Kyrgyz peopleThe Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; UKˈkɪərɡɪz USkərˈɡiːz ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. They are primarily found in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. They speak the Kyrgyz language, which is the official language of Kyrgyzstan. The earliest Kyrgyz people were the descendants of several central Asian tribes, first emerging in western Mongolia around 201 BC.
TurkeyTurkey (Türkiye, ˈtyɾcije), officially the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ˈtyɾcije dʒumˈhuːɾijeti), is a country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in West Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is off the south coast.
Shanghai Cooperation OrganisationThe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organization established by China and Russia in 2001. It is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 60% of the area of Eurasia, 40% of the world population. As of 2021, its combined GDP was around 20% of global GDP. The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, formed in 1996 between the People's Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
BishkekBishkek (Бишкек, biʃˈkek; Бишкек), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of the region but rather a region-level unit of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border with its population being 1,074,075 in 2021. In 1825, the Khanate of Kokand established the fortress of Pishpek to control local caravan routes and to collect tribute from Kyrgyz tribes.
Aral SeaThe Aral Sea (ˈærəl ) was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south which began shrinking in the 1960s and largely dried up by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhstan and the Karakalpakstan autonomous region of Uzbekistan. The name roughly translates from Mongolic and Turkic languages to "Sea of Islands", a reference to the large number of islands (over 1,100) that once dotted its waters.
TurkmenistanTurkmenistan (tɜːrkˈmɛnᵻstæn or ˌtɜːrkmɛnᵻˈstɑːn; Türkmenistan, tʏɾkmønʏˈθːɑːn) is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. It is one of the six independent Turkic states. The population is about seven million (according to the 17 December 2022 Census) and is thus the lowest of the Central Asian republics, and Turkmenistan is one of the most sparsely populated nations in Asia.
KazakhsThe Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: қазақ, qazaq, qɑˈzɑq, қазақтар, qazaqtar, qɑzɑqˈtɑr) are a Turkic people native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe, mainly Kazakhstan, but also parts of northern Uzbekistan and the border regions of Russia, as well as northwestern China (specifically Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture) and western Mongolia (Bayan-Ölgii Province).The Kazakhs arose from the merging of the medieval Turkic and Mongol tribes.
Uzbek languageUzbek (Ўзбекча, Ўзбек тили; Perso-Arabic script: اۉزبېکچە, اۉزبېک تیلی, ozˈbekt͡ʃæ; ozˈbek tɯˈlɯ), formerly known as Turki, is a Turkic language spoken by Uzbeks. It is the official, and national language of Uzbekistan. Uzbek is spoken as either native or second language by 44 million people around the world (L1+L2), making it the second-most widely spoken Turkic language after Turkish. There are two major variants of the Uzbek language, Northern Uzbek spoken in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and China and Southern Uzbek spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Commonwealth of Independent StatesThe Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation in economic, political and military affairs and has certain powers relating to the coordination of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security, including cross-border crime prevention.
AlmatyAlmaty (ælˈmɑːti or ˈælməti; Алматы / Almatı, ɑlmɑˈtə; Алматы, ɐlmɐˈtɨ) is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of over 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936, while the country was an autonomous republic of the Soviet Union, then from 1936 to 1991, a union republic and finally from 1991, an independent state. In 1997, the government relocated the capital to Akmola (present-day Astana). Almaty is still the major commercial, financial, and cultural centre of Kazakhstan, as well as its most populous and most cosmopolitan city.
