Bishkekian

The chief of the oblast UVD [administration of internal affairs]—People’s Deputy M. Abdyldayev—is a native Bishkekian, and several chiefs of oblast administrations come from Narynsk and Chu Oblasts, and so on.

In this article, I want to move beyond dissecting the nostalgic discourses of loss and deprivation among established Bishkekians (Bishkekchany) or simply juxtaposing these with the opposite claims of rural newcomers about their well-deserved belonging to this city.