Our People Abroad: Philip, who grew up in a Kyrgyz family, wanted to sell all his property in Russia and return to Kyrgyzstan
At the moment, he lives in the Rudnyansky District of the Volgograd Region in Russia. He works as a baker.
“I was born and spent my early years in the village of Kara-Dyikan in the Uzgen District of the Osh Region. We lived among Uzbeks, so I mastered this language. At the age of 8, I lost my parents. I was taken in by a Kyrgyz family. Thus, from the age of 8, I began to speak Kyrgyz. I was the only child in my family, and in the Kyrgyz family, I was the youngest, the eleventh. I lived with them in Alai. My Kyrgyz mother is named Ürümkan. I keep in touch with her. She helped me stand on my own feet. I am grateful to her,” he shared.
Philipp also noted that his knowledge of the Kyrgyz language often surprises people in Russia:
“Once, I was standing in the metro waiting for a friend. A Kyrgyz guy approached me. He said, ‘Hello, do you have a lighter?’ I replied, ‘Менде ширенке бар’ (I have a lighter). He looked at me in surprise for a long time. He lit his cigarette, handed me the matches, and said, ‘Thank you.’ He walked away about 10 meters, then returned and asked, ‘Aka, сиз биздин тилде сүйлөп жатасызбы?’ (Brother, are you speaking our language?). I decided to joke and replied, ‘Sorry, I don’t understand you.’”
Philipp also mentioned that, in addition to working as a baker, he raises livestock. In the future, he plans to sell everything and return to Kyrgyzstan, buy a nice house, and live with his family.
“I don’t know how and when my biological mother died, and my father ended up in prison. I was small and don’t remember everything. In the Kyrgyz family, my name and surname were not officially changed.
I accepted Islam, and there was an azan in the mosque. At that time, I was given the name ‘Umar.’ In my Kyrgyz family, they raised livestock. I did the same things as the other children. They treated me as one of their own,” F. Savin recounted.
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