Today the capital of Kyrgyzstan is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the country. The history of Bishkek remembers several different names, including Pishpek and Frunze, as well as many different events and dates of great national importance and associated with the life of the city.
In modern science, it is proposed to divide the history of Bishkek (briefly) into the following important periods:
- prekokand period (from foundation to the beginning of the 19th century);
- the time of the Kokand rule (from 1825 to 1860s);
- as part of tsarist Russia (second half of the 19th century - 1920s);
- as part of the Soviet Union (since 1924);
- period of independence (since February 1991).
At the beginning of the path
It is interesting that the pre-Kokand period is many times longer than all the others put together, but documentary information about it has practically not survived. The life of Bishkek at that time can be judged only by the artifacts obtained by archaeologists.
Scientists date the discovered sites of primitive inhabitants to the 5th – 6th centuries BC. A permanent settlement appeared at the crossroads of trade roads, first of all, the Great Silk Road, in the 7th – 12th centuries (already our era) there was a settlement of the Turks here.
From the Kokand fortress to the capital of the state
The history of Bishkek as an urban settlement can begin in 1825, when the construction of the Kokand fortress, called Pishpek, began. It was built by order of Madali Khan, the main task is to collect taxes from passing caravans.
In 1860 and 1862. the fortress of Pishpek was attacked by Russian troops, this is the time of the formation of the Russian Empire, a significant expansion of the borders of the state. The Russians not only won a victory, they destroyed the fortress, set up their own Cossack picket, and gradually local residents began to come to this place, who organized a bazaar. And by 1868 a village had already appeared, which retained the name of the fortress, after 10 years the town received the status of a city.
The life of the city made a sharp turn at the beginning of the twentieth century - the Russian Empire was a thing of the past, the new government established its own rules. First, the city became the center of the region, in 1926 it was renamed Frunze, and in 1936 it became the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic within the USSR.
In 1991, serious events took place again, firstly, the country gained independence, and secondly, the city became Bishkek while maintaining the status of the capital, now an independent state.
