Bishkek
Capital of Kyrgyzstan; population (1999) 750,300. Bishkek is situated in the valley of the River Chu north of the Kyrgyz Alatau mountain range, 180 km/112 mi west of Almaty in Kazakhstan. Among the goods produced here are textiles, agricultural machinery, and electrical and electronic goods. Food industries include meat-packing and tobacco production.
History
Bishkek was founded in 1846 as a fortress by the Khan of Kokand; it was captured by the Russians 1860–62, and became a town in 1878. During the Soviet period, it was made the administrativecentre of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast (1924), and of the Frunze
oblast of Kyrgyzia (1939–59). The city was renamed Frunze in 1926 in honour of the Red Army commander Mikhail Vasilievich Frunze.
| Bishkek is an important centre of higher education, with Kyrgyz State University (1951) and Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences (1954), as well as institutions for agricultural, medical, and teacher education. |
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