Soviet Design

The architectural design of the Soviet Union generally fell into three categories: Collectivist, Stalin Gothic (my term for it) and Brutalist.

Yet the Soviet era architecture of Kyrgyzstan doesn’t really fit squarely into any of the above. While clearly Soviet inspired, it seems to have gone its own way in many instances. I wonder if some of the rounded structures I photographed on this trip and on my previous one in December of 2024 aren’t a reference to the yurt that people lived in when this part of the world was a major trading post on the Silk Road.

There is also the main rail station in Bishkek that was under renovation last year. I was allowed in past the scaffolding to grab a quick shot of the hammer&sickle adorning its ceiling, but now was able to do extensive photography of the interior, renovations complete.

Soviet Iconography

It almost seems in Kyrgyzstan as if the Soviet Union never ended. Lenin is everywhere, and not as relics in a museum as I covered in 2023 in Lithuania’s Gruto Parkas. For that see: https://www.michaelantonphoto.com/portfolio/twilight-of-the-gods

While the country is no longer communist, the statues remain, including the largest Lenin I’ve ever seen, perhaps the largest ever created.

But the people seem to go about their day without noticing his presence. Even newer monuments, such as one dedicated to the health workers who labored during the Covid pandemic (that I didn’t photograph) seemed to follow Soviet design.

Included is a rare, seated statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in a public park.

There is also a photo of children playing on a piece of field artillery from WWII. My prayer is that some day all such things are mere playground things for children to climb on.

Markets

Whether it’s food or dry goods the markets of Bishkek can have an almost maze-like quality. Also included is a roadside stand (one of many) that sells “kurut”, a small ball of dried milk that the Kyrgyz people can’t get enough of. Erbol has brought a quantity when he has visited the U.S., but his American friends never developed a taste for it. Neither did I.

Kirov Reservoir

With its four-story tall bust of Lenin on its retaining wall, the Kirov reservoir sends pure Kyrgyz mountain water to neighboring Kazakhstan.

The two countries are “brothers and sisters” with many families having members living in both.

Landscapes

Kyrgyzstan has some of the most exquisite and intriguing scenery this traveler has ever seen. Quite often I had to ask Erbol to pull over so I could get out and shoot. This would extend our travel time to our destination considerably.

Included in this gallery are images from the “skazka” or Fairytale Canyons. The Matt Daemon film THE MARTIAN looked like it could have been filmed there.

I simply referred to it as Mars.

Victory Day: Military Parade

May 9th, 2025 was the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender. It is usually celebrated in Bishkek with two parades, one military and one civilian.

However this year’s military celebration was moved up one day to the 8th. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin invited Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, as well as the presidents of several other former Soviet Republics to Moscow’s huge Victory Day celebration.

As a result I didn’t have to choose and could photograph both.

Victory Day: Civilian Parade

May 9th 2025 was the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender.

It is celebrated in Bishkek by the families that had someone serve in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. They carry that person’s portrait and medals in a long procession.

The staggering losses suffered by the Soviet people during that conflict surpass my powers of comprehension.