OSCE Academy Hosts Workshop on Power and Space in Kyrgyzstan

On April 17, 2025, the OSCE Academy in Bishkek hosted the workshop titled “Power and Space in Kyrgyzstan, 1924–2024.” This event was part of the international research project “Land and Power in Kyrgyzstan,” led by Dr. Alun Thomas from Staffordshire University in the UK and Dr. Stephan Rindlisbacher from the European University Viadrina in Germany. The project is supported by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Curiosities Award.

Dr. Pal Dunay, Director of the OSCE Academy, opened the event and welcomed the participants. The first session began with keynote presentations from the project leaders. Dr. Alun Thomas delivered a talk titled “Map the Mountains, Rule the Peaks,” which provided a historical overview of territorialization and state strategies in Kyrgyzstan. Following him, Dr. Stephan Rindlisbacher presented “A Spatial Analysis of State Power at Altitude,” discussing how geographic and administrative restructuring shaped political authority in the mountainous areas of the former Soviet Union.

The second session featured regional perspectives. Dr. Timur Ryskulov from the Institute of History and Ethnology named after Ch. Valikhanov in Almaty presented on “Kazakhs in Kyrgyzstan in the 20th–21st Centuries: History and Fates,” focusing on the historical experiences of Kazakh communities. The second speaker, Zuhra Altymyshova from the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, discussed “Some Consequences of Collectivization in Soviet Kyrgyzstan,” analyzing the socio-economic and demographic effects of collectivization.

The final session started with Dr. Aida Kubatova’s presentation from the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, titled “The Establishment of the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Region in 1924 as a Factor in Ethnic Self-Consciousness and Identity.” This talk explored literacy and its role in nation-building. Dr. Amantur Japarov from the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic and IFEAC was the last speaker, who discussed “Governing Pastures in Soviet Kyrgyzstan, 1960s–1980s,” tracing land management practices during the later decades of the Soviet era.

The workshop concluded with an engaging Q&A session and exchange of books by authors who were among the presenters of the programme.

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