The capital of Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek - is the largest city in the republic. It is a special administrative unit.
The capital of Kyrgyzstan is located in the northern part of the republic: in the Chui valley at the foot of the Tien Shan mountains. The distance from Bishkek to the Kazakhstan border is 25 kilometers.
The capital of Kyrgyzstan dates back to the 7th century. In those distant times, it was a fortification called Jul, which means "Blacksmith Fortress". At the beginning of the 19th century, the Kokand fortress Pishpek appeared in which the largest garrison of the Chuy valley was deployed. Subsequently, Pishpek was twice conquered by Russian troops. As a result, in 1862 the fortress was destroyed, and two years later a Cossack picket was formed in its place, which later grew into a village, and in 1878 received the status of a city. In 1925, Pishpek received the status of the administrative center of the Kyrgyz autonomy, and a year later it was renamed Frunze. The city received a new name in honor of its famous native Mikhail Frunze, who was a Soviet military commander. Since 1936, Frunze became the capital of the Kyrgyz SSR. After the country gained independence from the USSR in 1991, the capital of Kyrgyzstan was renamed the city of Bishkek.
At the moment, there are two versions of the emergence of the modern name of the capital. According to one of them, the city owes its name to the mythical Bishkek-Batyr, which, according to legends and legends, opened the first big bazaar here. Another version claims that the name comes from the consonance of the words Pishkek and Bishkek, which in translation from the Kyrgyz language means "stick for stirring koumiss."
The main city attractions include museums, the most famous of them are the Frunze Museum, the History Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts. The city has several theaters.
The national composition of Bishkek until the middle of the 20th century included mainly the Russian-speaking population. But then the situation began to change rapidly, and at the moment, the Kyrgyz people make up the majority of the capital’s population, and the percentage of the Kyrgyz population in relation to other nationalities is growing steadily from year to year. In total, about 1 million people of various nationalities live in the city.
Among the public transport in the city there are buses, trolleybuses and minibuses. The bus fleet is quite outdated, so minibuses are the most popular here. Intercity bus service is also well established, which increases especially during the summer. Indeed, one of the most popular tourist destinations for residents, for example, Kazakhstan is Kyrgyzstan. Rest on Issyk-Kul Lake provides an opportunity to spend a vacation for people with the most varied income levels. Therefore, during the beach season, routes are organized from Bishkek to three parts of the lake: to Balykchi, which is closest to Bishkek, to Cholpon-Ata, located on the northern shore of the lake, and to Karakol, which is the administrative center of Issyk-Kul region.