FLAG OF KYRGYZSTAN: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The flag of Kyrgyzstan is the national symbol of this Central Asian country. It is a red cloth with a sun in the central part, surrounded by forty rays. The circle of the sun is crossed by six lines in the shape of an X. This is the national flag since 1992, just under a year after its independence.

The conception of Kyrgyzstan as a state is recent, since for many centuries the territory was inhabited by nomadic peoples. Some of the first Turkic states to spread into the territory had some symbols, but Central Asia in general was always the center of numerous ethnic conflicts.

Kyrgyzstan flag. (Made by Andrew Duhan for the Sodipodi SVG flag collection, and is public domain.).

In the 19th century, the territory was conquered by the Russian Empire, acquiring its symbols. After the October Revolution, Kyrgyzstan entered the orbit of the new communist state, in which it remained until 1991.

The red of the flag is identified with the bravery of Manas the nobleman, Kyrgyz hero. Yellow is the one that represents prosperity and peace. Its forty rays are identified with the tribes and men who supported Manas. Finally, the lines that cross the sun emulate the roof of the yurts, nomadic dwellings of the region.

History of the flag

Records of the Kyrgyz people are kept from the second century. The history of this people has been indissolubly marked to that of all Central Asia, which has faced invasions of different kinds.

One of the first attempts at grouping in the territory was the Xiongnu confederation, which united different nomadic peoples. This would have also included the east of present-day Kyrgyzstan. Its duration was between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD

The first Chinese and Macedonian invasions occupied territory abandoned by nomads. As early as the 6th century, the first Turks to reach the territory were the Köktürk.

These were constituted in the Köktürk Jaganato, that occupied part of the present Kyrgyzstan. Its flag has been considered to be a light blue cloth with a green animal image on it. Eventually this state split in two.

Flag of the Jaganato Köktürk. (Dolatjan).

Uyghur empire and successors

In Central Asia the Uyghur Empire was established. Over time, it too fragmented. One of them was grouped in Buddhist states called Kara-Khoja. Instead, others remained more related to the Uyghurs, who eventually converted to Islam. This later was denominated like Kanato Qarajánida.

The territories, over time, became completely Islamized and remained in the Persian orbit. However, the Mongols would begin to dominate the area. The Khitan people conquered present-day Kyrgyzstan and formed the Kara-Kitai Khanate. This was maintained between 1124 and 1218 and since then the conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims have stood out.

The rule of the Mongols took shape after the invasion of Central Asia in the 13th century. All these territories were devastated and absorbed by the great Mongol Empire.

This situation persisted for two centuries, and the end of Mongol rule did not mean the liberation of the nomadic tribes of Kyrgyzstan. They had to face Manchu and Uzbek invasions.

Timurid empire

Among all these armed movements, the intervention of Tamerlane, monarch of the Timurid Empire that occupied much of Central Asia and the west of present-day Kyrgyzstan, also stood out. However, the Uzbeks also occupied territories.

Flag of the Timurid Empire. (User: Stannered, via Wikimedia Commons).

Russian empire

The northern Kyrgyz led by Atake Tynay Biy Uulu began to establish relations with the Russian Empire in 1775. The Khanate of Kokand, an Uzbek state that dominated the territory in the early 19th century, was occupied by the Russian Empire almost a century after establishing talks, in 1876. The invasion led to the exile of a significant part of the Kyrgyz people to present-day Afghanistan.

The territory then became the Fergana Oblast, an integral part of the Russian Empire. The flag that was used is the Russian tricolor of white, blue and red, although sometimes the royal coat of arms was added.

Flag of the Russian Empire. (Zscout370, via Wikimedia Commons).

On the other hand, this oblast kept a shield. It had three stripes, two of which are silver and one blue. On the silver ones, purple butterflies were added. Furthermore, the shield kept the royal czarist symbols.

Coat of arms of the Ferganá Oblast. (Unknown heraldics).

Soviet Union

The October Revolution triumphed at the end of 1917. Months earlier, the power of the tsars had been deposed, before which a provisional government was established. Finally, the forces of Vladimir Lenin took control of the territory and by 1918 they reached the present territory of Kyrgyzstan.

The first political entity constituted was the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Turkestan, dependent in turn on the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic. By 1921 the Soviet Union was founded.

This attempt at a Panturic republic within the Soviet framework did not manage to last and in 1924 its division was consummated. The flag that it maintained at that time was a red cloth with the initials of the USSR in Russian, accompanied by those of the republic.

Flag of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. (1918-1924). (EJavanainen).

Kyrgyz Soviet Autonomous Socialist Republic

The entity that replaced it was the Autonomous Oblast of Kara-Kyrgyz. Barely two years this status was maintained, because in 1926 the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Kyrgyzstan was formed, still part of the Russian republic. Its flag included the hammer and sickle for the first time, in addition to the initials of the republics in Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

Flag of the Kyrgyz Soviet Autonomous Socialist Republic. (1929-1937). (bakyt atakulov).

Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic

The end of direct control of the Russian republic came in 1936, with the founding of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic as a member of the Soviet Union.

This entity was maintained until the independence of the country. At first, the flag of the new entity used Latin characters to write the name of the republic, accompanied by Cyrillic ones.

This change corresponded to a series of linguistic and social modifications that the territory had been presenting in the second decade of the 20th century. Previously in 1928 the Latin script had been established, having been an earlier attempt to write the Kyrgyz language with aliphate. This was combined with the Cyrillic of the Russian.

Flag of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic. (1937-1940). (Arvin).

1940 flag

Later, in 1940 the flag was changed. The modification consisted in that the writing in Kyrgyz was changed from the Latin alphabet to a Cyrillic type alphabet.

As a consequence, both inscriptions became in Cyrillic, despite representing different languages. This was done within the framework of the adoption of Cyrillic to write Kyrgyz, a fact that deepened the Russian assimilation of the territory.

Flag of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic. (1940-1952). (Derkommander0916).

1952 flag

In 1952 the final flag of this Soviet republic arrived. Following the new style of flags approved in the country, the hammer and sickle was incorporated in the canton.

In the central part and as a distinctive symbol, two blue stripes were added divided by a thin white stripe. The choice of these colors, along with red, coincided with the Pan-Slavs. Its design corresponded to Truskovsky Lev Gavrilovich.

The symbol of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic was included in the constitution approved in 1978. After the independence of the country, the symbol remained with slight modifications.

Flag of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic. (1952-1992). (Aivazovsky ~ commonswiki).

Kyrgyz Republic

The reforms in the Soviet Union began to be state policy. After the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev to power, the perestroika and glasnost processes began.

That led to the removal of Turdakun Usubailyey, the 24-year leader of the local Communist Party. Different political groups were established as part of the reform, but at first communist forces remained predominant.

In 1990, the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, a group of currents against communism, began to acquire parliamentary force. All this led to the assumption of the presidency of the Supreme Soviet of Kyrgyzstan by Askar Akayey, a dissident of traditional communism. In 1990, the Supreme Soviet approved the name change of the entity to the Kyrgyz Republic.

Although in 1991 88.7% of the Kyrgyz voted to continue in the Soviet Union through a new federal model, this regime was not sustainable.

The 1991 coup attempt in Moscow, whose leaders intended to remove Akayey, led to his withdrawal from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and finally, on August 31, 1991, the Supreme Soviet voted for independence.

Hammer and sickle removal

The rapid development of independence did not bring with it a flag. Consequently, the symbol adopted for the new free Kyrgyz Republic from the Soviet Union was the same. This only had one important modification, since the hammer and sickle, communist symbols, were removed.

Flag of the Kyrgyz Republic. (1991-1992). (No machine-readable author provided. Urmas assumed (based on copyright claims).).

1992 flag

On March 3, 1992, the new flag was approved, which then came to identify Kyrgyzstan. This consisted of a red cloth with a yellow sun in the central part.

Red would have been chosen for the flag of the Kyrgyz national hero, Manas the Noble. Inside the sun there are two series of three lines, which try to imitate the roof of the nomadic dwelling, yurt.

Initiatives of change

The flag, in recent years, has been a major subject of controversy in Kyrgyz society. This is due to the country's ethnic minorities, such as Uzbeks and Dungans, who would not be represented on the flag by symbols inspired by Manas the Noble, who dominated them in the past.

In addition, for many, red continues to be related to communism, while others evoke the stormy past of the country in general.

Meaning of the flag

The national flag of Kyrgyzstan is rich in meaning. They manage to combine a cultural, political and ethnic relationship. Red is identified with courage and bravery, which is historically related to the flag carried by the conqueror Manas the Noble in the past.

For its part, the sun represents the prosperity and peace of the country. The forty rays of the same would be those that symbolize the tribes that Manas led against the Mongols, as well as his followers.

Finally, the symbol of the sun as a whole represents the central part of the roof, or tunduk, of the traditional tents of the Kyrgyz nomads, called yurts.

For centuries, yurts were the main dwelling of the Kyrgyz people. These can be considered as the origin of life in Kyrgyzstan, the home of its people and, furthermore, the unity between space and durability in time.

References

1. Grousset, R. (1970). The empire of the steppes: a history of Central Asia. Rutgers University Press. Recovered from books.google.com
2. Namatbaeva, T. (March 9, 2012). Fight rages over Kyrgyzstan's flag. The Washington Times. Recovered from washingtontimes.com.
3. Omelicheva, M. (2014). Nationalism and Identity Construction in Central Asia: Dimensions, Dynamics, and Directions. Lexington Books. Recovered from books.google.com.
4. Smith, W. (2013). Flag of Kyrgyzstan. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.
5. Wachtel, A. (2013). Kyrgyzstan between democratization and ethnic intolerance. Nationalities Papers, 41 (6), 971-986. Recovered from cambridge.org.