In Kyrgyzstan, the creation of a grand 16-volume work is planned, which will cover the history of the Kyrgyz people from the Paleolithic to the present day. This was reported in an interview with 24.kg by Zamirbek Tursunbekov, the secretary of the commission engaged in the development of historical science under the president of the country.
The idea for this multi-volume publication arose at the initiative of a special commission created to support historical science.
Initially, it was planned to release 15 volumes, but at a recent meeting, it was proposed to increase this number to 16. It is possible that the project will be implemented in this format.
Zamirbek Tursunbekov
According to Tursunbekov, the upcoming work will combine both previously known historical facts and modern research, including new archaeological discoveries and sources. This will be one of the key features of the new publication.
“The need to create a fundamental history has long been overdue. During the period of independence, in 2016-2017, a three-volume history of Kyrgyzstan was published, but a full multi-volume publication has not existed until now,” noted the commission representative.
He also emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of distortion of the historical narrative.
“There is a tendency for people from various professions, who are not historians, to attempt to write history. This can lead to the distortion of facts. Therefore, the creation of a unified, scientifically substantiated history of the Kyrgyz people has become an urgent task,” added Zamirbek Tursunbekov.
He noted that the new publication will cover a vast time span—from the Paleolithic era to the post-Soviet period.
Each volume has appointed responsible editors, who must form author groups of two to four people within 10 days.
“The chief editor of the project is the State Secretary of Kyrgyzstan, candidate of historical sciences Arslan Koychiev, and the overall coordination of the 16-volume publication will be carried out by the director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Abylabek Asankhanov,” added Tursunbekov.
It is planned that by the end of the year all manuscripts will be ready, and after editing, they will be sent to print.
The history will be written not in an academic style, but in a popular scientific style, to make it accessible to a wide audience.
Currently, the budget for the multi-volume publication is not disclosed.
It is also worth noting that in 2024, by decree of the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, a special commission for the development of historical science was created, chaired by State Secretary Arslan Koychiev.
