Kyrgyzstan since 1991 has Attracted about 10 Percent of Ethnic Kyrgyz Living Abroad

Paul Goble
Staunton, Jan. 13 – Since 1991, former Soviet republics have sought to attract back members of their titular nations living abroad. Kyrgyzstan, because of financial and political problems, has lagged in this; but now it too has passed a milestone: Bishkek has lured back some 70,000 ethnic Kyrgyz, more than 90 percent of whom have taken Kyrgyzstan citizenship.
    Last year, it attracted 1223 ethnic Kyrgyz from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, Russia, Turkey, Afghanistan and other countries as well, the government has reported (24.kg/obschestvo/316508_status_kayryilmana_v2024_godu_poluchili_1tyisyacha_223_etnicheskih_kyirgyiza/).
    Such returnees are called kaidylmans, a term analogous to the terms Kazakhstan has used, oralmans and kandases; and they have been given special benefits to help them start live anew in Kyrgyzstan. But the benefits Bishkek has provided are far smaller than those Kazakhstan has given out and the program has been less successful as a result.
    In addition, there have been cases, the most notorious being the Kyrgyz from the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan many of whom fled to Turkey, whom the Kyrgyz authorities have been anything but welcome (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/kyrgyzstan-officials-again-refuse-to.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/02/are-wakhan-kyrgyz-finally-going-to-get.html).
    If Kyrgyzstan is now going to be more welcoming – and the new rules governing such people suggest that may be the case (cbd.minjust.gov.kg/97678/edition/8283/ru) – than many of the more than 800,000 Kyrgyz now living abroad might return and possibly help Bishkek to establish better control over its territory particularly in the south.
    But at the same time, their return, especially if it is large and rapid, could trigger conflicts not only with Kyrgyz who have been living in the country for a lengthy period but also with Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Russians who might find their positions threatened by such a growth in the Kyrgyz nation.