless you want to be arrested - the sentries are not there as models for you to pose with for photographs, even if this is common practice elsewhere in the world.

Friendship Monument - in Friendship Square - Prospect Chui, between the White House and the History Museum. There are two stories about the origin of the monument. Some say that the square was inaugurated by Kosygin in 1974 to mark the 50th anniversary of the USSR and others that it was to mark the 100th anniversary of the Kyrgyz "voluntarily" joining the Russian Empire. The trees were all planted by dignitaries, including Kosygin and Brezhnev, but the plaques which recoded their names have long since disappeared.

The Manas Sculptural Complex - outside the Philharmonia on the corner of Prospects Chui and Manas. Completed in 1981, it depicts the legendary hero is placed on a plinth, riding his magical horse Ak-kula, slaying a dragon. Below him are statues of his wife Kanykei and of the wise man and counsellor, Bakai. Around the square carved in red granite are busts of several 20th century manaschi. The Philharmonia also has some stained glass windows depicting traditional kyrgyz patterns.

Alley of the Heroes - Molodaya Gvardia. The name of the street translates as the Avenue of the Young Guards. It marks the course of one of the branches of the Aa Archa River - which was filled in by army engineers who also planted the trees and created the boulevard. The busts are of heroes of the Soviet Union and the statue of soldiers flanked by plaques which read "We went to war for Communism" was constructed by Komsomol - the league of young communists - in the 1960s. On the intersection with Moskovskaya there is a bust of Captain Talgat Yakubek Vegeldinov who was killed in action fighting the Germans and was posthumously awarded the Gold Star Medal.

Alexander Pushkin - outside the Slavic University on Kievskaya - erected in 1999 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Russian Poet. It is supposedly the only statue in the city facing North.

MIG - Kievskaya, outside the headquarters of the National Guard - other towns have tanks, Bishkek has a MIG. Earlier, the Kyrgyzstan was important for training pilots - former President Assad of Syria trained here in the 1960s - and the flying school was the largest earner in the republic.

Kaynazarova - Erkindik - twice "Hero of Socialist Labour". Kurenkeyev - Moskovskaya - a composer and musician.

Togolok Moldo - in Togolok Moldo park on Moscovskaya. Togolok Moldo, (his real name was Bayymbet Abdyrakhmanov), 1860-1942, was born in the Ak Tal region near Naryn. He was a poet and one of the better known twentieth century manaschi - a special class of itinerant minstrel (akyn) who give recitals of the Manas epic. He appears on the 20 som note.

Bokonbaev - at the intersection of Erkindik and Bokanbaeva. Zhoomart Bokanbaev was a poet and playwright. Frunze - Erkindik, opposite the railway station - Mikhail Vasilievich Frunze (1885-1926) was born in Bishkek - which was then called Pishpek. He spent a tempestuous time in Moscow, and after several arrests for revolutionary activity - as one of Lenin"s pupils, he eventually commanded the Red Guards which occupied the Kremlin in October 1917.

A major player in the civil war he was responsible for campaigns in Siberia and the Caucasus Mountains. In September 1918 he was dispatched to Tashkent in an armoured train to head a "Turkic Commission"; to purge the "elite", re-educate the masses and introduce the industrialisation of the region. He then led the Bolshevik forces which took Khiva (meeting virtually no resistance) and Bukhara (after a four day fight) in 1920, and then pushed the Basmachi rebels out of Ferghana valley. He replaced Trotsky as War Commissar and introduced a system of conscription requiring compulsory peacetime military service and molded the Red Army into a formidable fighting force and revolutionary tool. After Lenin"s death, he survived several mysterious car accidents, but eventually died after submitting to a stomach operation at the order of the Politburo in 1926. His home town was renamed Frunze in his honour. There is a statue of him standing outside Moscow and one of the leading Soviet Military academies was named after him. (The name was changed to Bishkek in 1991.)

Outlying districts:

Young Girl - outside the Champagne Factory on Prospect Mir Lenin - Propect Mira - outside the Polytechnic - a less well known statue than that in the Ala Too Square.

Pilot - Propect Mira - outside the offices of Kyrgyz Airlines at the old airport at the entrance of the Pinara Hotel.

Ataturk - Akunbaeva - at the southern entrance of Ataturk park, previously called Friendship Park.

The Afghan War Memorial - Ataturk Park. Beneath the two soldiers the inscription reads "People, Don"t forget the lessons of the past".

City Gates:

At several points on roads entering the city, for example on Fuchika entering from Manas airport, are nameplates for Bishkek. Another is the Rotary monument capped by the Soviet Star and banners at the intersection of Molodaya Gvardia and Jibek Jolu. On Jibekj Jolu there are several monuments built to commemorate various dates such as the 50th year of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic

Mosaics and reliefs:

Several buildings have facades with decorative reliefs and mosaics. Some are simple representations of traditional patterns such as "rams horns" whilst others are abstract designs, motifs such as state symbols or pictorial representations (often of an ideological theme). Such buildings include Dom Technica, The buildings of the Universities (the main building on Frunae, the laboratory complex, the main building of BKSLM on Jibek Jolu,) as well as some apartment blocks.

The Circus - On Frunze netween Sovietskaya and Sultan Ibraimova The Frunze Museum - on the corner of Razzakova and Frunze Marx, Engels and Lenin - On a building that belongs to the Academy of Sciences on the corner of Frunze and Manas.

The Kyrgyz State Univeristy - on Frunze, between Manas and Turisbekova, has an interesting façade and relief over the entrance.

The Kyrgyz National Theatre - on Abdumomunova in the old square, not far from the Historical Museum.

The Ala Too Cinema - Prospect Chui a refit in the 1960s included the heroes of the time - cosmonauts. The Constitutional Court Building on Prospext Erkindik Lenin Mosaic - Moskovskaya Nationalities of the USSR Mosaic - Propect Mira - erected in 1963 to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Khirgizia joining the Russian Empire Manas Airport - "Meeting guests". There are also examples of stained glass in the Philharmonia amd the Palace of Weddings.

Disappeared: The Atom - A metal representation of the Atom used to stand on a traffic island on Propect Chui outside the Academy of Sciences … it can still be seen in old photographs. Ala-Archa National Park 35km to the south of Bishkek, an excursion to Ala-Archa is ideal for visitors who want to experience the Kyrgyz mountains, but have too little time to explore further afield. Ala-Archa Canyon, the largest of the numerous rugged gorges and deep canyons in the area, makes the most popular daytrip from Bishkek. The canyon offers innumerable possibilities for day hikes and is also the starting point for many short treks in the region. From here it is possible to hike to waterfalls, trek to glaciers and head off up towards Korona Peak for a challenging ascent.

The less energetic will appreciate Ala-Archa"s grand, but easily accessible scenery - best viewed on a weekday when there are less people. A relaxing stroll followed by a slap-up Kyrgyz picnic is the best way to soak up the mountain atmosphere. Don"t forget your camera and binoculars.

Ala-Archa Canyon is a national park, with an "ecological tax" levied at the entrance. Taxes start from $1 per person, depending on the number of people in a car. All entrance fees and taxes are included in Turkestan excursions