In Their Words: Kyrgyzstanis

The word ‘Kyrgyzstanets” (in English: Kyrgyzstani) describes a person who is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. Hardly anyone uses the word here. I met a man in Talas who was an exception.

Researcher: A lot of people talk about ethnic divisions in the country—that there are Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, and other groups in this country, and that there a problems that arise form trying to fit so many groups into one country. Do you think that is so?

Informant: I haven’t really seen that problem here. There are all kinds of people
here. Lots of different neighbors—Uzbeks, Russians, Germans. A lot of them have emigrated. But some have stayed all the same. They live their own lives, do their own work. When you interact with them, it’s nice. Each nation has it’s own mores. You see those and take the good ones for yourself. That’s how we’ve lived in Talas, and it was good. We had Uzbeks living here, Germans. Ukrainians too. A lot of Russians. I think it’s good when a lot of different ethnic groups live in one country. There’s a lot of benefit in that. Every nationality has it’s good points, it’s good sides. When you live among only one nationality, you don’t notice that. There have probably been incidents, you can’t answer for everyone. But personally I’ve never…I support the idea of having lots of ethnicities here.

Researcher: So it’s more important to you personally that you consider yourself a citizen of this country, than the fact that you consider yourself a Kyrgyz?

Informant: Yes. Let them also live as Kyrgrzstanis. We’re living in the 21st century. There’s just one land. Whether you’re a Kyrgrz or an Uzbek, you’re a person. Live. The land can feed everyone so far.

Researcher: Maybe you can help me understand this. I’ve talked with a lot of people here, and you are the first person to use the term Kyrgyzstani. That’s a
person who lives in Kygyzstan. A lot of people don’t understand that. They say citizen of Kyrgyzstan, but they don’t know what a Kyrgyzstani is. Why is it, that so many people who thin that being a Kyrgyzstani isn’t important, but you do?

Informant: Let them keep their languages and their traditions. But if they live in Kyrgyzstan they should consider themselves Kyrgyzstanis. And if they openly say “We were born in Kyrgyzstan”--there are Uzbeks, for example, that were born here. They don’t have any understanding of Uzbekistan—they live here and should worry about Kyrgyzstan. There are still those divisions, but the divisions shouldn’t be. Different ethnicities should be Kyrgyzstanis and should live and prosper.