Bishkek Travel Guide, Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek Travel Guide – The Soviet Inheritance

This Bishkek travel guide will give you an outline of the city that functions as the capital of the state of Kyrgyzstan. The whole country and the city itself were under Soviet occupation during the 20th century, so the city was known as Frunze between 1926 and 1991, due to the Bolshevik military leader Mikhail Frunze. Presently Bishkek administers the Chuy Province that surrounds the city and it functions as an administrative and economical hub for the entire country. The many years spent under Soviet domination are still visible in the organization, mentalities and architecture of the city. It is almost entirely comprised of large boulevards and public institution buildings paved with marble, as well as apartment buildings built in a typical Soviet style. Although the city has started to modernize quickly in recent years, the Russians still have a large influence on the lifestyle and mentalities in Bishkek.

Bishkek Travel Guide – The Cityscape and Economical Resources

Recent years have seen Bishkek developing, with lots of restaurants and cafes opening in the city centre and a more and more lively and prolific atmosphere. Bishkek also has an irrigation system that constantly waters all the trees that are vital to the city’s atmosphere due to the very high temperatures. While in the Soviet era the city’s economy used to rely on the many factories that made up the local industry, today most of them have been shut down and the financial business became the major employer in Bishkek, with over 21 financial institutions that have their main offices in the capital. Built in a grid pattern, Bishkek is pretty easy to explore on the north-south and east-west axes, where you can find all the universities, government buildings as well as main shopping areas. All of the important streets have been renamed after the Soviet era, because during that time they were named after important political and military leaders.

Bishkek Travel Guide – Inside and Outside the City

Transportation within the city is done through buses, trolleys and plenty of taxi cabs, but the local administration has plans of building a light rail system in the nearest future. If travelling to closer destinations, like Tashkent in Uzbekistan or Dushanbe in Tajikistan, the easiest way to get around is using buses and minibuses that have regular schedules and will take you as far as China or Siberia. Another important Bishkek travel guide fact is that the railway station has severely lost traffic since 2007, the only fixed route heading towards Moscow. Still, there are some other trains that go to Siberia, but they get there extremely slowly due to the border problems and the indirect route they are forced to take. Bishkek is served by the Manas International Airport, located almost 25 kilometers away from the city centre.