Site Information: Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union
Title: Kyrgyzstan
Public Affairs
Source: Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Public
Communication
Description: Washington, DC
Date: May 27, 19925/27/92
Category: Site Information
Region: Eurasia
Country: Kyrgyzstan, USSR (former)
Subject: History, Democratization, Trade/Economics,
Cultural Exchange
Map: Central, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Republics
[TEXT]
Overview
In the 10th century AD, nomadic tribes known as Kyrgyz migrated
from the northern plains into present-day Kyrgyzstan. By the 16th
century, they predominated over other inhabitants. Between the
17th and the 19th centuries, they were overrun by invading groups
and, in 1876, were absorbed into the Russian Empire. Soon after,
Russians and other Slavs moved into the region, settling grazing
lands formerly used by Kyrgyz nomads. At the time, the czarist
government did not recognize the area as a separate political entity
and included the Kyrgyz, along with other Central Asian
nationalities in Russian Turkestan. However, after the Bolshevik
Revolution, the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast was formed. It
became the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1926
and a union republic in 1936. It declared independence from the
USSR on August 31, 1991.
Although the Soviet Government allowed Kyrgyz culture to
flourish in the 1920s, Stalin's forced collectivization and purges of
Kyrgyz leadership repressed local traditions. Despite such
setbacks, the Kyrgyz have managed to achieve some
industrialization, raised their standard of living, and made
significant gains in education.
In 1989, some 2.5 million Kyrgyz lived in the Soviet Union-
most of them in the Kyrgyz Republic. In today's Kyrgyzstan, they
are the majority population. Other groups include Russians, Uzbeks,
Ukrainians, Germans, and Tatars.
The capital, Bishkek, was founded in 1878 near the 19th-
century fort of Pishpek, which was captured by the Russians in
1862. Bishkek (formerly Frunze and, before 1926, Pishpek) is the
largest city in the republic, with a population of nearly 620,000. It
is situated in the Chu River valley close to the Kyrgyz Mountains.
In 1924, the city was chosen as the administrative center of
the newly autonomous province of Kyrgyzstan. In 1926, when the
province became an autonomous republic, it was renamed Frunze in
honor of the Bolshevik revolutionary and Red Army leader, Mikhail
Vasilyevich Frunze, born there in 1885.
Following World War II, Bishkek became the site of a
considerable machine-building and metalworking industry, which
contributed to a significant growth in the city's population. Of
particular note among the city's buildings are the Academy of
Sciences, founded in 1954, and the Kyrgyzstan State University,
established in 1951.
Principal Government Officials
President: Askar A. Akayev
Foreign Minister: Rosa Otynbayeva
Capital: Bishkek
Site Information: Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union
Title: Moldova
Public Affairs
Source: Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Public
Communication
Description: Washington, DC
Date: May 27, 19925/27/92
Category: Site Information
Region: Eurasia
Country: Moldova, USSR (former)
Subject: History, Democratization, Trade/Economics,
Cultural Exchange
Map: Central, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Republics
[TEXT]
Overview
Moldova is a landlocked area bounded by Ukraine and, to the west,
Romania. Moldova is separated from Romania by the Prut River and
from Ukraine on the northeast by the Dnestr River.
A hilly plain, Moldova occupies most of what was known
through the ages as Bessarabia. About two-thirds of the republic's
4.3 million people are Moldovans, with Ukrainian (14%), Russian
(13%), Bulgarian, and Jewish minorities.
Moldova's proximity to the Black Sea gives it a mild and sunny
climate, making the area ideal for agriculture. Its fertile soil
supports wheat, corn, barley, tobacco, sugar beets, and soybeans.
Beef and dairy cattle are raised, and bee-keeping and silk breeding
are widespread.
Moldova's best-known product comes from its extensive and
well-developed vineyards, which are concentrated in the central
and southern regions. In addition to world-class wine, Moldova
produces liquors and champagne and is known for its sunflower
seeds, prunes, and other fruits.
Moldova's location has made it a historic passageway between
Asia and Southern Europe, as well as the victim of frequent
warfare. In early times, Greeks, Romans, Huns, and Bulgars invaded
the area, which in the 13th century became part of the Mongol
empire. An independent Moldovan state emerged briefly in the 14th
century but fell under Ottoman Turkish rule in the 16th century.
After the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-12, the eastern half of
Moldova (Bessarabia) between the Prut and the Dnestr Rivers was
ceded to Russia, while Romanian Moldova (west of the Prut)
remained with the Turks. Romania, which gained independence in
1878, took control of the Russian half of Moldova in 1918. The
Soviet Union never recognized the seizure, creating an autonomous
Moldovan republic on the east side of the Dnestr River in 1924.
In 1940, Romania was forced to cede eastern Moldova to the
USSR, which immediately established the Moldavian Soviet
Socialist Republic. Romania sought to regain it by joining with
Germany in the 1941 attack on the USSR. Moldova was ceded back to
Moscow when hostilities between the USSR and Romania ceased at
the end of World War II. The present boundary between Moldova and
Romania was established in 1947.
Moldova declared its independence from the former Soviet
Union on August 27, 1991.
Principal Government Officials
President: Mircea Snegur
Prime Minister: Valeriu Muravski
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Nicolae Tiu
Capital: Chisinau (formerly Kishinev)
Chisinau was founded in the early 15th century as a monastery
town. It was captured in the 16th century by the Turks and in 1812
by the Russians, who made it the center of Bessarabia. Romania
held the city from 1918 until 1940, when it was seized by the
Soviet Union.
Chisinau is a major industrial center, including food and
tobacco processing, metal working, machinery, plastics, rubber, and
textiles.
Chisinau's educational and cultural facilities include a
university established in 1945 and the Moldovan Academy of
Sciences.
Moldova at a Glance
* With an area of only 34,000 square kilometers (13,000 sq.
mi.), Moldova is the second smallest of the former Soviet republics,
ahead of Armenia.
It also is the most densely populated among the former republics.
* Because of its close ties to Romania, Moldova's culture and
language resemble that of its western neighbor in many ways. In
addition to adopting the Romanian name Moldova, authorities have
restored the use of the Latin, rather than the Cyrillic, alphabet.
* Writer Ion Chobanu, playwright Ion Drutse, and opera singer
Maria Bieshu are well known throughout the republic. The Fluerash
Folk Music Company and the Doina Choir have international
reputations.
* Moldovan epic songs (called doinas), fiery dances, and
melodious tunes are unique. Use of the ancient Moldovan flute,
which sounds similar to a violin, is still taught to students at the
Chisinau Conservatory.