THE Spektator 40 som/сом

№2 November 2008

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

Against Love
A true story of kidnapping for marriage

Plus: Shyrdak secrets, Talons and tourism, Glacier hikes

. .
Tourist Map What’s On Restaurant Guide
 alatoo

Who we are
CAMP Alatoo is a non-profit and non-governmental organization
founded in 2005 promoting sustainable development in the mountain
regions of Kyrgyzstan. CAMP Alatoo is a successor organization of the
Central Asian Mountain Partnership (CAMP), a program financed
by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Jointly with
its partner organizations in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, CAMP Alatoo
forms part of the CAMP Network which employs about 25 people.

What we want
The overall goal is to contribute to the improvement of people’s livelihoods
in the mountain villages of Kyrgyzstan by encouraging a more
sustainable use of natural resources.

How we work
CAMP Alatoo pursues a trans-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder
approach based on local, regional and international partnerships
and experiences. CAMP Alatoo develops, adapts and implements
innovative, simple and effective technologies with an emphasis on
awareness raising and involvement by villagers, local institutions,
partner organizations and experts.

What we do
CAMP Alatoo supports the development of mountain villages by promoting
the sustainable use of natural resources through:
• theoretical and practical training
• institutional development of NGOs
• soil and water conservation technologies
• energy saving technologies
• participatory pasture management
• integrated local risk management
• small grants

www.camp.kg

Central Asian Mountain Partnership

Alliance
N o n g ove r n m e n t a l o rg a n i z a t i o n s of Central Asian
for sustainable rural development Mountain Communities
 The Spektator Magazine
Publisher: Tom Wellings

Contents
Staff writers: Alex Ward, Robert Marks,
Andreas Hedfors, Carl Whetham,
Anthony Butts, Asel Orozalieva

Email: tom_wellings@live.co.uk

Out & About

Hit the ice
With Kyrgyzstan’s glaciers melting fast, 4
there is no time to lose if you want to see a
prime piece of ice

Lets all buy a shyrdak

Don’t get ripped off in the bazaars - use
5
our tourist-friendly souvenir-carpet
buying guide

This Month
News and Views
Melting glaciers, British royalty, religious
6
freedom and a wrap of the month’s news

Talons and tourism

Find out what wonderful ideas the Kyrgyz
8
Ministry of Tourism is cooking up to entice
more foreign tourists to Kyrgyzstan

Focus
COVER STORY: Against love
We follow the disturbing adventures of a
10
young Kyrgyz man and his friends as they
set out on a slapdash bid to kidnap them-
selves a bride

The Guide
Restaurants, Bars, Clubs 15
Don’t get poisoned, use our restaurant
guide, plus all the best bars and clubs in
town

What’s On
The pick of the entertainment listings for 14
October

Map
Don’t get lost... 15
Weekend
Crosswords, Sudoku, and other things to 16
do over a coffee

The Spektator Magazine is available 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, Alpinist (Embassies and Organi-

Spektator
sations) The UN building, The American base, The German Embassy, The Indian Embassy, The Pakistani Embassy, The Dutch Consulate, CAMP Ala-too, NCCR, The Bishkek Opera & Ballet Society.
THE

.com
See the whole picture with the Spektator and thespektator.com
 4 Out & About
Right The desolate Golubina glacier (R. Marks)
Hit
the
Ice
Thanks to our warming world the future of
Kyrgyzstan’s glaciers does not look bright.
We advise you, therefore, to get your boots
on, pack some sandwiches and take your
pick from the following selection of Kyrgyz
glacier excursionsions - before it’s too late.
Below Ak-Say glacier (R. Marks)
November 2008 The Spektator
ROB MARKS
Takyr Tër Glacier, Lake Ala Kël
The real beauty of this glacier, which lies high up in
the mountains to the South of Karakol, is the pris-
tine high altitude lake which it feeds. Standing on
Ala Kël Pass (3860m) and taking in the grand sweep
of the glacier as it forms on the icefields clinging
to the peaks of the Ala Too range, slowly envelopes
the valleys below, and finally trickles into the azure
waters of Ala Kël, is a highlight of any trip to Kyr-
gyzstan. It is possible to visit the glacier and lake
directly, but most choose to fit it in as part of the
four-day trek from the summer grazing grounds
of Jetti-Orguz to the wild hot springs of Altyn-Ar-
ashan. Keep your eyes open and you may see ibex,
marmots, and such rare birds of prey as the bearded
lamagai. If you are lucky, you’ll also stumble across
the hunter’s camp which stocks vodka which tastes
like petrol.
The best time to visit is from around May to Sep-
tember, or whenever the passes are clear of snow.
The Trekking map ‘South-East Issyk-Kul Lake Coast’
covers the various routes and is available from the
Bishkek ‘Cartography Agency’ (see details above).
Trekking agencies in Karakol will be happy to help
you with guiding, gear and logistics – try ‘Ecotrek’
(Toktogula 112A, (3922)51115, karakol@rambler.ru).
Inulchek Glacier
At the far Eastern tip of the country, China, Kyr-
gyzstan and Kazakhstan are separated by the im-
penetrable barrier of the Tien-Shan range, which
is itself guarded by the mighty Inulchek glacier -
more than 62 kilometers in length and 3.5 kilom-
eters across. This is the realm of serious alpinists
making attempts on Peak Pobeda (7,439m), and
the area is associated with such hardy explor-
ers as Pyotr Semyonov and Nikolai Przhevalsky.
If you want to follow in their footsteps you will
need to arrange an expensive helicopter flight, or
guides and permits for the tricky five-day trek in.
But the rewards for the adventurer are great, with
grand vistas over truly wild, unexplored environ-
ments, forbidden to everyone until only recently.
If you are fortunate, in mid August you may also
be able to see the point when the banks of the
enigmatic Merzbacher lake melt, sending tons of
ice and water instantly pouring down onto the
glacier.
A number of mountaineering outfits run base
camp facilities in the Inulchek valley, including
tented accommodation, food, saunas, and so on.
July and August are the best times to visit, due
to cold temperatures. For helicopter trips, contact
‘Turkistan’ in Karakol (Toktogul 273, www.karakol.
kg) or ‘Kan Tengri’ in Almaty (Kasteev 10, www.
kantengri.kz) or ‘Dostuck Trekking’ (see below).
For trekking and permit support contact ‘Ak-Sai’
in Bishkek (Sovietskaya 65, www.ak-sai.com), ‘Dos-
tuck Trekking’ in Bishkek (Vosemnadstataya Liniya
42-1, www.dostuck.com.kg) and ‘ITMC Tien-Shan’
in Bishkek (Molodaya Gvardia 1A, www.itmc.cen-
tralasia.kg).
Ak-Say and Golubina Glaciers, Ala Archa
National Park
In the tranquil alpine setting of Ala Archa National
Park, these glaciers are accessible as overnight excur-
sions from Bishkek, either camping or staying in the
more comfortable accommodation available around
the alpine hotel in the park. Each glacier has a dis-
tinct character, making both well worth a visit.
Ak-Say Glacier involves a stiff but rewarding hike
from the Alpine hotel to the Ratsek alpinists’ hut.
Here is a good place to camp, with views over the
craggy and volatile snout of Ak-Say, leading up to
Peak Box (4,293m) and Peak Korona (4,691m). A
further trek up the rocky track at the Western side of
the glacier leads you up to great views of the glacier
proper, and the routes taken by such alpine greats
as Lowe and Barber up Peak Free Korea (4,777m).
This leads onto the glacier itself, allowing you to see
it first hand. You can also hang out with the Russian
alpinists that gather in the area and listen to them
blabber on about how gnarly they are.
The Golubina Glacier feels a world away from Ak-
Say, a seemingly endless expanse of gnarled rock
and ice wedged under the brooding Peak Ala Acha
(4088m). The sense of isolation is reinforced by the
ghostly long-abandoned glacial service hut which
clings to the rocky slope overlooking Golubina. The
route there is less demanding, but picturesque,
crossing numerous rickety wooden bridges as it
winds down Ala Archa valley and finally departing
from the beaten track to force a way up to the gla-
cier service hut.
The best time to visit is from around May to Oc-
tober - although it’s possible to . A good trekking
map for Ala Archa National Park is available from
the Bishkek ‘Cartography Agency’
(107 Kievskaya - Near Togolok Moldo on the
third floor of the building which also houses DHL,
tel. (0312) 212217).
www.thespektator.com
 Out & About 5
Lets
all buy a shyrdak
The Spektator’s resident Kyrgyz rug expert, What should I look for in my Shyrdak?
Rob Marks, shares some of his shyrdak se- Shyrdaks come in a variety of colours and patterns.
crets to help you lay your hands on a prime The artificial dyes produce more vivid, longer-last-
ing colours, but the more subdued natural dyes are
piece of carpet.
making a comeback, and are rather more tasteful.
There are various patterns which are recognisably

H
ROB MARKS
‘Kyrgyz’, such as the ram’s horns design, which is
efting my sixth bucket of putrid supposed to represent wealth/virility/protection
sewer water, it was difficult not to re- depending on who you ask. The traditional designs
flect on the difference between life in apparently have their roots in shamanistic supersti-
England, and life in the villages of Kyr- tion, but their original significance seem to have
gyzstan. ‘In England your government been forgotten by many. More modern, creative
takes care of everything for you’, a local advised designs can also be found. To ensure you have an
me ‘but here we have a saying: if they will not help authentic shyrdak, look at the stitching: if looks like
me I will help myself’. it has been done by a machine, it probably was.
Indeed. So there I was, in the absence of a serv-
iceable sewage system, emptying the drains for Where’s my closest shyrdak emporium?
our house by hand with an old bucket. But this There are several options, depending on your
was of course only one manifestation of the self time and travel plans: They supply the traditional and innovative de-
help ethic of which the local chap was speaking. signs for the Kyrgyz Style shop in Bishkek. Led by
Another is well known to travelers and locals alike, Bishkek artist Zulaika Riskeldieva.
especially those who have had to pay a bribe to Generally the tourist shops and shopping cen- Naryn
some policeman or official who felt they were en- tres seem to stock fairly unappealing shyrdaks for The best shyrdaks are said to come from the
titled to help themselves to your holiday money in high prices. What I found for sale in the bazaars Naryn region. Who knows. But this is perhaps
order to supplement their meagre wages. But the was frankly rancid. Taking the time and effort to the most challenging shopping destination. The
necessity of doing things for yourself in Kyrgyzstan seek out those who stock authentic work from best way to get in touch with local producers is
has also translated into various entrepreneurial the far-flung regional cooperatives will generally to contact Community Based Tourism (CBT) in
ventures which turn traditional handicrafts into a get you a better shyrdak. Naryn (35212) 50895, 50865; Lenina 8.
source of income. Zaria – in Naryn, on Lenina, hidden opposite the
Kyrgyz Style - Apt 12, Bokanbaev 133; (312)
The influx of tourists to Kyrgyzstan has provided 621267; www.kyrgyzstyle.kg bus stop. An NGO which produces export quality
a market which allows people in rural areas to make A non-profit organisation who use a network of shyrdaks.
some money by selling their traditional handmade skilled artisans to produce top quality stuff, ex- Nuska – in Naryn, on Lenina – set back from the
felt carpets, called shyrdaks to travellers. On a re- ported globally. My first choice in Bishkek. road and signposted with a sandwich board.
cent horse-riding trip to Kochkor, one of the locals ZUM – Chuy 155 (312) 2192794 Operated by a local designer whose work has
told me that ‘there is nothing to do in winter, when On the third floor of this department store you been internationally exhibited.
the tourists are gone, all we do is sit at home and can find standard tourist fare. Shyrdaks really do it for me, where can
drink vodka for six months.’ But of course this is Asahi – 136 Chuy (312) 665710
at most only half true. As while the men stagger This boutique style quality ‘arts handicrafts’ shop
I learn more?
Try the Museum of Fine arts, (196 Soveitskaya, op-
around from bottle to bottle the women are work- accepts credit cards.
posite the Opera House; Tue-Sun 9am-5pm, Fri
ing away producing goods to sell when the tourists Tumar – 36 Togolok Moldo
10am-4pm; entrance $2) which exhibits some old
reappear. Cooperatives like the Altyn Oimok Work- Another boutique style quality ‘arts’ shop. Appar-
rugs.
shop have formed to give women in otherwise im- ently they can find people to take ‘tush kyiz’ (an-
poverished areas the opportunity to help provide other type of dyed felt rug) commissions.
for their families, and organisations like Kyrgyz Issyk-Kul Area Below & Top Both of these fine specimins meet
Style provide a link to the international export mar- Setting off into the wilds in search of your dream with the approval of Rob Marks (R. Marks)
ket. This seems to work well for everybody. Even carpet can be an adventure in itself in Kyrgyzstan
the customer who buys the shyrdak can enjoy the (in the sense of an arduous journey whose out-
warm fuzzy feeling of knowing not only that they come is neither certain nor necessarily pleasura-
are probably getting an authentic product, but ble). However, take the time and you’ll probably
their money is helping support local industries and find a more authentic product at cheaper prices,
communities (or at least breweries). and learn something along the way.
Altyn Kol Women’s Cooperative (in Kochkor)
How much should I pay for my Shyrdak? – contact the ‘Shepherd’s Life’ representative
Nobody wants to be a crusty hippy backpacker Miriam Omurskova (3535) 21423111, or the CBT
arguing over every last som, but don’t be afraid office in Kochkor, 22A Pioneerskaya (3535) 22355
to ask for a discount (skidka), especially if you A women’s cooperative, producing the real thing
are picking up a couple of things. Prices vary at good prices. The high mountain pastures
greatly depending on the size, quality and com- nearby apparently produce ideal conditions for
plexity of the shydrak, as well as where you buy the sheep’s semi-fine wool.
it from (buying direct from the villages where Altyn Oimok Workshop (in Bokonbaeva) – 69/70
the goods are produced will be much cheaper). Kyrgyzskaya (3947) 93121, 91590
Expect to pay upwards of $100 for something This workshop provides work for single women
decent. with large families, and sources all wool locally.

www.thespektator.com November 2008 The Spektator

 6 This Month
Kyrgyzstan’s
glaciers
slipping away
TOM WELLINGS
BISHKEK, Oct 9 (The Spektator) - A recent study car-
ried out in Kyrgyzstan by ‘NCCR North South’ – a Swiss
research program tackling issues of global change
around the world - suggests that the decline and re-
treat of Kyrgyz glaciers is becoming increasingly rapid.
The report, published this year, focused on the
Sokoluk watershed in Chui Oblast, an area of approxi-
mately 720km2. It aimed to assess the changes in gla-
cier surface area since 1963 by mapping current gla-
cier coverage and comparing the data with previously
secret Russian topographic maps as well as satellite
images from different periods up to 2000.
Results showed an overall area loss of 28% between
1963 and 2000 with a clear acceleration of wastage
since the 1980s, mirroring results of previous studies
in other regions of the Tien Shan as well as the Alps.
It was discovered that there are now eighty gla-
ciers in the watershed, eight small glaciers of less
than half a kilometre in length have totally disap-
peared since 1963. This class of small glacier seems
particularly susceptible to decline, constituting only
one quarter of the total ice surface in 1963 but ac-
counting for more than 40% of the entire area loss
up to the year 2000.
Daniel Masseli, a Swiss environmental scientist
who works for NCCR North South, said that the re-
sults of the study indirectly confirm the increase of
air temperature and heat fluxes over recent decades
observed in many other regions around the world.
He said that they also show that glaciers in elevat-
ed continental zones are no less sensitive to global
warming than glaciers in areas closer to the sea.
Massive glacier retreat would be a dire threat
to stability in Central Asia. Currently, water locked
away in the snow and glaciers of Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan gradually melts throughout the spring
and summer providing a reliable supply of drinking
and irrigation water for much of the Central Asian
region. Glacier melt-water peaks at an ideal time
feeding important regional rivers just when farm-
ers’ demands for irrigation water is at its highest. If
the water flow is reduced or disturbed, many highly
populated lowland areas particularly in Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan will be put at risk of acute water
shortages.
Given that agriculture is such a significant sec-
tor in the national economies of Central Asian
countries, an agricultural crisis caused by dimin-
ishing supplies of fresh water could ruin people’s
livelihoods and lead to potential regional conflict.
For these reasons, monitoring the region’s gla-
ciers and forming a thorough understanding of
their status and dynamics is fundamental in order
to anticipate water crises and plan appropriate
measures.
Ryskul Usubaliev from the Central-Asian Insti-
tute for Applied Geosciences (CAIAG) said: “Gla-
ciers are melting owing to our warming climate.
To stop this process we need to take a number
of economic measures. Restrictions over the dis-
November 2008 The Spektator
charges of pollution into the atmosphere must be
introduced. The UN Kyoto Protocol was adopted
with such a goal, but not all countries signed it
and support it.”
However, Murat Koshoev, national coordinator
of the LIFE programme and Small Grant Programme
of the UN, said that ramshackle irrigation systems
and general inefficient use of water are factors even
more important to food security than the threat of
melting glaciers: “We need to make the irrigation
systems more efficient as a significant part of ag-
Kyrgyzstan in Brief
‘War-starting, fuel-spilling’
Americans told to go home
BISHKEK, Oct 21(AFP) - Some 100 activists from
two Kyrgyz political groups rallied in Bishkek on
October 21 calling for withdrawal of the US air
base from Kyrgyzstan.
Protesters from the nationalist Zhoomart group
and the Sergiy Radonezhsky Fund cheered as
Zhoomart’s leader Nurlan Motuyev burned a US
flag and an effigy of US President George W. Bush.
“Americans are the first to begin wars every-
where, they kill peaceful Muslims, spill fuel on
our soil and make farmers suffer from poor crops.
Away with the air base!” Motuyev called.
“There is a threat that if a US base stays in Kyr-
gyzstan, Muslim countries like Iraq, Afghanistan
and China would take vengeance on us,” the
Fund’s leader Igor Trofimov warned.
China food scare spills over into KG
BISHKEK, Nov 1 (IWPR) - A scare involving im-
ports of Chinese flour has raised concerns about
the rigour with which the Kyrgyz government en-
forces food safety standards.
While the authorities have claimed they reacted
as soon as they became aware there was a problem,
the discovery of contaminated flour has highlight-
ed defects in the way imported food is checked.
Reports that melamine, a potential harmful
chemical, had been found in a consignment of
flour imported from China surfaced on a Kyrgyz
news website on October 23.
Melamine is a man-made substance that, when
added to food products, makes it appear that they
have greater protein content. It is the chemical that
contaminated dairy products in the recent scandal
in China, where four children died and more than
50,000 fell ill after consuming tainted baby milk
ricultural products in Kyrgyzstan, especially grain
crops, is grown on irrigated lands. The faster we in-
troduce water-saving and water-efficient systems
of irrigation, the better we will ensure our food se-
curity.”
The Kyrgyz may be powerless to stop industrial-
ised countries belching out pollution, but if a more
sparing attitude to water resources is adopted in
addition to improvements to the water infrastruc-
ture the country will be better placed to deal with
the shortages that undoubtedly lie ahead.
Stalled Sayipov shooting investi-
gation called ‘an outrage’
BISHKEK, Oct 24 (The Spektator) - On the first
anniversary of Uzbek journalist Alisher Sayipov’s
fatal shooting in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh,
Reporters Without Borders called on the Kyrgyz
authorities to relaunch the murder investigation,
which has made no substantial progress and has
been suspended twice.
“The lack of any substantial progress is dis-
graceful,” Reporters Without Borders said. “So far
neither perpetrators nor masterminds have been
identified. Such a degree of impunity is an out-
rage. The investigators should seriously consider
the possibility that the murder was linked to Say-
ipov’s journalistic work instead of trying to explain
it away in terms of his support for the Uzbek exile
opposition party Erk or the contacts he may have
had with banned religious grops.”
Kyrgyz economic doom looms
BISHKEK, Nov 4 (AP) - Kyrgyzstan’s economy minis-
ter said Tuesday that the global economic crisis may
drive the nation to the verge of financial collapse.
A drop in the amount of money sent home
from migrant laborers working abroad and falling
investment rates could start to affect the country
by early next year, Akylbek Japarov said during a
televised government meeting.
“Our government is in real terms on the thresh-
old of a financial crisis,” Japarov said. “A decline in
Kyrgyzstan’s economic situation is quite possible
by February or March 2009.”
A third of Kyrgyzstan’s trade turnover is reliant
on exports to Russia and neighboring Kazakhstan,
whose economies are expected to slow in coming
months.
www.thespektator.com

Religious free-
dom under
siege in Bishkek
JOHN C.K. DALY
BISHKEK, Oct 28 (IWPR) - Officials in Kyrgyzstan
appear intent on establishing tight control over
expressions of faith. The country’s parliament is
widely expected to give final approval soon to
legislation that would severely restrict the rights
of religious groups.
The government is touting the bill on religion
as an anti-terrorism measure, saying that the new
statutes would make it easier for law-enforcement
authorities to contain Islamic radicals. In addition,
officials say that the pending legislation is needed
to help thwart what some portray as a second so-
cial scourge - evangelical Christians.
“We are afraid of religious extremism. Those
who try to influence people on the level of psy-
chology are trying to take destructive actions,”
said Kanatbek Murzahalilov, the deputy director
of the State Agency on Religious Affairs (SARA).
Critics find fault both with the intent of the
legislation and the manner in which the Kyrgyz
government is pursuing change. One of their big-
gest complaints is that the legislation is shrouded
in secrecy. According to Forum 18, an Oslo-based
religious rights watchdog organization, Kyrgyz
officials have refused to make public the text of
the amendments. The legislation secured parlia-
mentary approval during a first reading October
9, and it is now scheduled for a second and final
legislative vote on October 31.
One MP, Zainidin Kurmanov, revealed to Forum 18
that the latest version of the draft law contains a ban
on activity by unregistered religious groups, as well
as a prohibition on the free distribution of religious
literature. It also criminalizes “proselytism” and re-
quires that a religious organization have at least 200
adult members who are citizens of the Kyrgyz repub-
lic in order to qualify for official registration.
“It appears the draft law is targeting communi-
ties that members of parliament don’t like,” said
Felix Coley, Forum 18’s editor told EurasiaNet. “It
seems some politicians are unhappy with Kyrgyz
changing faith, especially Muslims to Christianity.”
Corley suggested that, from the viewpoint
of religious persecution, implementation of the
amendments would place Kyrgyzstan on a slip-
pery slope. “If the government starts targeting
one community, pretty soon all communities
[could be] affected,” he cautioned.
Asked if the law targeted Christian or Muslim
groups, Murzahalilov, the SARA officials, insisted
that organizations that encouraged people to
change their faith “damage[d] society.”
“Religion is a very delicate thing and the fact
that they [proselytizers] are insistently trying to
spread their faith is a violation of basic human
rights,” Murzahalilov said.
Murzahalilov characterized existing legislation
as “too liberal,” adding that it didn’t “meet the
This article has been reproduced with the kind permission of International War and Peace Reporting. www.iwpr.net
www.thespektator.com
This Month 7
Keeping the faith Orthodox believers have little to fear from the proposed legislation (Photo:
Duncan Ferguson)
requirements of reality.” Specifically, the current leased in September, noted that while “most reli-
legal framework didn’t account for the presence gious groups operated with little interference from
of evangelical Christians in Kyrgyzstan. “The the [Kyrgyz] government or each other, there were
Kyrgyz people are very tolerant and have been several reports of societal abuses or discrimination
this way for centuries, but this obsessive work based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice. The
of Christian and, sometimes, Islamic groups ... report went on to document instances of tension
could lead to unpleasant consequences,” the “between Muslims and former Muslims who had
SARA official stated converted to other religious groups.” For exam-
Prominent clerics among Kyrgyzstan’s estab- ple, the report cited an incident in May in which a
lished faiths - Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodox Christian convert was prevented from burying his
Christianity - share the official view of the country’s 14-year-old son in a local cemetery in the central
spiritual landscape. Father Igor Dronov, Secretary part of the country. He was told he would have
to renounce Christianity before being allowed to
“Officials say that the pending inter his son in the predominantly Muslim burial
ground. Inter-faith tension was especially high in
legislation is needed to help thwart rural areas, the report added.
Not surprisingly, representatives of evangelical
what some portray as a second so- groups are outspoken in their criticism of the leg-
cial scourge - evangelical Christians’’ islation. “It [will be] the same as it was during the
Soviet Union,” Sergey Lysov - director of the Kyr-
gyzstan branch of Bible League, an international
of the Russian Orthodox Diocese in Kyrgyzstan, non-profit organization - said in reference to the
is a staunch critic of the proselytizing efforts by amendments. “Churches that have less than 200
“non-traditional” religious groups. Describing parishioners cannot re-register; therefore many
some groups as “dangerous” and “totalitarian,” he churches will not be able to exist legally.”
endorsed the pending legislation as necessary. Lysov went on to defend the right of evangeli-
“Those sects are very harmful and bring a lot of cal groups to operate openly and actively in Kyr-
damage to the society as a whole,” he said. gyzstan. “People think if someone was born Kyrgyz
Imam Haji Shakir Mamatov, the spiritual lead- then he or she automatically becomes Muslim,” he
er of Bishkek’s largest mosque, also favors the said. “They don’t give him the freedom of choice.
amendments. He likened Islamic radical groups Kyrgyz people come to Christianity themselves;
that are active in Kyrgyzstan, especially Hizb-ut- nobody makes them change their faith.”
Tahrir, and evangelical Christian organizations Representatives of other evangelical organiza-
to political parties. Not changing the status quo tions indicated that the amendments would not
would quickly stoke social strife, he argued, add- deter them from their missions. Two members
ing that he was particularly wary of evangelicals. of one Christian group, speaking on condition
“If one is converted [to Christianity] and oth- of anonymity, said they felt compelled to keep
ers in the family are Muslims, it [provokes] fight- proselytizing. “We respect the authority of gov-
ing in the family, the community and society,” ernment because the Bible tells us to do what the
Mamatov said. government says,” one of them said. “We will lis-
The US State Department’s 2008 installment ten and obey, but they cannot shut our mouths.
of its International Religious Freedom Report, re- We will continue to share our beliefs.”
November 2008 The Spektator
 8 This Month
Talons
tourism
and
Last month a government-sponsored hunt-
ing festival was held in Issyk-Kul - just one
idea the Tourism Ministry is pursuing in the
hope of securing Kyrgyzstan a place on the
must see list of the intrepid traveller.
Top Right A chained wolf and a Kyrgyz taigan
- an esteemed breed of hunting dog (All Photos dred spectators gath-
by Evan Harris)
November 2008 The Spektator
K
WINSTON OLSEN
YRGYZSTAN: THE COUNTRY OF tour- out that the event had not been advertised
ism,” read one event marshal’s t-shirt at abroad, and that greater effort would be made in
the Calburan festival near Bokombayeva this regard next year.
last month, neatly displaying the govern- Animal cruelty issues aside, the spectacle of
ment’s keen ambition of drawing more golden eagles soaring over an arid Kyrgyz land-
curious foreigners within the country’s borders. scape is certainly worth the four-hour taxi ride
The event - which debuted this year and is from Bishkek. But whether this event alone has
slated as an annual fixture - involved enough enough appeal to actively attract foreigners to
blood sport to drive a PETA activist to pull out the country is a different matter.
his dreadlocks in frustration, alongside some Either way, Kyrgyzstan’s mission to attract tourists
traditional music, hunting rituals and costumes. is shared by other former Soviet states that have more
As around two hun- in the way of beautiful
scenery than export-
ered to watch a chained
”Around two hundred specta- able commodities. With
wolf set upon by a pack tors gathered to watch a chained decent marketing, the
of dogs, the day’s climax, thinking goes, adven-
Tourism Ministry press
wolf set upon by a pack of dogs” ture holidays and ecot-
secretary Elvira Myrsa- ourism could help milk
bekova explained what a potential cash cow,
the government hopes to achieve by funding boosting employment and investment.
this gritty extravaganza. “Spain is famous for its Georgia is a little further ahead in this game,
traditions – we’d like to promote Kyrgyzstan as a having recently launched a tourism marketing
country with such a festival,” she says, as some of drive in the Economist magazine and opening
the dogs lose interest in the ferocious wolf and a brand new international airport last year. And
wander back to their owners. “We are promoting while the Georgian government’s year-end tour-
[Kyrgyz] nature and such places as Issyk-Kul, tra- ism figures of over a million are preposterous, it
ditions and culture,” she expands in a later inter- is certainly taking a step in the right direction.
view. Kyrgyzstan is in a trickier situation – more ex-
pensive and further to fly to, and habitually con-
Eagle-eyed holidaymakers? fused with the non-tourist friendly Kurdistan,
Earlier in the day eagle owners from around the coun- it is unlikely to become the next Costa del Sol
try, as well as a small contingent from Kazakhstan, any time soon. But Myrsabekova is convinced
showcased their bird’s hunting skills, launching them that the festival could play a significant role in
from a nearby hillside to swoop down on foxes and stimulating tourism. “The idea is very good, it is
hares to sporadic applause from the audience. reliable, we have all the possibilities,” she says.
There were only a handful of foreigners in the Moreover it is only one of a number of ideas that
crowd, although Myrsabekova is quick to point the government is experimenting with.
www.thespektator.com
 This Month 9

Santa Claus is coming...in February delegation’s proposal of a Schengen-inspired visa about this is yet to be seen, and Myrsabekova
A slightly more outlandish brainchild of the busy system in Central Asia at a regional tourism confer- could not say how soon such a scheme could be
workerbees down at the Tourism Ministry is Kyr- ence last month in Uzbekistan. The system would in place. But the very idea itself shows that the Kyr-
gyzstan’s ‘International Festival of the Santa Claus- allow travel around the region on a single visa and gyz government is at least aware of the avenues it
es of the World.’ would likely lessen the bureaucratic and financial needs to explore to up its annual tourism figures.
Debuting earlier this year in the festive month drawbacks to travelling here and may encourage As for the success of next year’s Santa Claus
of February, the event took its inspiration from more cross border excursions. meet and the Calburan curious Spektator readers
research undertaken by a Swedish engineering How enthusiastic Kyrgyzstan’s neighbours are will be able to see for themselves.
company in 2007. The light-hearted study calcu-
lated that Kyrgyzstan is logistically the optimum
place for the industrious present-giver to be based
out of - news that was taken in Bishkek as reason
for an annual charity get-together of Santas from
across the earth.
However, while Kyrgyzstan may have triumphed
logistically when it comes to the possibilities of
breakneck global philanthropy, logistics and bu-
reaucracy are potential obstacles to a healthy flow
of tourists here.

C’est la visa
As anyone who has had the pleasure of trundling
around the various government departments and
embassies in Bishkek, sorting out your documenti
in this part of the world is no Swiss picnic.
A key element of the Georgian strategy in open-
ing up to foreigners was scrapping visas for west-
erners, essentially guaranteeing a trouble-free
entry into the country for anyone who is likely to
bring a fat wallet with them.
When asked about the difficulties of extending
visas in Kyrgyzstan, Myrsabekova insists that it is a
subject the government is trying to address. “We’re
looking for ways to make it more convenient for
foreigners [visiting Central Asia], she says.”
One example, Myrsabekova adds, is the Kyrgyz

www.thespektator.com November 2008 The Spektator

 10 Focus
Against
love
In the lands of Genghis Khan, Antony
Butts reports on the rise and rise of steal-
ing women for marriage - a once obscure
custom that most Kyrgyz men now see as
a birthright
Above Caught in the act. Ilyas (centre) plays
second fiddle to Talant, the best man, who car-
ries the freshly snatched girl into the house (All
photos by Anthony Butts)
November 2008 The Spektator
H
ANTHONY BUTTS
IGH IN THE FORESTED jade green moun-
tains above Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan
a lone horseman thunders down toward
us, a herd of horses galloping before him.
Sitting on my horse, I tinker with the con-
trols on my video camera getting ready to capture
the excitement - a good bit of footage for my televi-
sion documentary. But next to me, my two horse-
men companions have other ideas. With a cry they
urge their horses on and are suddenly in front of
me, galloping up to meet the lone rider.
Before I know it, my horse bolts. I seize the reins
in alarm, finding myself flying up the mountainside
against my will, my forgotten video camera bounc-
ing manically around on its strap. My steed is flat out,
jealously wanting to catch up with his two mates
and I’m forced to hold on for dear life, gripping the
saddle with my thighs as hard as I can. To my great
alarm, my horse is utterly unresponsive to my des-
perate yanking on the reins, but as we bound tire-
lessly up the mountain, I let go of the panic and be-
gin to enjoy the wind rushing through my hair, the
feeling of total exhilaration. Somehow it feels right,
as if I have been thrown back to an age where men
were hunters who rode high on horses and ruled
this primeval land of snow, forest and mountains,
and their Gods were the very elements themselves.
This was the Central Asia I had come to see – a
forgotten land in the middle of a vast continent. A
land of forests, mountains, deserts and intense hot
and cold. For these were the wild spaces where
Genghis Khan gathered his armies of nomadic
horse archers to wreak carnage on the infant Rus-
sian civilisation in the 13th century. As our horses
finally halted, the lone horseman had changed
from a small speck to a guy in a checked shirt and
baseball cap. This man was Ilyas and I was here to
film his wedding day. But this was no normal wed-
ding video I had been asked to shoot. For as I was
to discover, the beauty and power of a more primi-
tive way of life comes with a cruelty just as intense
and wild as nature itself.
Here in Kyrgyzstan, a land almost exclusively of
mountains, live the descendants of hunters – hunt-
ers whose centuries long dominion over these
mountains was ended only by the cannons, bullets
and the machine guns of the Tsar’s armies. Under
Imperial Russia this land of warriors and nomadic
tribes became at first a vassal state, then with com-
munism the mountain people were taken down
and herded like their own sheep into drab apart-
ment blocks and factories where they were taught
writing and ‘civilisation’. When the USSR collapsed
and Kyrgyzstan became independent, so did Kyr-
gyzstan’s economy. Its people, living at the end
of world, thousands of miles from any ocean and
sandwiched between China, Russia and a host of
unstable ‘Stans’, were now neither adapted to the
new capitalism nor to the nomadic yurt-dwelling
world of their ancestors. The hard times that began
seventeen years ago have never really ended. But
the desire to become hunters once again has never
died.
I was here making a documentary film for Al
Jazeera about the Kyrgyz custom of marriage
– known locally as Alla Kachu or “bride stealing”.
There is a saying that no matter how absurd or evil
the idea, if it is in the right people’s interest you can
be sure that people will find a way to believe in and
justify it. And here in Kyrgyzstan, village society has
evolved a way for the men to carry on hunting. A
way that suits the post Soviet chaos, economic
depression and yearning for a return to the ways
of their ancestors. My wedding client Ilyas didn’t
even know who his bride was. Neither did my two
overeager horsemen companions, Ilyas’s best mate
Talant and his brother Zhassan. In fact nobody did.
Sure there were several girls on the “will kidnap if
she’s there” list, but nothing certain. But maybe that
is the point of a hunt – the thrill of the unknown.
Marriages in Kyrgyzstan used to be mostly by
mutual agreement. Nobody really knows how
many marriages were made by bride stealing be-
fore the Soviet Union collapsed in 1992, but re-
www.thespektator.com

search by Human Rights Watch puts it around 30%.
In the economic darkness since then, bride stealing
has flourished like mushrooms after a rainstorm. By
2001, 50% of Kyrgyz marriages were made by kid-
napping. And just three years later in 2004, it had
risen to 80%. Bride stealing had become a new way
for people to identify themselves as not Russian,
but Kyrgyz – the descendants of great ancestors.
The rules of the game are simple. It is against
the law and punishable by seven years in jail, but
in order for there to be a conviction, the girl must
sign a police statement. If she’s kidnapped, she can’t
do that for obvious reasons, and if she tries to do
it after the kidnap, her parents won’t allow it be-
cause of the shame it will bring to the girl’s family.
Everybody kidnaps in Kyrgyzstan. The police do it
too. One colonel of the militia admitted that “most
of the lads” in his force kidnap. He himself had been
accused of hiring his police car and himself out to
friends looking for a bit more “muscle” in their kid-
napping. Put simply: to not kidnap your wife means
you are not a man. One last rule: In the hunt for a
bride, any girl is fair game – boyfriend or not - just
so long as she’s a virgin.
I had come from Kyrgyzstan’s capital city Bishkek
the day before with a sheep in the back of a taxi to
get to the wedding. It was tough - over 200 miles
up roads that don’t look like they’ve been resur-
faced since Soviet times. Kidnappings are happen-
ing all the time, but I wanted to get there early to
film the preparations. Ilyas was a friend of a friend
of my translator, and so I’d managed to invite myself
over for a few days. My entrance ticket was our poor
sheep, a little black one I had selected because it
had a big fatty bum (the bigger the bum, the more
prestigious it is – and I can report that it is not that
tasty for English sensibilities). Our sheep (who I had
called Sean) was the equivalent of taking a bottle of
wine over to a friend’s party.
Much of the drive was along the mountain shores
of Lake Issyk Kul. At 182 km long and 60 km wide, it
is the world’s second largest mountain lake. On the
map it looks like an enormous deep blue eye. Up
close and sitting on its sandy shores, it is a beautiful
lake, almost a sea, surrounded by a constant ring of
snow-capped mountains encircling the distant ho-
rizons as far as the eye can see. We passed lots of
primitive looking tourist resorts that neighbouring
Kazakhs come to visit in the summer. I had a run-in
with one of these when I was served some disas-
trously reheated mutton and potato soup. I quickly
pinned the blame on the outdoor toilets – holes in
the ground that are a few metres from the café sur-
rounded by some bombed out looking concrete
and buzzing with flies in the summer heat. I was
later to read with some amusement that many his-
torians believe Issyk Kul to be the origin of the Black
Death which spread along the Silk Road to Europe
in the 14th century. My guess is that sanitary condi-
tions haven’t changed much since then.
As the sun began to set, still our car bumped
along, and herds of sheep and goats began filling
the road. I almost sensed a certain longing from
Sean to be among his kin as they churned up the
dust, a shepherd on a horse or tiny donkey with
big ears following behind and lazily flicking his
whip at them. The flaming red of the setting sun
made pink the wild and distant snowy mountains,
reflecting in the water like a dark blue mirror. The
whole effect was like being transported into a kind
of broken down magical kingdom.
But that was yesterday and those same moun-
www.thespektator.com
tains now burned with the hot midday sun. I fished
out my battered camera to grab an interview with
Ilyas and his friends on their plans for the day. Il-
yas was somewhat quiet and preferred his “best
man” Talant to do most of the talking. Talant was
a sub burnt 30-year old shepherd with gold teeth
and a right rascally face. “Tell me about your plans
for today?” I asked. Talant pointed to a horse graz-
ing nearby, a bell around its neck chiming softly in
the distance. “Right now, she’s just a foal, a young
horse, wild and free. She’s not seen anything in life.”
Then he smiled, “But when we catch her, she will
kick and scream. They all do this.” The horses tug
at their reins and nod as if in agreement, perhaps
eager for another gallop. “But we’ll harness her up
“Put simply: to not kidnap your
wife means you are not a man”
and break her. Then she’ll be an obedient work
horse who can pull carts.” He begins to laugh but
then the other horseman Ilyas’s brother Zhassan
jumps in, perhaps eager not to throw Kyrgyz tra-
ditions in the wrong light. “Maybe that doesn’t
sound so good,” he says. “But that’s just the way
it is!” Talant jokes back. “What if she’s got a boy-
friend or is in love with someone else?” I ask. “Ah
well, the bride belongs to the one who takes her
first!” says Talant. “It’s not for nothing that we say
that a girl is like a stone. Where she is thrown is
where she stays.”
The conversation carried on like this. There
were a few more interesting home-spun sayings
that are used in cultures throughout the world
to justify their actions: “It’s not for nothing that
we say a man is brought up from birth; a woman
from the first day of marriage.” They were after a
fat girl who Ilyas had met at a party six months
ago. They had talked on the phone a few times,
but not met each other since. But as the morning
drags on, up in these mountains overlooking the
brooding blue mass of Issyk Kul, Ilyas starts fret-
ting. “Of course I’m worried,” he tells me. “I mean
I plan to start a family. I’m not doing this just to
have fun.”
The other shepherds gather in a small hut while a
woman makes cream from a noisy handheld grind-
ing machine that gurgles out a sickly trickle of man-
gled milk. It becomes clear Ilyas is trying to delay
his marriage by procrastination. Talant tries to mo-
tivate his mood with a song, the aptly titled “Kyrgyz
Lads.” It’s a song that’s become popular in recent
times and shows just how much bride kidnapping
is becoming accepted in Kyrgyz society. The lyrics
go: “Grab her and run! Grab her and run! Stallions
should run free! Brave lads should keep their dig-
nity. Burning like flames, running in the wind!”
The song does its trick and soon the lads are
bawling it out. “We go to meet our destiny!” Talant
shouts to me as they gallop off to Ilyas’s parents. I’m
wise to this horse game now, and wisely descend
by taxi. At Ilyas’s parents - a ramshackle house in a
sleepy village called Darhan near the lake - Ilyas’s
sister Lilia is busily ordering taxis for the kidnap-
ping. The two daughters-in-law are making bor-
sok – special marriage bread with superstitious
powers that they plan to throw at the kidnapped
girl when she comes in. Ilyas’s mum and dad are
Focus 11
enjoying some tea while looking forward to the
arrival of the new bride: “I’m old and ill. I want to
give all the housework and housekeeping, looking
after cattle, to this new bride so she can do it all,”
Ilyas’s mum explains, not feeling at all ill at ease as
she explains her true motives for the benefit of my
camera. “Ilyas is already 30 and I’m tired of wait-
ing.”
Ilyas’s mum now reveals herself as the true mas-
termind of the kidnapping enterprise. She goes
into a chest and gets out the marriage scarf – a
white cotton shawl she says she has been saving
specially for the occasion. She explains to me the
plan. It’s a plan that will be repeated an estimated
ten thousand times across Kyrgyzstan during the
year - with devastating effect as over 90% of kid-
nappings end with the girl marrying the kidnap-
per.
Holding up the scarf in front of her, she proudly
declares that she is a real Kyrgyz and follower of
an ancient tradition. “She daren’t say no to my boy.
When we put this shawl on her she is considered
married. If she refuses, no man will want her.”“She’ll
be a pariah, considered no longer a maiden but a
woman. She’ll only be fit for a second or third wife.”
I didn’t understand the words at the time, but now
I am editing the film it seems almost as if she en-
joyed those last words. She was kidnapped herself.
Maybe this is her revenge? There was also the su-
perstitious borsok bread – the special bread they
throw over her that has the same kind of effect as
the scarf. “But what if the scarf and bread doesn’t
work?” I ask. But Old Mother has other plans: “I
will use all the old ways, all the superstitions such
as spitting on bread.” “What about curses?” “No, I
don’t think they will be necessary. But the fates will
give her a terrible life if she refuses. And if she re-
spects her elders she will be compelled to stay.”
It is a three-pronged psychological attack: The
shame and difficulty of remarrying and being treat-
ed as second-hand goods, fear of superstitious curs-
es and respect for elders (even if they are strangers).
If the bread and scarf is not enough, it is not un-
common for guys to rape their victims to consum-
mate the marriage physically. A final reason is that
in the merciless village culture of constant rumours
and gossiping, the girls’ shame is also the parents’
shame. Rather than risk having a shamed and un-
marriageable daughter on the hands, the parents
will force the daughter to marry the kidnapper.
As all this is translated to me, I feel like marrying
a girl here must be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Maybe Ilyas knows this. Maybe it is what is driving
him to find his confidence in the numerous shots
of vodka Talant has been feeding him all day. Un-
like his gold-toothed friend, he doesn’t look cut
out for this and is faltering, making himself scarce.
But when he comes back he is all smiles. “There’s
nothing to worry about,” he says, breathing chok-
ing fumes into my face. “Today we are proving
ourselves as real Kyrgyz zhigits (real men).” Talant
is prepared for all danger that may come: “Even
if her relatives chase after us, we’re not afraid,” he
says laughing as usual. “We’ll talk with them …
Well maybe there will be a bit of fighting first!”
Old Mother comes outside to join us and piles on
the pressure: “Be skilful in your kidnapping. Don’t
make me get stressed. I want the screaming and
scandal kept to a minimum.” “Haha! Don’t worry!”
Talant laughs back. “There won’t be any scandal.
I’ve stolen lots of girls and there’s never been a
problem before.“
November 2008 The Spektator
112 Focus
Right 1 Supportive friends are on hand to help
Ilyas take courage through vodka. 2 Although
calamity strikes when one of the kidnap-mo-
biles fails to start.
Far right The kidnapping goes haywire and Il-
yas begins to have second thoughtsv vvv
November 2008 The Spektator
Ilyas appears again, this time ready for his big day.
Innumerable toasts are uttered taking us from day
into night as the vodka bottles empty. Many toasts
were made: “Here’s to your future happiness! Good
luck in your choice of bride! May she respect your
parents and make good tea!” and the rather bizarre
“Kyrgyz lads never go after the same bride twice. So
let’s hope everything turns out well!”
The taxi is outside, waiting to convey Ilyas to his
bride. Then a battered Lada, half-rust, half-paint that
must have seen continuous heavy action since the
‘70s spluttered in. This is our car. The drivers take
off the taxi signs, everyone gets in and the convoy
leaves on its errand (mine needed to be pushed to
get going). The lads are busy bawling out the Kygyz
Lads chorus “Grab her and run! Grab her and run!”
like football supporters off to the big game.
I follow Ilyas and his mates in the second car, but as
we reach the nearby city of Karakol it turns out things
aren’t going according to plan. The fat girl is nowhere
to be seen and it’s already 10pm at night. But the lads
are ingenious and persuade Ilyas’s cousin to introduce
Ilyas to her best friend. Smartening himself up and
buying a watermelon and a bottle of wine, Ilyas dis-
appears up to her friend’s flat. Reluctant to be a part
of the proceedings, I fix Ilyas up with a radio micro-
phone and huddle in the basement of the apartment
block with my translator to listen in on his progress.
An hour goes by as he tries to lure her outside to be
kidnapped. “Won’t you please come to the café. It will
be fun.” Then: “It’s so stuffy here. Let’s go out for some
fresh air.”“Why don’t you have some more wine?”
As an observer, I begin to feel distinctly uncom-
fortable. I know that whether or not I was there, this
would still be happening. But cowering in the base-
ment as the clock turned past one in the morning,
my translator and I are feeling as though we are on
very shaky moral ground. We are startled from our
whispered conversation by the sudden sound of a
door opening and footsteps coming downstairs. It
is Ilyas and the girl. We scarper to our car like peep-
ing Tom’s worried about being caught out. On the
other radio microphone, we heard the lads in the
car plan their move. “As soon as we get to the café,
we’ll kidnap her.” So the plan has changed.
They get the girl to the café easily enough. It
all seems fine except the heavens have decided
to open. I crouch low behind the car, filming eve-
rything from a distance trying not to get water on
the lens, my translator with a pair of earphones in
her ears as a guide to what was happening. Sud-
denly there is a flurry of activity and a lot of running
around in the shadows cast by the café. “Where’s she
gone?” “Almaz! You idiot! You’ve ruined everything.”
The posse regroup, but the lads are too drunk to fig-
ure out what to do. For something that so impinges
women’s rights I am surprised to see a woman - Il-
yas’s sister Lilia - now take charge. “She cannot have
got far,” she reasoned, “We will find her.”
This is too much for me. “What will happen if
they catch her?” I ask my translator. “They will take
her back to Ilyas’s house and maybe rape her.”
There is a fine borderline in journalism between
knowing when to intervene and being an impas-
www.thespektator.com

sive observer. I was no longer prepared to just watch:
“You lay a finger on this girl or you bring her back,
and we’ll call the police,” I tell them. In retrospect, it
wasn’t much of a threat – from all I was told, the po-
lice are likely to be on the guy’s side. But it seems to
work and, disappointed, the posse disband and go
back to their cousin’s while we head back to for Old
Mother’s for a troubled night’s sleep.
I am still rubbing the sleep from my eyes and
finishing off some tea when the gentle sound of a
horse eating grass is interrupted by beeping horns
and loud Kyrgyz electro pop. I rush for my camera.
The big moment has come and I am excited and
feel terrible at the same time. Will what I am doing
with making the film justify the moral dilemma in
making it? I feel like I am filming a sniper. A battered
white Audi splutters in, beeping manically. Old
Mother runs for her shawl. The other young women
of the house ready the borsok bread for action. A
gaggle of expectant middle-aged relatives gossip
eagerly with each other. Talant gets out of the car,
looking as if he has not slept all night and walks
around the other side of the car, lurking. Ilyas gets
out and looks around, a sheepish look on his face.
Talant thrusts the car door open and pulls out a
tiny girl. There is a gash below his left eye and his
gold teeth are flashing. He carries the girl scream-
ing to the door of the house where he sets her on
her feet. “Ah my sweetheart!” he crows. Old Mother
lunges in with the marriage scarf. The girl power-
less, just shouting pathetically, “Grandmother no!
Not that! Please don’t put it on me. Please don’t.”
The borsok bread goes flying as the other girls
laugh while chucking it at her face. Cheap wrapped
chocolates are also thrown - an unexpected ad-
dition. The look of sheer distress on the girl’s face
makes me shudder. All I am thinking is: “Forget the
tradition. This can’t be right. This is wrong.”
The women of the house have now taken over,
www.thespektator.com
bundling the girl inside and pushing her into a cor-
ner. She looks about nineteen. Talant is holding her
fast; Ilyas watching from a comfortable distance and
looking somewhat bemused. They try to placate her,
saying things such as: “Stay here. We’re a good fam-
ily. You’ll be happy.” But it seems as if the girl’s rela-
tives now want her back for suddenly a huge bear
of a man advances into the room, raining fists down
at Talant in a crazed hammer motion. “You goat!” (a
mortal insult in Kyrgyz) he roars impotently as Talant
dances away from him. The girl flees. Ilyas just walks
away as Zhassan his brother leaps onto the man’s
back trying to get him in a bear hug. I walk outside
“Even if her relatives chase af-
ter us, we’re not afraid. We’ll talk
with them. Well maybe there
will be a bit of fighting first!”
with Ilyas. His eyes are bloodshot and reeking of
drink. He can’t understand what has gone wrong. “I
didn’t steal her. She agreed to come,” he lies. Then:
“That was the first time I saw her. Just then. We put
her in a car and came here.” “What’s her name, how
old is she?” my translator asks. “I don’t know,” Ilyas
said. He doesn’t know her from Adam – they had
pretty much just taken her from the street. He is
shaking his head, and as the commotion continues
inside he goes off to eat one of the apples growing
in the small orchard in their garden.
I go back inside. The huge man is panting heav-
ily and now blocked in by Old Mother, Lilia and a
small army of gossiping women. Ilyas’s sister-in-
law kindly explains what has happened: “It’s her
brother. He’s angry because they stole her while
they were having their father’s funeral” As a man,
Focus 13
the brother, it seems, is not against kidnapping per
se, it is just that the timing was wrong. The brother
had been in the middle of saying prayers while kill-
ing a sheep for the father’s funeral feast.
The brother is sent on his way, but Old Mother
is quietly confident: “The girl will be a shame to
her parents and they will scold her. We’ll go and
get her back.” Already news of the kidnapping has
spread and the first guest - an old man on a ridicu-
lously short donkey arrives.
The odds were always stacked against the girl and
for almost all kidnapped women in Kyrgyzstan the
wheels of culture turn with bone-crushing inhuman
force. There is nothing the girl, Guliza, can do now.
The die has been cast. An hour later I watch as she
is led back in like a sheep at her parent’s orders, her
head bowed as Old Mother again places the white
shawl over head and intones the traditional Kyrgyz
blessing: “May children be in front of you and ani-
mals behind.” The gaggle of excitable women is busy
flitting around as Guliza is made to sit in a corner of
the room in the bridal bed that the brothers are bus-
ily constructing. “Where are the nails?” one asks the
other while holding up a lurid pink curtain that will
be used to seal the bed off from the rest of the room.
Old Mother looks at me: “Don’t worry! She’ll be fine.
We were all kidnapped,” she says and then proceeds
to say how traumatically each of the other women in
the room found their husbands.
Outside, Ilyas’s father, a man conspicuous by his
absence and bent double with a bad back, calls Il-
yas over. “You brainless idiot! Why did you get so
drunk? How could you treat her like that? She’s not
an animal, not a rabbit or a chicken, but a human
being. You’ve destroyed her dignity.” I find it oddly
upsetting. The one person in a family you would
expect to support this kind of thing is against it,
and in his dotage is powerless to stop his energet-
ic old wife have her way.
November 2008 The Spektator
114 Focus
Right Talant, the best man, reflects on a hard
day’s chase and a job well done
“I always thought that I
would resist, would fight
and not let myself be sto-
len, but they steal you all
the same. Women are just
dolls to be thrown about”
Below All’s well that ends well for Ilyas
November 2008 The Spektator
The next day, the procession of visitors contin-
ues, all pausing to congratulate Old Mother for
her success in bagging such a good looking, hard
working bride. “May the white scarf never leave
her hair!” one old dear solemnly tells her as the vil-
lage women file in like a scene out of the Nativity.
And what about Guliza, the girl sitting in the
corner while the villagers come in and inspect her
like a prized sheep? What is she thinking as this
strange foreign man interrupts her crying, coming
in with a video camera and asking all kinds of ob-
vious questions, probably to report negatively on
her culture? What would you think if, like her, you
have a boyfriend you love and have been dating for
two years and have dreams of marrying and going
to live in the big city? And if yesterday, a drunken
man you have never met before kidnapped you
and now your family and society declare that this
is the man you must now spend the rest of her
life with? “Why am I doing this?” I ask myself. And
I am hating myself for being a part of this, for be-
ing there. Surely her answers are obvious. There
are certain things that you can do to people so
extreme that they will instill the same reaction in
everybody. If you hit someone hard they go “Ow!”
not “Thankyou.” The only difference I am thinking
is how eloquently will Guliza express her feelings.
The more eloquently, the better my film and my
career. Will anything be done to stop this even if
her words are heart-breaking. Or maybe her words
will be too predictable and the narrative drive of
this whole sorry pantomime that repeats 10,000
times a year will slow down because people will
already know exactly how they would feel if it had
happened to themselves.
“I always thought that I would resist, would
fight and not let myself be stolen, but they steal
you all the same,” she tells me between tears and
long sighs to herself. “Women are just dolls to be
thrown about.” “I still cannot believe what’s hap-
pened. Am I really here as a new wife?” she asks
mournfully, still in disbelief about what had hap-
pened the day before. But we struggle to get that
much out of her between the tears before the poor
girl is led out of our interview by Lilia to start her
married life.
I find Old Mother looking very happy and
watching her new charge with contentment. She
has at last found the domestic helper she was so
looking forward to and can now happily retire. She
smiles at us in the doorway. Guliza is already hard
at work – needing the dough for yet more of that
borsok marriage bread for her wedding ceremony
later that day. The cycle continues and the same
weapon that had been used against her, she is now
making. The twin effects of superstitious bread
and scarf had violated her and got her married. I
was later told that when she had been pushed in
over the threshold of the house, she had stepped
over the fallen crusts of borsok bread. That too had
signified something portentous. In these parts
of the world bread is a serious weapon. Even in
nearby Russia, being seen throwing bread in a bin
can get you beaten up. But something better than
bread was now on the menu, as Sean, our wed-
ding present was being led in to the yard. At first
Sean resisted, but with a rope tied around its neck
he, reluctantly at first but then obediently, began
trotting after the man with the rope and knife. His
fatty bum – the tasty bit to the Kyrgyz – wobbled
from side to side like a fat old women running on
a beach in a thong. I recalled Guliza’s explanation
of why she had agreed to marry Ilyas: “I didn’t have
any choice, my family were mad at me. I followed
the tradition. I listened to what people said.”
Sean was laid out on the ground, his legs bound,
a knife sharpened and then rested on his fleece. A
hole was dug by his black head, and he recoiled in
fear at the spade cutting into the earth. Inside Old
Mother was wondering why we were packing up
to leave: “Why are you leaving so early?” she said.
“Come stay. Don’t leave so early. She’ll be happy.
When she has a child then she’ll be happy. She’ll
learn to love.” Outside Sean’s throat was cut, the
blood oozing into the hole and running into the
nearby stream. She continued, smiling: “The feast
has only just begun.”
My translator and I caught a battered minibus
to the next town along. Looking out the window
as we trundled through Ilyas’s village of Darhan I
watched the green mountains, the snowy peaks,
half-standing wooden houses, the sheep and the
donkeys passing by - cliches of a rural life from
the middle ages. I recalled his drunk words to me
that morning. “Kyrgyz people, you see, we live in
the mountains and valleys. How are we going to
find girls to date? Where are the girls? This is why
we have to steal brides.” I sat back, tired and emo-
tional, and tried to come to a conclusion about
what I had seen.
www.thespektator.com
 THE GUIDE Bishkek life
Bars and
restaurants
There’s a fine line between ‘bar’ and ‘restaurant’ in but in a nice way. $
Bishkek. Places more suitable for drinking sessions
are highlighted orange.
Price Guide (main course, garnish & drink)
$ - 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. Also serves what many believe
to be the best pizza in town. $$$
Armenian
Landau (Manas/Gorky)
Fancy something a little different? If you can tol-
erate the arthritic service, Landau isn’t a bad spot
for a pork steak or some other Armenian culinary
goodies. Also, treat yourself to some decent Arme-
nian conjac whilst your here, you’ll never go near
Bishkek conjac again. Ever. $$$
www.thespektator.com
Ak-Bata (108, Ibraimova)
Chinese
This place must serve up pretty authentic dishes
as it’s always full of Chinese playing mah-jong and
waving their chopsticks about. Smoky and stuffy,
Goin (Jibek Jolu/Sovietskaya)
Although advertised as a 24-hour joint, Goin tends
to shut if business is slow. Nevertheless, find your
way to this little-known gem (upstairs past the
paintings of scantily clad ladies and on your right)
and you’ll discover that the food is fantastic value
for money. Portions are often so large, doggy bags
are in order. Interesting Chinese delicacies and
huge pots of tea aplenty. $
Peking Duck I & II
(Soviet/Druzhba & Chui/Tog. Mol.)
Huge portions to feed even the biggest of glut-
tons and an English language menu that provides
plenty of amusing translations. Dancing occasion-
ally kicks off on more raucous evenings. $$
Dungan
Luk-Fu (Orozbekova/Kievskaya)
In many Bishkek joints the lepyoshka is stale and
the service makes you look for candid cameras. At
Luk-Fu, despite its stolovaya atmosphere, not so.
Add to that generous portions and cheap prices
and the place is a pearl. One of few establishments
offering satisfying vegetarian meals, such as the
tofu po-domashnemu. Watch out for slippery floors
and dodgy Karaoke in the evenings. $
Hui Min (Ibraimova/Frunze - next to Beirut)
Don’t be put off by the slightly decrepit feel to this
place, they serve up some damn fine Dungan eat-
ing. Try the gan-fan (meat, peppers, spices, rice),
its big enough to keep you going all day and you’ll
get change from a ton. Also, ask for the special
Dungan tea, it’s rather good. $
Georgian
Mimino (27, Kievskaya)
Re-opening soon we’re told, Mimino is nice, cosy and
serves up bowl-fulls of steaming, hearty Georgian fare
with pomegranate seeds a-plenty. We recommend
the Georgian cheese bread and anything that’s served
in a pot. Watch out for Uncle Joe at the door. $$$
German
Steinbrau (5, Gerzena)
Don your beer drinking trousers and head down to
Bishkek’s take on a Bavarian-style beer hall. They brew
their own stuff - such a relief from the insipid bilge
that’s normally sold as lager. Compliment your pint
with a plate of German sausage with sauerkraut. $$$
November 2008 The Spektator
 16 Bars, Restaurants & Clubs
International
No. 1 (Gorky/Sovietskaya)
A Beatles themed bar to make Bishkek scousers feel for conversation, but if you’re alone there’s a mini- home-made formula 1 decorations. Classy. $$$
at home. Huge screen outside for sporting events. library to peruse (although literary classics are thin Stary Edgar’s (15, Panfilova)
Shashlyk and cool beer. $$
2x2 (Isanova/Chui)
Trendy drinking hole with a circular bar and friend-
ly staff. A good place for knocking back a few pre-
nightclub cocktails. Slouch into one of the comfy
lounge seats and try to look cool. $$$
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
Bohemians. Still, the food is fine and the relaxed
ambience means AG is a good place for a conver-
sation, or a debate on existentialism. $$
Boulevard (Erkindik/Kievskaya)
A small stylish restaurant, offering a refined atmo-
sphere, delicious cakes and wi-fi internet. By Bishkek • American Courses--English Language Courses place to spend a sunny afternoon. $$$$
standards, the service is usually excellent. $$$$
Captain Nemo’s (14, Togolok Moldo)
Small nautically themed restaurant with a selection • Au-pair Programs
of evocatively named dishes including ‘Fish from the • Preparation for any kind of programs
ship’s boy’ and ‘Tongue from the boatswain’s wife’.
Cosy wooden interior and porthole style windows
create a hybrid underwater log cabin experience.
Spirits, cocktails and a good business lunch. $$$
Coffee House (9, Manas)
Treat yourself to some of the finest coffee and
cakes Bishkek has to offer at the imaginatively
named ‘Coffee House’, a cosy boutique café with a
European flavour. Curl up and read a book, or just
drop in for a caffeine hit and a chocolate fix. $$$
Concord (Alatoo Square)
Waiting staff dressed as airline stewards and an in-
terior featuring some aeronautical paraphernalia
attempt to lend a little glamour to this small diner
just off Ala-too Square. Good, cheap food and fur-
ther deals for lunch during midweek make this a
popular spot during the daytime. $$
Doka Pizza (97, Akhunbaeva)
The ever-popular Doka Pizza, open non-stop, pro-
vides decent live music on most nights and a wid-
eranging menu. There’s a large eating area outside
that’s open in the summer with a garden, stage
and kids play area. Both Doka restaurants do a
good ‘beeznes lanch’ before 4pm. $$$
Doka Pizza (153, Kievskaya)
More sexed up than its Akhunbaeva sister bar,
there’s a strip bar downstairs, Doka Kievskaya is
often a post-party chillout venue for Bishkek’s
young, rich kids. Enjoy the good food, the lively
vibe, and the coquettish waitresses – just don’t
break your beer glass, there’s a stiff fine. Also
non-stop. $$$
Spektator
THE
Find the best bars in town with the Spektator and thespektator.com
November 2008 The Spektator
Pit Stop (Toktogul/Orozbekova)
Fatboy’s (Chui/Tynastanova)
Civilised, friendly cafe bang in the middle of town Open 24-hours. Stands out for its rather expensive
and a popular ex-pat meeting point. Sensible spot drinks, its big Michael Shumacher poster and the
on the ground). Check out the American pancakes The concrete monstrosity of the Russian Theatre con-
for breakfast, top marks. $$$ ceals one of Bishkek’s finest attempts at a cosy base-
ment bar. Friendly staff, a decent menu and a collection
Four Seasons (116a, Tynystanova) of old bits and bobs decorating the walls make Edgar’s
One of the poshest places to eat out in Bishkek. an attractive alternative to the city’s mainstream cafés.
Elegant, yet modern interior and polite service. A blues band plays most nights and a pianist adds a
Great place to splash out on a special occasion or romantic ambience on some Sunday evenings. $$$
just for the hell of it. $$$$
U Mazovaya (Behind ‘Zaks’ on Sovietskaya)
Possibly Central Asia’s only rabbit themed restau-
Live Bar (Kulatova)
24 hour sports bar with live music at weekends. rant. Descend into this underground warren and
Plenty of leather couches provide the ideal place tuck in. $$
to sip cocktails whilst watching the Champions
Veranda (Gorky/Soviet. Vefa Centre roof )
league at 3 in the morning. $$
Wow, what a view. Eat rather decent international
cuisine whilst taking in a superb view of the moun-
MK International offers: tains from the 4th floor terrace above the Vefa centre.
Now the weather isn’t so bloody hot, this is a great
• Work & Travel Programs
• Work & Study Programs Italian
• English Language Courses in the US, UK and Europe
Adriatico (219, Chui)
Classy restaurant with it’s own Italian chef. Great
pizza, improved service, and a fine selection of
E-mail: americancourses@yahoo.com pasta dishes. $$$
Office Tel: 61-41-96
Cyclone (136, Chui)
Smart Italian restaurant with plush interior, effi-
cient, polite serving staff and a warm atmosphere
to alleviate Bishkek’s winter chills. Pasta dishes
stand out among a menu of traditional Italian fa-
vourites. $$$
Dolce Vita (116a, Akhunbaeva)
Cosy Italian restaurant with smiling waitresses
serving excellent pizza. Also serves salads and Eu-
ropean cuisine. Small terrace outside for summer-
time dining. $$
Lounge Bar (338a, Frunze) Japanese
One of our favourite places to drink in the Sum-
mertime, when we can afford it. Outdoor balcony-
Aoyama (93, Toktogula)
cum-terrace high above the street with slouch-
Posh sushi place full of fat, suited-types talking
couches and fine veiws of the circus - which you
in low voices. The foods good though - if you can
can sometimes smell in the summer. Nice. $$$
scrape together enough soms. $$$$
Meri (33, Gorkova)
In the summer months, Meri has one of the prettiest
dining areas in Bishkek. International cuisine served 24
hours a day, more lively nights see jiving on the dance
floor to all your favourite Kyrgyz pop tunes. $$$
Navigator (103, Moskovskaya)
A pricey, but pleasant place to while away an af- Korean
ternoon. Sit in the bar area over a beer or lounge Petel (52, Zhykeeva Pudovkin)
in the airy non-smoking conservatory. Attentive Operating in the back room of a Korean family’s
service and a refreshing selection of salads, a good house, this is Korean style home-cooking at its
place for a light, healthy lunch when fat and grease most personal. Closed all day Sunday. Ring: 0543
are getting you down. $$$ 922539 $$
.com
www.thespektator.com

Santa Maria (217, Chui)
Plush Korean restaurant with two main dining
rooms, function room and a casino out back. Usual
Eastern favourites, including Korean barbecue,
plus an extensive European menu. $$$
Lebanese
Beirut (Shevchenko/Frunze)
Now in a new location, Beirut continues to serve
enticing Lebanese goodies including falaffle, hu-
mus, and tasty little meat pie things. $$$
Regional/Central Asian
Arabica (Sovietskaya/Kulatova)
Descend the steps into an aromatic cloud of hooka
smoke. The music’s normally reasonably decent
chilled out sort of stuff, the food’s good, and the
waitresses smile. $$$
Arzu-II (Sovietskaya/Lev Tolstoy bridge)
Twenty-four hour joint that’s a godsend for those
who get cravings for lagman or manty at four in
the morning. Sometimes smoking isn’t allowed,
sometimes it is, however the food and prices are
constantly pretty good. Comfy booth style seats
to dig yourself into after a heavy night. $$
Arzu-I (Togolok Moldo, next to the stadium)
Offers a hearty selection of Kyrgyz and European race, but be prepared to be serenaded by god-aw-
dishes and a homely atmosphere. It’s probably a ful Karaoke style crooners. $$
little too chilly for al fresco dining these days, but Ibrahim (Gorkova/Oshskaya)
there’s also a great outdoor terrace. $$
Jalalabad (Togolok Moldo/Kievskaya)
Basically the cheapest food (that won’t give you gut
rot) in the centre of town. While it should stand out
for its fresh lagman, Jalalabad is sometimes over-
looked. Probably at its best in summer, when the
shashlyk masters flanking the entrance offer their
creations straight to guests sitting at Eastern-style
tables – cross your legs and see how long you can
last before cramp sets in. $
Jetigen (Gorky/Logvinenko)
A new place offering European cuisine as well as This Turkish joint used to be ‘Restaurant Camelot’
the usual local specials. Stands out for it’s deli- hence the incongruous suits of armour in the back
cious lagman, fresh lepyoshka bread, and attentive room, and the rather crappy castle facade. However,
service. $
Smile (Chui/Sovietskaya)
Despite the name, you’ll be lucky to see one on the
waitresses face. Nevertheless, if it’s decent cheap
food you’re after, this isn’t a bad place to look. The
eggs are just as good as those at Fatboys next door,
and half the price. Think about it. $
Russian/Ukrainian
Russky Dvor (Kievskaya/Togolok Moldo)
Refined restaurant serving Russian specialities.
$$$
Taras Bulba (Manas/Jibek Jolu)
We haven’t had time to check this Ukrainian place
out yet - although the word is that it’s well worth
stopping by for a borsht po-ukrainski.
Zaporyzhia (Mira)
Recently opened, Zaporyzhia is a cossack fla- place is for a younger cooler crowd. Multiple bars,
voured restauraunt in a varnish scented log cabin. large dance floor, friendly atmosphere. Thursday
Hearty rustic dishes and a homely atmosphere. usually a big night. (Entrance charge 100-200
Recommended! $$$
www.thespektator.com
Bars, Restaurants & Clubs
Jetigen
We invite you to try our homemade
Kyrgyz specials in our newly opened
family restaurant
Local specials to eat in or take away for
less than 100som!
Gorky st. / Panfilova st.
Turkish
Carlson (166, Sovietskaya)
Great outdoor eating area. We recommend the
tavuk sote (chicken, peppers, tomatoes) and a big
lavash bread - a good feed. A good outdoor ter-
Several dining rooms including private booths and
a covered outdoor terrace with an extravagant wa-
terfall fountain to help you keep cool while tuck-
ing into your kebabs in the summer. $$
Istanbul (48, Chui)
Discretely tucked away on Chui Prospekt, Istanbul
is a low key cafe offering tasty Turkish cuisine. Puff
away on a hookah pipe or slurp lentil soup to your
heart’s content, all at a nice price. $$
Konak (Sovietskaya/Gorkova)
the food is often great, the salads are large and fresh,
and the staff are always pleasant. Recommended! $$
Night
Clubs
There are some Bishkek old-hands who say that
things aren’t what they used to be when it comes
to nightlife in Bishkek. They talk of legendary nights
of carnage, vomit, and debauchery - delights that
contemporary Bishkek struggles to offer.
Not so, we say. Take your pick from the list below
and we’re sure there’s still enough carnage, vomit
and debauchery in town to keep everyone happy.
Discoklubs
Apple (28, Manas)
Fat, old, lecherous foreigners not welcome, this
som)
17
Arbat (9, Karl Marks)
Tel. 512094; 512087
Smart ‘elite’ club popular with a slightly older
crowd. Strip bar and restaurant in same building.
(Entrance charge 200/350 som midweek, 350/450
som Fri/Sat. Strip bar 700 som)
City Club (85/1, Zhukeyeva-Pudovkina)
Tel. 511513; 510581
So exclusive it makes the Spektator crowd feel like
cheap scum bags, City Club is one of the posh-
est clubs in town. Get past the ‘face control’ (ugly
people beware) and spend your evening with gang-
ster types, lecherous diplomats, Kazakh business-
men and a posse of young rich kids who all seem
to have studied in London... (Entrance charge: girls
200/boys 300, Fri/Sat girls 300/boys 500
Golden Bull (Chui/Togolok Moldo)
Tel. 620131
A Bishkek institution. Full of ex-pats and tourists
literally every night of the week. Long bar, friendly
staff, cheapish beer, everyone’s happy. (Entrance
charge [girls/boys] free/400 midweek, 150/400 Fri/
Sat. ‘Foreigners’ free.)
Ibiza (9, Kulatova)
A cavernous space with a large dance floor. Danc-
ers suspended on platforms 15 feet above the
floor, strobe lighting, smoke machines and bang-
ing dance tunes. Bishkek’s attempt to create a lit-
tle bit of the party island. Efforts to negotiate a
cheaper entrance fee are futile. (Entrance charge
350-400 som)
Retro Metro (24, Mira)
www.retrometro.kg
Bright, happy, 80’s kitsch bar, the DJ spins his rec-
ords from inside the front of a VW camper van. One
of the most popular places for post-2am partying.
(Entrance charge: 200/300 som midweek, 350/450
som Fri/Sat. Reservation price 200 som)
Live Music
Promzona (16, Cholpon-Atinskaya)
www.promzona.kg
Promzona’s far-flung location sadly means a taxi
ride or a long walk home are in order at the end
of a night. Nevertheless, this trendy live music
venue has a lot going for it: good bands, an exten-
sive menu, and a hip industrial interior featuring,
strangely, a wind tunnel fan, make this one of the
best nights out in Bishkek. Tuesday is Jazz night.
Rock or blues bands normally play at the week-
ends. (Music charge 200 som)
Tequila Blues (Turesbekova/Engels)
Re-opening soon. A possible misnomer, the tequila
is just fine, but the blues is pretty much non-existent.
Young Russian studenty types mosh away the nights
to rock bands in an atmospheric underground bun-
ker. Weekends are not for the fainthearted, or the
claustrophobic. (Entrance charge 100-150 som)
Zeppelin (43, Chui)
Zeppelin is in the same vein as Tequila Blues but
not quite so spit and sawdust. On the nights we’ve
visited, there’s been a line up of young rock or punk
bands strutting their stuff, heavier beats seem to
go down best with the young Russian crowd. Full
restaurant menu.
(Entrance charge 100-150 som)
Live music also common at Doka Pizza Akhun-
bayeva and Stary Edgar (see ‘bars/restaurants’)
November 2008 The Spektator
 18 What’s On
1st-14th November
Photo Exhibition
People & Places: Ways of Living Around the World
Photographs taken by Swiss photographer Daniel
Masseli.
Bishkek Art Centret, 1 Karasaeva Street
10:00 - 18:00 Tues-Sun (closed all day Mon.)
Thursday, Nov 6
Rememberance Service
Commemorating the November Revolution
Events throughout the city, including a service at Tickets 2500 som per person (or 750 for a seat at
the history museum. on Alatoo Square.
7th-9th November
KVN - “Club of the Happy and Inventive”
Russian humour TV show filming in Bishkek
Gameshow in which teams (usually of students)
compete by giving funny answers to questions,
iperforming mprovisations, and prepared sketch-
es. After being banned in 1972 for being anti-So-
viet, KVN was restored eleven years later and con-
tinues to be phenomenally popular throughout
the CIS to this day.
Dvorets Sporta, 18:00 each night
Tickets100 som
Saturday, Nov 8
Jazz Concert
An Evening of German Jazz
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00
Tel. 66 15 48
Sunday, Nov 9
Swan Lake
Ballet by Piotr Tchaikovsky
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00
Tel. 66 15 48
Friday, Nov 14
Servant and Master
Opera by Giovanni Battista Piergolesi
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00
Tel. 66 15 48
Classified Ads
Place a classified advert (buying, sell-
ing, services etc.) from only 150 som
Email: tom_wellings@live.co.uk
Lonely hearts
Sad bastard looking for a friend: splikhvi@hot-
mail.com (No time wasters)
November 2008 The Spektator
Saturday, Nov 29
Tales from the Vienna Woods
Ballet by Johan Strauss II
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00
Tel. 66 15 48
Sunday, Nov 30
Swan Lake
Saturday, Nov 15 Ballet by Piotr Tchaikovsky
Classical Music Concert Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00
Kyrgyz state Philharmonic Tel. 66 15 48
Chui Prospect, 253
Tel: 212262, 212235
17:00, Tickets 150 som Entertainment
Promzona’s 3rd Anniversary Directory
Sergey Galinin (Rock Concert)
Sergey Galinin, the Russian ‘rock legend’, will be
The Conservatory
playing Promzona with his band to celebrate the
Jantosheva, 115
club’s third anniversary.
Tel: 479542
Promzona Club, 16 Cholpon-Atinskaya, 21:00
Concerts by students and professors.
the bar) The Puppet Theatre
Giselle Sovietskaya/Michurina
Ballet by Adolph Adan Performances on Sundays at 11:00am.
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00
Tel. 66 15 48
Kyrgyz State Philharmonic
Chui Prospect, 253
Tel: 212262, 212235
Thursday, Nov 20 Hours: 17:00-19:00 in summer
Tickets: 70-100 som (sometimes much more for
Concert by Svetlana Gusarovoy (soprano) special performances)
Arias, songs and romances There are two concert halls featuring classical, tra-
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 18:00 ditional Kyrgyz, and pop concerts and a variety of
Tel. 66 15 48 shows.
Saturday, Nov 22 Russian Drama Theatre
Tynystanova, 122 (Situated in Oak Park)
Aida Tel.: 662032, 621571
Opera by Guiseppe Verdi Hours: Mon-Sun, 10:00-18:00
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00 Tickets 30-100 som
Tel. 66 15 48 A range of local and international plays in Russian.
Sunday, Nov 23 The Abdylas Maldybaev Opera and Ballet Theatre
Abdyrahmanova, 167
Cholpon Tel: 661548; Tickets 50-300 som
Ballet by Mikhail Raukhverger The theatre has resident opera and ballet compa-
Opera Ballet, 167 Abdyrahmanova, 17:00 nies with occasional guest companies. The season
Tel. 66 15 48 usually runs from autumn to spring but there are
often performances at other times of the year as
28th-30th November well.
Premiere: The Marriage The Kyrgyz Drama Theatre
A play by Nikolai Gogol (in Russian) Panfilov, 273 (behind the Government House)
A satire of courtship and cowardice that centres Tel: 665802, 216958
around a young woman Agafya who is wooed by Hours: 8:00-20:00 in summer
four bachelors, each with his own idiosyncrasies. Tickets 20-200 som
Russian Drama Theatre, 122 Tynystanova The resident company performs a range of local
Playing each nght at 18:00, Tickets 50-300 som and international plays – performances are in Kyr-
Tel: 662032, 621571 gyz or Russian.
Adverts, Services & Classifieds
English Lessons The Spektator Proofreading Services
Pre-intermediate, intermediate, and FCE exam Have your documents proofread by native Eng-
courses lish speaking professionals.
Qualified English teacher with over four years’ Our team can proofread anything in English in-
experience available for one-on-one lessons from cluding: university essays, menus, technical docu-
400 som per hour. Will also teach small groups ments and contracts. Typical A4 page of text from
of 2-3 students from 500-600 som per hour. Free 200 som.
consultation. Email tom_wellings@live.co.uk or tel. 0550991945
Email cacartoons@gmail.com
www.thespektator.com
 Map 19
a rdia aya Gvardia
Molodaya Gv Molod

Jibek
Jolu
Kievskaya
The mountains

Chui
Engelsa
Lva Tolstogo

Toktogula
a n a s ave.
M
ve.
Manas a

Ryskulova

Jumabe
a n a s ave.
M

Kievskaya
Moskovskaya

Isanova

k
T. Abdymom
Isanova Koenkozo
va
Isanova
Dvorets
Sporta

u
nov stadium
old o
Togolok M

Jibe
Michael Frunze
Spartak

k Jo
Chui
Toktogula

lu
k o
Logvinen
Moskovskaya

Panfilova
va
Panfilova Orozbeko

Juma

Baeto
Lva Tolstog

va
Orozbeko a
Razzakov
Bokonbaeva

bek

va
a
Razzakov
Erkindik
Abdym

Erkindik
Tugolbay

Michae
om
o

l Frunze
unova

a ova
Fatianov Tynystan
ova
Tynystan
AYA
SOVETSK
AYA
Circus

SOV E TS K
Chui

YA
Kievskaya

V E TS K A
SO aeva Shopoko
va
A. Usenb
Toktogula
Lva

va
Shopoko
Pravda
a
Elebaev
Tol

Pravda
Jumab
s

lya
Gogo
tog

Ogonbae
Moskovskaya

ek
o

North
Bokonbaeva

lya
Gogo
va

www.thespektator.com November 2008 The Spektator

 20 Weekend The End
Quick crossword no. 11,965
crossword quick quiz Was Volodya A Government Killer?
This is my area. I know a lot of people here,” Volodya
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Which dimension can not be the taxi driver began. “Those two are prostitutes. I
measured in inches? know because I often take them from place to place.”
8 2. What was the name of Hamlet’s It’s late at night and I’m catching a ride back home
9
Quick crossword
10
no. 11,965 father? after a date.
3. Sayonara is goodbye in which “You should be careful after dark,” he warns me in
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 language? a conspiratorial way. The two girls lurch drunkenly
8
4. What breed of dog do you get by into the darkness of a small park by the road. “Lately
11 crossing a greyhound with a collie? here in Bishkek a lot of idiots have appeared who will
9 10 5. ‘The Shootist’ was which Holly- ambush you in the streets and take your money.”
12 wood legend’s last film? I ask Volodya if he’s not afraid to drive his taxi at
6. Who is the new champion of For- night. “Can you fight well?” I ask. Volodya, in his stripy
13 14 15
11 mula One? blue and white T-shirt and greying moustache, sur-
16
7. Which sexy Russo-Ukrianian rounded by the beaten up metal and plastic of a So-
12
pop trio have released albums in- viet-era taxi looks at me: “I know how to kill well,” he
17 18
13 14 15 cluding ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’ and ‘Bi- declares, in a hard voice. “I’ve killed many people: in
ologiya’? Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, Canada. I’m a former colonel in
16 19 8. Who was Time magazine’s ‘man the special foreign service. Now I’m on a pension and
17 18 of the year’ in both 1939 and 1942? I drive a taxi. We had special psychological training.
20 21 We were taught not to feel fear. How is that human?
19 ton; 7 — Via Gra; 8 — Jozef Stalin They made monsters out of us. Machines to kill!”
— John Wayne; 6 — Lewis Hamil- Volodya continues his story. He left the special
20 21
service twenty years ago for psychological reasons -
22 23
let; 3 — Japanese; 4 — a lurcher; 5
Answers: 1 — the fourth; 2 — Ham- presumably after killing so many people. I looked at
him. He didn’t look the type, but had a big build and
22 23 thick arms. He lit a cigarette and we approached the
Answers
Acrossto the crossword will15appear online
Hot water and
(if you areininthe
it!) next edition of the Spektator.
(7) centre of town. The streets were full of darkness; the
1 Refraining from sex (8)
rossword no. 11,965
5 Stylish (4)Across 16 Flee15 (6)
Hot water (if you are in it!) Sudoku few lamps that were actually lit let out a feeble light.
Car lights and street kiosks provided the only real il-
9 Ha-ha or peculiar? from
1 Refraining (5) sex (8) 18 Potato, (7) for example (5)
16 Flee (6) EASY lumination. “At this time, everyone goes around in
3 10 Counter
4 Stylish (4)
5 (anag) (7)
5 6 7 19 Remain (4)
Ha-ha
11 Google,9 for or peculiar?
example
10 Counter
8
(6,6)(5)
(anag) (7)
18 Potato, for example (5)
19 Remain (4) 2 5 7 6 pairs or in threes to make it less dangerous,” Volodya
said combining his life story with a tour of the city.
13 Fall in 11
the US (6)
Google, for example (6,6)
14 Sixth sense believer? (6)
10 13 Fall in the US (6) 4 9 6 2 It was coming up to midnight – the feared witching
hour my babushka host had warned me about.
17 Breeding timesense
14 Sixth (6,6) believer? (6)
20 Du Maurier noveltime
17 Breeding — (6,6) Want more? Access over 4,000 archive puzzles 8 4 5 “I finished five universities,” Volodya continued,
Hitchcock
20 Duthriller
Maurier(7)novel — at guardian.co.uk/crossword.
Want more? Access over 4,000 archive puzzles “Two in Moscow University and the rest here in Kyr-
9 8 7 4
Hitchcock thriller (7) Stuck? Then call our solutions line on 09068
21 Nepal’s neighbour (5) at guardian.co.uk/crossword.
338 248.Stuck?
Calls cost
Then 60p persolutions
call our minute line
at all
ontimes.
09068 gyzia.” I wondered why he had joined an elite divi-
21 Nepal’s neighbour (5)
crossword clues

22 Bit of fun — early-rising Service supplied

338 248. by ATS.
Calls cost 60p per minute at all times.
sion whose speciality was to kill people.
22 Bit of fun — early-rising Buy 10 greatService supplied puzzle
by ATS. books for
5 7 2 6 9
bird? (4) Guardian

23 Graveyard
bird? (4)
(8)
only £20Buy
inc10
p&pgreat
guardianbooks.co.uk
Guardian
(save
or
puzzle Visit
over £50). books for
only £20 inc p&p (save over £50). Visit
call 0870 836 0749
8 “Honour,” the reply shot back. “I was the fourth
14Graveyard (8)
23 15 guardianbooks.co.uk or call 0870 836 0749 generation of my family to serve. My daughter serves
Down
16 Down
Solution No 11,964
Solution No 11,964 6 3 5 7 and continues the tradition. I’m not proud of what I
H I H
P IP PO PDORD OR M
OME E did. We meddled in other countries affairs. But they
1 Part of a1 shirt
2 Merciful
Part of(4)
2 Merciful
(7)
a shirt (4)
(7) C OC O
E 7 5
EB B E E O O 2 trained us so that disobeying an order didn’t even
German football O P UO LP U
E LN ET N T L YL RY R I C
I C enter our heads. They trained us very well. We were
3 German3 football team team 19 R
(6,6) (6,6)
N U
NR
N
DU E
N
R
U D E 6
RA A I I N N U U
J I N G O I S M
J HI NNG OI I N S MM
5 1 2 taught how to kill at a distance with energy – from
4 Ratty (6) several meters.” I looked at him again. This sounded
4 Ratty (6) 21 language (5)
6 Indian
6 Indian language
7 Belief in (5)
something as C U
U C U H
CO K O
C
A
3
K ON O IB O N O G M
O L B SO ON G I E R
I E 4 5 8 far-fetched, but then I’d heard the Americans had tried
7 Belief in something
true (8) as O AP A LS T IS C HNE RB
S W A similar experiments with soldiers staring at goats.
true (8)8 Infl ated fortress for kids P A
VERY HARD “They taught us how to learn things subconscious-
SI T SI C NH EA SB W A O BU
823Inflated fortress
(6,6) SA M NA Z EA DBR A O G O O
UN
(6,6) 12
for kids
Royal retreat in ScotlandA M
I
1A Z E T 5
SD ROA GW O O Z ND
ly so we would then forget them. I know 11 languages
for instance.”I wondered which ones, whether he could
(8) P A L S Y W A L S Y
12 Royal retreat in Scotland O W Z D T S
(8)
15 Hot water (if you are in it!) P
(7)
Y W A L S Y 9 8 4 3A L S
give me an example, but he wouldn’t be drawn.
Volodya stopped at the traffic lights – my apart-
from sex (8)

culiar? (5)
16 Flee (6)
18 Potato, for example (5) 9 7 ment was near and he lit up a cigarette. He started
talking about philosophy and the rights and wrongs
nag) (7) 19 Remain (4)
example (6,6) 3 1 6 of going to war. Then it was whether Stalin was over-
all good or bad for the Soviet Union.
US (6)
believer? (6) brainteasers 6 5 We had long since stopped outside my apart-
me (6,6) ment. I could hear a group of lads going past fol-
novel —
1 2
Want more? Access over 4,000 archive puzzles
hriller (7)Party for Polyglots Of the 100 people at a
at guardian.co.uk/crossword. 9 lowed by the sound of spit being sucked back in the
Stuck? Then call our solutions line on 09068
ghbour (5)recent party, 90 spoke Welsh, 80 spoke Tajik,
mouth and let loose on the street. Volodya was on
early-rising
and 75 spoke Apache. At least how many spoke
Service supplied by ATS. 2
338 248. Calls cost 60p per minute at all times.
8 his third cigarette by now. It was late and my con-
Buy 10 great Guardian puzzle books for centration switched back to him: “… and that was
all three languages?only £20 inc p&p (save over £50). Visit
8)
6 4
guardianbooks.co.uk or call 0870 836 0749
2 9 when I went to Lhassa for two years.”
Solution No 11,964 “Oh! Which monastery?” I asked. I’d been to Lhassa
rt (4) Only three words
H I P PinO standard
D R O M EEnglish begin 5 2 and was keen to know which one, as well as test him.
with the OCletters
O E
“dw” B
and E
theyOare all common “Oh, it’s a closed monastery. Only by invitation can
P U L E N T L Y R I C
otball team
words. Name
R them.
N R A I N U Answers you go there,” he said, a cloud of smoke filling the car.
N U D E J I N G O I S M In the darkness the yellow sign of another taxi sailed
U H N I N M by. It was late and I made my excuses to go.
321 496
864 751
759 328
142 639
573 812
986 574
697 283
418 965
235 147
Easy
953 718 642
864 329 751
127 564 893
615 247 389
798 635 124
342 891 567
489 153 276
271 986 435
536 472 918
Very Hard

uage (5) C U C K O O B O O G I E
AnswersOto last “You know,” he said, “I have a BMW and a Volga at
mething as A month’s
L S brainteasers
N R
underground,
P A S 3,T Ibis
I C(the
H E only
S bird)
W A B home. I drive this because our petrol and roads are bad.”
I opened the door, but just before I left the taxi I swore
578
392
614
857
469
231
145
723
986

tress for kids I S N A B O U

A M A Z E D R A G O O N - - I could make out just the faintest smell of vodka.
at in Scotland T S O W Z D
P A L S Y W
November 2008 The SpektatorA L S Y www.thespektator.com