ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the evolution of and searches for Asianness in the city of Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek has multi-layered realities: it was established as a Russian colonial city, and was later planned and developed as a Soviet city populated mostly by ethnic Russians; it is now the Kyrgyz capital as a Central Asian city. This chapter investigates three distinct periods in the city's history—Russian, Soviet, and independent post-Soviet—to unravel the co-existence and divisions between the city's Russianness and its Asianness. It pays special attention to the social and cultural divides by looking at two spatial phenomena—mahallas and novostroikas—in the Soviet era and post-soviet era, respectively. During all three periods, the city's Asianness was marginalised and pushed to the urban periphery, culturally, socioeconomically, and spatially. These local communities, despite being marginalised, were able to preserve their unique Asian cultures and identities. The Asianness has been enriched by the newcomers, with their languages, cultures, and religions, from rural Kyrgyzstan to seek better life and opportunities in the capital. In the last two decades, the Asianness has been slowly coming back and reclaiming its urban presence and increasing its right to centrality in the city.
