Museums
The Kyrgyz Republic may be one of the places left in the world where the famed and endagered Snow Leopard can still be found roaming wild – but it is only on very rare occasions when one is actaully spotted. It is possible, however, to come face to face with one in several of Kyrgyzstan’s museums, albeit a stuffed specimen.
Museums are a fairly recent innovation in Kyrgyzstan and most tend to be relatively small – far from the general impression of cavernous halls filled with with dry and dusty specimens inspired by visits to the British Museum, the Louvre, Smithsonian or some of the world’s other major museums.
Museums are concerned with much more than just simple displays – this is just one aspect of their work. They collect, document and preserve collections of articfacts and specimens of historical, cultural, articstic and scientific importance, as well as making them available to the public – for example, (but not only), in displays.
The first public collection in Kyrgyzstan was the Uyezdniye library in Tokmak as early as 1870. Other libraries were to follow, for example the People’s Library in Prezhervalsk, (now Karakol), in 1902 and in Osh in 1917.
The first museum as such to be established in the country was the Frunze Museum in Bishkek – which was dedicated to the memory of Michail Frunze, the Red Army General who led the conquest of Central Asia for the Bolsheviks in the Civil War, and which opened its doors in 1925.
It was followed by the Historical Museum, which opened in 1927 and the Museum of Fine Arts in 1934.
Kyrgyzstan may not be able to match Finland in the the number of museums per head of population, but the number of such instrituions is growing. In 1981 there were only thirteen operating in the republic – but by start of the new millenium this had risen to thirty-six state run museums and a number of private ones.
In Soviet times there were also a “factory” museum in each big industrial undertaking and many schools had their own museums, such as the ones in Talas and Koporu Bazaar.
Most visitors to Bishkek pay a visit to the Historical Museum, to see the massive monumental art and examples of Soviet iconography. A visit to Karakol is incomplete without calling into the Prazhevalsk Museum and recalling the journeys of this Russian explorer which yielded so much information about the Asian continent. In Osh, the State Museum in the caves of the Suleyman Too mountain, in the heart of the city, offers one of the most unusual settings for a museum.
The main museums can be divided into a number of categories:
Historical – as well as the State Historical Museum in Bishkek, there are special museums dedicated to recording historical development of the regions, local traditions, folklore and crafts: in Ak Sai; Burana; Chaek; Chalpon Ata; Gulcha; Karakol; Kazarman; Kochkor; Kyzil Kia; Mady; Naryn; Nookat; Suzak; Tokmak;
There are a number of historical sites preserved as Museums, such as Burana; the Shah-Fazil Mausoleum; Tash Rabat and the Uzgen architectural complex.
There is a museum dedicated to Victims of the Stalinist Repressions – “Ata - Beyit” – which is in the village of Chon-Tash, near Bishkek.
Memorial musems – dedicated to particular personalities, for example: Aytiev; Chokmorov; Chuykov; Frunze; Kaynazarova; Kojumkol; Manuylova; Osmonov; Prejevalsky; Shopokov; Tokombaev;
Artistic – As well as the Museum of Fine Arts in Bishkek, there is the Open Air Museum of Sculpture in Oak Park, (Bishkek) and a number of towns have special galleries – for example in Naryn.
Literary mueums – such as the one dedicated to Toktogul in Bishkek, to Satylganov in Toktogul and to Chinghiz Aitmatov in Sheker.
Specialist museums – There are a number of specialist museums such as:
- The Zoological museum attached to the biological faculty of the Kyrgyz State University;
- Archaeological museums, for example, attached to the historical faculty of the Kyrgyz State University and the Humanities Faculty of the Kyrgyz-Slavonic University;
- The Museum of the National Bank in Bishkek;
- The Geological museum – attached to the State agency for Geology;
- Theatrical museums – attached to the State theatre of Opera and Ballet, to the State theatre of Drama, to the Kyrgyz Philarmonia and others;
- A private museum of Engineering and Inventions; and
- A private museum of Space exploration.
One of the features of many museums in Kyrgyzstan is that they are al-fresco – “Open air” museums in which the exhibits are displayed in natural surroundings or parkland. Not every visitor to the republic is able to complete the journey to the remote “stone garden” of Saimaluu Tash to see the ancient petroglyphs there, but the collections at Burana and Cholpon Ata are much more accessible.
Although many operate on limited budgets, and most of the sign are in either Russian or Kyrgyz, all of Kyrgyzstan’s museums have their highlights. It might be the exhibits depicting the wildlife, or the examples of traditional handicrafts, or some of the personal belongings of some important character, (such as the Kojumkol’s trousers – big enough for three people to fill – all at the same time), or a snow leopard in the act of downing its prey.
Historical museum (reference)
Historical Museum, formerly known as "Lenin Museum” is located on Ala-Too Square and open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–15:00). Exhibitions include stones with rock paintings from Saimaluu-Tash; armor and everyday objects dating from the Bronze Age; excavated nomadic adornments dating from 1st to the 5th centuries (AD); Turkic stone culture collection; Talas stones with runic lettering; ceramic, glass and metal articles; numerous ancient coins. Rich ethnographic collections of objects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries including felt, wool, chiy, leather and wood from Kyrgyz artisans; Kyrgyz embroidery, weavings, national dress, original female adornments and highly artistic horse harness supplies.
The museum of fine arts (refrence)
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