In Kyrgyz society, there is an abundance of good: a variety of forms of employment and social interactions in each economic niche, openness to initiative and active people, a sincere desire for knowledge and understanding of the laws of development, ignoring the imaginary advantages of the possibility of excessive consolidation of the people and the state (as in plain states), and the absence of intrusive religiosity. However, there are moments where from an outside perspective, directions that require organized joint action to correct them are “more than visible”.
In Kyrgyzstan, there are quite a few landscaping objects, many of which, like canals, are related to ancient historical traditions. Electricity is installed high in the mountains, and it’s amazing how these lines are serviced. The major problem is that the aesthetic moment is completely ignored when creating bridges over rivers, installing electricity poles and communication equipment. The reinforcement can stick out of the concrete block of the bridge for years, which is bent only to avoid injuries with a hammer. Rough poles can appear and stand for years right in front of an outstanding natural monument, completely blocking the majority of the best angles for tourist shots and positive perception of the area as a whole.
Adaptive behavior models towards hospitality, especially regarding the perception of non-Russian-speaking tourists.
Kyrgyz people have many great habits, including sociability and openness, hard work, but the tendency to spit scares tourists. Copying the behavior of Japanese men seems quite beneficial in terms of posture, motor skills, and gaze. In contrast, copying the style of speech characteristic of Japanese speech – abrupt and sharp – spoils the perception of the Turkic-origin language, which, in itself, sounds very pleasant in traditional local conversation – “like a river flowing.”
Auto-centrism
Ownership and control of a car is an important part of self-assertion for a nomadic people, but the cost of fuel makes prices for rural taxis too high, and using alternative forms of transportation is not so simple, given the hierarchical approach to intuitive determination of “who has the right of way” – the faster and more prestigious the car, the more right it has. Meanwhile, the local climate is perfectly suited for electric scooters, bicycles – shifting the focus to alternative means of transportation will help the environment and reduce the burden on the budgets of families who are forced to spend a significant portion of their income on maintaining their “iron horse” on the road. In cities and settlements, as is customary in steppe cultures, the wide streets offer many opportunities for using both alternative transportation and horses for traveling around regions and provincial cities.
In Bishkek, it makes sense to design off-street transport “on the second level,” rather than underground, given that adding shade to the streets will not harm the city.
Unevenly stratified application of political vectors of integration and separation
Society has made certain efforts to suppress elements of tribalism in favor of principles of national unity. However, contrary to the concepts typical of Bolsheviks, one “formation” does not win over the other, but rather displaces it to a less noticeable “layer”. Tribalism and its alternative new forms also involve cooperation in the economy and resistance movements in case of external threat. But the biggest issue is the unrealized potential of intensifying integration processes at the level of Central Asia itself. It seems that locals perceive integration purely as a political initiative from Beijing, Moscow, or Istanbul. If Central Asia can integrate, it will become more influential than any of these states individually. However, it appears that the habit of centuries of accepting an external vector has imprinted on the perception of the likelihood of such a perspective, forming a kind of “negative gravity” for independent political integration initiatives.
