Kyrgyzstan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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Marriage Age

Average Marriage Age Rises in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan

Twenty years ago, women in Kazakhstan first married at an average age of about 24. Today, the figure is about 25. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan show the same gradual increase, although the pace varies from one country to another. Marriage Ages Rise Gradually in Kazakhstan According to Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics, the average age at first marriage in 2025 was 27.9 for men and 25.3 for women. In 2014, the averages were lower at 27.1 and 24.6, respectively. The gradual rise follows a global pattern. The average age of newlyweds is rising as the number of registered marriages declines. Kazakhstan registered 139,500 marriages in 2019. By 2024, the total had fallen 11.4% to 123,600. Seasonal patterns have remained steady. Most marriages in 2025 were registered during the summer, including nearly 13,000 in July. The bureau tracks both figures each year, and later reports will show whether these trends continue. Urban and Rural Marriage Ages Diverge in Kyrgyzstan In Kyrgyzstan, women first married at an average age of 23.7 in 2024, up from 22.4 in 2000. The nationwide increase was just over a year. Bishkek recorded a much larger change. The average age for first-time brides in the capital rose from 23 in 2001 to 27 two decades later. The increase was nearly four years, compared with just over one year nationwide. Regional differences remain substantial. Women in Batken Region first marry at an average age of 22.7, compared with 25.9 in Bishkek. The gap exceeds three years, showing how the national average combines sharply different local patterns. Men in Kyrgyzstan first married at an average age of 27.6 in 2024. The national average for men was almost four years higher than the figure for women. Annual statistics continue to show wide differences between regions. Marriage Age Is Rising Faster for Uzbekistani Men According to Uzbekistan’s State Committee on Statistics, men first married at an average age of 26.2 in 2024, compared with 21.8 for women. In 2000, the averages were 24.2 for men and 21.4 for women. Over those two decades, the figure for men rose by two years. The increase for women was less than half a year, a much smaller change than in neighboring countries. As a result, the gap between the average ages of men and women at first marriage widened from 2.8 years in 2000 to 4.4 years in 2024. Men are delaying marriage far more than women, and the difference has become a consistent feature of Uzbekistan’s marriage statistics. The trend is unfolding in a country with a young and growing population. As The Times of Central Asia recently reported, Uzbekistan’s 2026 census revealed a larger and younger population than previous estimates had indicated. How Central Asia Compares Internationally People in Central Asia still marry earlier than those in many European and North American countries. In the United States, the average age at first marriage is 30.8 for women and 32 for men. In Norway, it is 36.8 for women and 38.4 for men. Within...

Podcast

Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now

As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, from October 19, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team covers a new election date being set in Kazakhstan, with the country's largest party staying off the ballot, rare protests in Turkmenistan over blackouts and economic frustration, the removal of one of Ashgabat's most important religious figures, renewed clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, fuel shortages hitting much of Central Asia, and border swap deals that have seen thousands of people suddenly finding themselves in a new country. Before then turning to our main story this week, where the dramatic end to the Kamchybek Tashiev trials has delivered one of the biggest moments in Kyrgyz politics this year. Special guest: Medet Tulegenov (Director of the Silk Road Research Center).

Art and Culture

Kanybek Kalmatov Interview: Kyrgyz Director Takes on Chinghiz Aitmatov

At 25, Kanybek Kalmatov is taking on a subject many older directors might have avoided: Chinghiz Aitmatov, Kyrgyzstan’s most internationally recognized writer and a figure deeply embedded in the country’s cultural identity. Kalmatov, a cinematographer and graduate of VGIK, the prestigious Moscow film school, is making his directorial debut with Aitmatov, billed as Kyrgyzstan’s first full-length feature film about the writer’s life and career. The project has already drawn attention beyond Kyrgyzstan, not least because Russian actor Sergey Bezrukov has joined the cast. For Kalmatov, the film is also personal. He first encountered Aitmatov as a schoolboy through The Little Soldier, and later found that even at film school in Moscow, Kyrgyzstan was often viewed through the writer’s name. Now, after months of research and nearly a year spent developing the screenplay, he says he is ready to take on a life that one film can only partly contain. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Kalmatov about why he chose a biopic rather than an adaptation, how he approached Aitmatov’s life at such a young age, and why he hopes the film will send younger viewers back to the writer’s books. TCA: You have chosen an ambitious project for your directorial debut. How did the film come about? Kanybek Kalmatov: Since childhood, there have been two stories I always dreamed of filming. The first is about my parents, because they have an incredible love story. The second is about Aitmatov. It wasn’t only his works that fascinated me. It was the scale of his personality, how determined he was and how many different things he managed to do at the same time. I fell in love with Aitmatov when I was about 12, after reading The Little Soldier. It’s about a boy whose father died in the war. Since then, Aitmatov’s works have always stayed with me. Even at VGIK, where I studied, people often saw me through that lens: “You’re from Kyrgyzstan? The homeland of Aitmatov?” For us, he’s not just a writer; he’s part of our cultural code. So I felt that, sooner or later, this film was bound to enter my life. TCA: Were you afraid the project might not work? Kanybek Kalmatov: No. Probably because I believe strongly in intention. Any big undertaking starts with that. If your motivation is right and you understand why you’re doing it, things begin to fall into place. From the start, my intention was pure. I never saw this film as a way to gain fame or prove something to anyone. I wanted to tell the story honestly of someone who means so much to our culture. TCA: Don’t you think one has to “grow into” Aitmatov first? Kanybek Kalmatov: There are topics you need to mature into. But if you wait for the perfect moment, you may never make anything at all. Maybe if I waited another 15 years, I would approach this story differently. Or maybe I’d never dare. Personally, I respect people who aren’t afraid...

TCA Interviews

From Bishkek to Yakutsk: What Unites Eurasia’s Emerging Cinema

Stepan Burnashev is a Sakha filmmaker from Yakutia who has helped bring Yakut cinema to audiences far beyond the republic. His films have screened at international festivals, appeared on Amazon, and helped turn Yakut cinema into one of the most distinctive regional film movements in Eurasia. In Bishkek, where Burnashev served on the jury of the national KyrgyzBox section, The Times of Central Asia spoke with him about the phenomenon of Yakut cinema, international ambitions, and what connects Yakutsk, Bishkek, and other emerging cinemas of Eurasia. TCA: Stepan, this is not your first time attending the Bishkek International Film Festival. What attracts you to it? Stepan Burnashev: I love Bishkek very much. There is good cinema here, wonderful people, and Kyrgyz culture feels very close to me in many ways. I have attended three of the four festivals held so far. Still, I have never shown my own films here. The first time I came to Bishkek was at the invitation of Erke Jumakmatova, the head of the festival’s industry program. We met back in Busan, and she invited me to participate in a pitching session. Back then, I flew in with a team of Yakut filmmakers: Apollinaria Degtyareva, Alexey Egorov, and me. Apollinaria and I both participated in the pitching, and this year she entered the main competition of the Bishkek Film Festival with that project. The second time, I came on my own initiative because I had really fallen in love with the festival. It has a special warmth and atmosphere. This time I was invited as a jury member for the national KyrgyzBox program. TCA: How do you assess the KyrgyzBox program? Do you see any common ground between Kyrgyz and Yakut cinema? Stepan Burnashev: The program is interesting, though, as everywhere, there are weaker films and stronger ones. From what I understand, mainstream cinema, such as comedies, is more popular here, while in Yakutia, auteur films are also audience-driven. It is interesting, but I noticed that music is used much more actively in Kyrgyz films. In our films, music usually does not dictate anything to the viewer or tell them what to feel. Here I saw films with a different approach. It is curious. TCA: What kind of cinema interests you more today, auteur or mainstream? Stepan Burnashev: In fact, I do not divide cinema into auteur and mainstream. I divide films into good and not-so-good. I even try not to use the word “bad.” It seems unfair to the people who create films. Any director starts working on a film convinced they will make a great one. And I sincerely believe that no one sets out to make a terrible movie. Of course, there are cases where the result does not meet expectations, but behind every project there is the labor of many people. That deserves respect. TCA: What do you think about contemporary Kazakh cinema? Do you know it well? Stepan Burnashev: To say that I know Kazakh cinema very well would be an...

World Nomad Games

Tea, Tug-of-War, and Team GB at the World Nomad Games

A British tug-of-war athlete preparing for a nomadic sports festival in Kyrgyzstan sounds like the start of a strange travel documentary. It is also part of the appeal of the World Nomad Games, which return to Kyrgyzstan from August 31 to September 6, 2026, with The Times of Central Asia once again reporting from the ground. Since their launch in 2014, the Games have grown far beyond their roots, turning traditional sports into an international meeting point for athletes, spectators, and cultures that rarely share the same arena. What began as a Kyrgyz initiative has become one of the world’s more unusual sporting gatherings, mixing horseback combat, archery, wrestling, eagle hunting, strength contests, board games, food, music, and craft traditions in a format closer to a living festival than a conventional tournament. For visiting teams, the challenge is not only athletic. It is cultural, physical, and occasionally bewildering in the best possible way, as The Times of Central Asia explored in an interview with Sam Pollard from Team Great Britain. TCA: How did you first become involved with the World Nomad Games, and what drew you to competing there? Sam Pollard: I read Sovietistan: A Journey Through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan by Erika Fatland in my second year at university, in 2023. I already knew I wanted to travel to Central Asia after university because it was completely unknown to me. I like going to places where no one I know has been, and I was excited to experience it for myself and see whether it was a hidden gem. It absolutely turned out to be just that. The book mentioned Kok Boru, or Kokpar, as one of Central Asia’s traditional games. I searched for it on YouTube and found a video of it being played at the World Nomad Games. I thought, what on earth are the World Nomad Games? I did more research, looked at some of the sports, and saw that the Games lined up perfectly with when I was hoping to travel to Central Asia. Initially, we planned to go as spectators, but then I saw that you could apply to participate. Because my friends and I had a tug-of-war background at university, we thought we’d apply, see what happened, and hope for the best. What drew us to competing was the chance to learn about and embrace nomadic culture, which we didn’t really know much about. We are quite open-minded people, so we were excited to learn from different cultures and see what we could take from them. Each “Stan” is completely different, which made the region even more attractive to us. Kyrgyzstan has its beautiful mountains, Uzbekistan has its amazing mosques, Kazakhstan has the great steppes - Mangistau is incredible - and Tajikistan has the Pamir Highway. There was a real draw for us in the unknown. TCA: What was it like being the flagbearer for the UK team at the Kazakhstan Nomad Games in 2024? Sam Pollard: It was undoubtedly the...

Film Industry

Bishkek Film Festival Positions Itself as Central Asia’s New Cinema Hub

In only four editions, the Bishkek International Film Festival has begun to look less like a young local event and more like one of Central Asia’s key meeting points for cinema. This year’s edition, held in the Kyrgyz capital, brought guests from more than 30 countries, and saw nine world premieres and a competition slate that revealed how closely filmmakers across Asia and Europe are now speaking to one another. Alongside its three competition strands — International, Central Asian and the national KyrgyzBox section, which featured some of the country’s highest-grossing projects — the festival hosted industry events, pitching sessions and the Bars in Progress section for films at various stages of post-production. Kyrgyz audiences were also introduced to Mongolian cinema through the festival’s annual country focus. The opening ceremony took place under open skies in Bishkek’s main square, where guests were welcomed on a sky-blue carpet. The event’s growing profile has been backed by state support, with the authorities recognizing that such an event can give the local film industry a major boost. At the opening, Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Culture, Information and Youth Policy, Mirbek Mambetaliev, said state support for national cinema had increased almost tenfold: while four years ago around $915,000 was allocated for film production, today that figure has reached $10.6 million. [caption id="attachment_50456" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Image: bishkekfilmfest[/caption] Guest Program: Audrey Tautou and a Bollywood Masterclass This year, the festival placed its bets not only on films, but also on high-profile international guests. The main highlight was Audrey Tautou, who rarely appears at events of this kind. The French actress said she is now more interested in working on the other side of the camera, and is producing an animated project. Tautou seemed deeply moved by the reception. As she said goodbye to the audience, she singled out and thanked a small child who had sat quietly in the hall the entire time without crying. Only then did it emerge that the little girl’s name was Audrey Bermet: her parents, an American father and a Kyrgyz mother, had named her after the actress. This almost accidental episode unexpectedly became a symbol of the festival itself: a major international event that, despite its growing scale, has not yet lost its remarkable intimacy and human warmth. Another highlight was a masterclass by Sandip Soparrkar, a Bollywood choreographer who has worked with some of the biggest stars of both Bollywood and Hollywood. He turned an ordinary lecture into a full-scale show, explaining why dance became the main language of Indian cinema and how it had been shaped by a variety of influences, from classical traditions to jazz, disco and modern hip-hop. Soparrkar also lifted the curtain on Bollywood itself: the cost of the biggest musical sequences, he said, can reach about $700,000. Famous scenes flashed on the screen one after another, and by the end of the session, the audience had become part of a Bollywood musical number, with the entire square dancing alongside Soparrkar to an Indian interpretation of...