Chuy Province
Encyclopedia
Chuy Province or Chui Province (Kyrgyz
: Чүй областы) is the northernmost province (oblast
) of the Kyrgyz Republic. It is bounded on the north by Kazakhstan
, and clockwise, Issyk Kul Province
, Naryn Province
, Jalal-Abad Province
and Talas Province
. Its administrative center is Bishkek
, but from 2003 to May 2006 it was Tokmok
.
The main northwest part of the province is flat, a rarity in Kyrgyzstan. This is the valley of the Chu River
. The valley's black soil is very fertile and is largely irrigated with water diverted from the Chu River
. Agricultural production includes wheat, maize, sugar beets, potatoes, lucerne
, and various vegetables and fruits. During the Soviet period, various agro-processing and other industries were established throughout the province, giving rise to a number of urban centers such as Tokmok
, Kant
and Kara-Balta
. The population is considerably more heterogeneous than that of the other regions of the country, with many ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Dungans, Koreans, Germans
, etc.
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too
mountains form southern border of the province, and the northern border of Talas Province. There are many hiking and trekking routes accessible from the towns in the valley. The southwestern heel of the province over the Kirgiz Alatau is geographically more like Naryn province. The northeast panhandle is the Chong Kemin Valley
.
The main east-west transportation axis of the province is the Taraz
-Bishkek
-Balykchy
highway, running through most major cities of the province. This road's section west of Bishkek is part of European route E40
, known locally as Highway M-39 (based on the old USSR highway numbering scheme). The same numbers apply to the road that continues north-east from Bishkek toward Almaty
, crossing the Chuy River and leaving the province for Kazakhstan at Korday
border crossing.
The only railway in the province runs along the same Taraz-Bishkek-Balykchy route; it sees comparatively little use these days.
Chuy province is divided administratively into 8 districts, and the district-level city of Tokmok
: The Chuy District surrounds the city of Tokmok. The Alamudun District surrounds the city of Bishkek
, which however is not part of Chuy Province but a province-level administrative unit in its own right. The southwestern heel is administered as two exclaves of Jaiyl and Panfilov
Raions, Panfilov having a valley to the southeast and Jaiyl the mountains to the north, west and southwest. Raions below are listed from east to west.
Kyrgyz language
Kyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...
: Чүй областы) is the northernmost province (oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) of the Kyrgyz Republic. It is bounded on the north by Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and clockwise, Issyk Kul Province
Issyk Kul Province
Issyk Kul Province is a province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Province, Kazakhstan , Chui Province , Naryn Province and Xinjiang, China ....
, Naryn Province
Naryn Province
Naryn Province is the largest province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Naryn. The province was established on November 21, 1939 as Tien-Shan Province. On December 20, 1962 the province was dissolved, but on December 11, 1970 re-established again...
, Jalal-Abad Province
Jalal-Abad Province
Jalal-Abad Province, also known as Jalalabat , is a province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is the city of the same name, Jalal-Abad. It is surrounded by Talas Province, Chui Province, Naryn Province, Osh Province and Uzbekistan. The Jalal-Abad Province was established on November 21, 1939...
and Talas Province
Talas Province
Talas Province is a province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Talas. It is bordered on the west and north by Jambyl Province of Kazakhstan, on the east by Chui Province, on the south by Jalal-Abad Province and on the southwest by a finger of Uzbekistan. It is basically a U-shaped valley open to the...
. Its administrative center is Bishkek
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
, but from 2003 to May 2006 it was Tokmok
Tokmok
Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province...
.
Geography
Chu River
"Chui River" redirects here. For the South American Chuí or Chuy River, on the Brazil-Uruguay border and Brazil's southernmost point, see Chuí River. For the Nam Sam River or Chu River, on the Lao-Vietnam border, see Nam Sam River....
. The valley's black soil is very fertile and is largely irrigated with water diverted from the Chu River
Chu River
"Chui River" redirects here. For the South American Chuí or Chuy River, on the Brazil-Uruguay border and Brazil's southernmost point, see Chuí River. For the Nam Sam River or Chu River, on the Lao-Vietnam border, see Nam Sam River....
. Agricultural production includes wheat, maize, sugar beets, potatoes, lucerne
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
, and various vegetables and fruits. During the Soviet period, various agro-processing and other industries were established throughout the province, giving rise to a number of urban centers such as Tokmok
Tokmok
Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province...
, Kant
Kant, Kyrgyzstan
Kant is a city in the Chuy Valley of northern Kyrgyzstan, some 20 km from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.It is the administrative center of the Ysyk-Ata District ....
and Kara-Balta
Kara-Balta
Kara-Balta is a city and municipality on the Chu River, in Chuy Province, Kyrgyzstan, the capital of Jaiyl District. It was founded in 1825 under the Kokand Khanate, and received city status in 1975 under the Soviets. Its city population was officially 43,531 in a 2001 census...
. The population is considerably more heterogeneous than that of the other regions of the country, with many ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Dungans, Koreans, Germans
History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union
The German minority in Russia and the Soviet Union was created from several sources and in several waves. The 1914 census puts the number of Germans living in Russian Empire at 2,416,290. In 1989, the German population of the Soviet Union was roughly 2 million. In the 2002 Russian census, 597,212...
, etc.
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too
Kyrgyz Ala-Too
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too is a large range in the North Tien-Shan. It stretches for a total length of 454 km from the west-end of Issyk-Kul to the town Taraz in Kazakhstan. It runs in the east-west direction, separating Chuy Valley from Kochkor Valley, Suusamyr Valley, and Talas Valley. Talas Ala-Too...
mountains form southern border of the province, and the northern border of Talas Province. There are many hiking and trekking routes accessible from the towns in the valley. The southwestern heel of the province over the Kirgiz Alatau is geographically more like Naryn province. The northeast panhandle is the Chong Kemin Valley
Kemin District
Kemin is the northeast panhandle raion of Chuy Province in northern Kyrgyzstan. The capital lies at Kemin.: The district is located in Chong-Kemin Valley, Kichi-Kemin Valley, and eastern part of Chuy Valley...
.
The main east-west transportation axis of the province is the Taraz
Taraz
Taraz , is a city and a center of the Jambyl Province in Kazakhstan. It is located in the south of Kazakhstan, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, on the Talas River...
-Bishkek
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
-Balykchy
Balykchy
Balykchy is a town with a population about 40,000 people located at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, at and an elevation of about 1,900 metres...
highway, running through most major cities of the province. This road's section west of Bishkek is part of European route E40
European route E40
European route E 40 is the longest European route, more than long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border to China....
, known locally as Highway M-39 (based on the old USSR highway numbering scheme). The same numbers apply to the road that continues north-east from Bishkek toward Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
, crossing the Chuy River and leaving the province for Kazakhstan at Korday
Korday
Korday or Kordai is a village in Zhambyl Province of Kazakhstan,and the administrative center of that province's Korday District. It has been formerly known under its old Russian name of Georgievka....
border crossing.
The only railway in the province runs along the same Taraz-Bishkek-Balykchy route; it sees comparatively little use these days.
Socioeconomic indicators
- Employed population: 328,000 (2008)
- Registered Unemployed Population: 7089 (на 2008)
- Export: 248,1 million US dollars (2008)
- Import: 220,9 million US dollars (2008)
- Direct Foreign Investments 2008: 66,2 million US dollars
Demographics
As of 2009, Chuy Province included 4 towns, 5 urban-type settlements, and 331 villages. Its population, according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009, was 790,438.Ethnic composition
According to the 2009 Census, the ethnic composition (de jure population) of Chuy Province was:| Ethnic group | Population | Proportion of Chuy Province population |
|---|---|---|
| Kyrgyzs | 59.1% | Russians Russians The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.... |
20.8% | Dungans | 6.2% | Uygurs | 1.9% | Uzbeks Uzbeks The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China... |
1.8% | Kazakhs Kazakhs The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia .... |
1.6% | Turks | 1.4% | Ukrainians Ukrainians Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens... |
1.4% | Azerbaijanis | 1.3% | Tatars Tatars Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,... |
0.8% | Germans Germans The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages.... |
0.7% | Kurds | 0.6% | Koreans | 0.5% | Tajiks Tajiks Tajik is a general designation for a wide range of Persian-speaking people of Iranic origin, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan... |
0.3% | Lesgins | 0.3% | Dargins | 0.2% | Karachays Karachays The Karachays are Turkic speaking people of the North Caucasus, mostly situated in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic.-History:The Karachays are a Turkic speaking people descending from the Kipchaks and probably the Cumans, with some admixture of the medieval Alans and native Caucasians; their... |
0.2% | Chechens | 0.2% | other groups | 0.7% |
Districts
Tokmok
Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province...
: The Chuy District surrounds the city of Tokmok. The Alamudun District surrounds the city of Bishkek
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
, which however is not part of Chuy Province but a province-level administrative unit in its own right. The southwestern heel is administered as two exclaves of Jaiyl and Panfilov
Panfilov
Panfilov is a Russian surname that may refer to one of the following:*Gleb Panfilov, a Russian film director*Ivan Panfilov, a Soviet WWII general*Yevgeni Panfilov , multiple people...
Raions, Panfilov having a valley to the southeast and Jaiyl the mountains to the north, west and southwest. Raions below are listed from east to west.
| District | Capital | Population (2009 Census) |
|---|---|---|
| Kemin District Kemin District Kemin is the northeast panhandle raion of Chuy Province in northern Kyrgyzstan. The capital lies at Kemin.: The district is located in Chong-Kemin Valley, Kichi-Kemin Valley, and eastern part of Chuy Valley... |
Kemin Kemin Kemin is a urban-type settlement in northeastern Kyrgyzstan, the capital of Kemin District of Chui Province. It is located in about 95 km eastward of Bishkek on the left bank of Chu River in Chuy Valley. Kemin was established in 1912.... |
41,924 |
| Chuy District Chuy District Chuy is a raion of Chuy Province in northern Kyrgyzstan. The district surrounds the provincial capital, Tokmok, but does not include it. The district capital lies at the city of Tokmok.-Geography:... |
Chuy Chuy, Kyrgyzstan Chüy is a village in the Chuy Province of Kyrgyzstan. It is adjacent to the former provincial capital, the city of Tokmok, and is the administrative center of the Chuy District , which surrounds Tokmok.Since Chuy is adjacent to Tokmok, the two settlements together are sometimes informally... |
44,753 |
| City of Tokmok Tokmok Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province... |
Tokmok Tokmok Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province... |
53,087 |
| Ysyk-Ata District Ysyk-Ata District Ysyk-Ata District is one of the eight districts of Chuy Province in the northern Kyrgyzstan. The administrative center of the district is the city of Kant, and the district itself was known as Kant District in the past... |
Kant Kant, Kyrgyzstan Kant is a city in the Chuy Valley of northern Kyrgyzstan, some 20 km from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.It is the administrative center of the Ysyk-Ata District .... |
131,503 |
| Alamudun District Alamudun District Alamudun is a raion of Chuy Province in northern Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Lebedinovka. The district surrounds Bishkek, but does not include it, because the city forms a province-level unit of its own. :-Rural communities and villages:... |
Lebedinovka | 147,208 |
| Sokuluk District Sokuluk District Sokuluk District is a raion of Chuy Province in northern Kyrgyzstan. The capital lies at Sokuluk village.:-Towns, rural communities, and villages:... |
Sokuluk Sokuluk Sokuluk is a large village with a de jure population of 11,968 in the Chuy Province of Kyrgyzstan.Sokuluk is the administrative center of Sokuluk District, and is located about 5 km away from the town of Shopokov, the main economic center of the area.-History:According to historians, Sokuluk... |
158,137 |
| Moskovsky District Moskovsky District, Kyrgyzstan Moskovsky is a raion of Chuy Province in northern Kyrgyzstan. The capital lies at Belovodskoye.:-Towns, rural communities, and villages:... |
Belovodskoe | 83,641 |
| Jaiyl District Jaiyl District Jaiyl is a raion of Chuy Province in northern Kyrgyzstan. The capital lies at Kara-Balta. It also administers an exclave in the southwestern heel of Chuy Province .:-Towns, rural communities, and villages:... |
Kara-Balta Kara-Balta Kara-Balta is a city and municipality on the Chu River, in Chuy Province, Kyrgyzstan, the capital of Jaiyl District. It was founded in 1825 under the Kokand Khanate, and received city status in 1975 under the Soviets. Its city population was officially 43,531 in a 2001 census... |
90,348 |
| Panfilov District Panfilov District Panfilov District may refer to:*Panfilov District, Kazakhstan*Panfilov District, Kyrgyzstan... |
Kayyngdy (Каинда) | 39,837 |
External links
- Official website (in Russian)