73 ESPACE, POPULATIONS, SOCIETES, 2007-1 pp. 73-89 Martin SCHULER Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EPFL-INTER-Chôros Station 16 1015 Lausanne Suisse martin.schuler@epfl.ch Migration Patterns of the Population in Kyrgyzstan 1. MIGRATION – A COMPLEX SOCIAL AND INDIVIDUAL PHENOMENON Kyrgyzstan throughout the whole 20th centu- economy and access to the education sys- ry has been an important destination for im- tem as well as, to a certain extent, to the migrants not only from different parts of the labour market; borders to neighbouring Soviet Union, but also from other countries countries have become a limiting factor of the world. The majority of the population for migration. that are not Kyrgyz natives are immigrants • At the same time, the collapse of the Soviet or children and grandchildren of those who Union opened borders on an international came to Kyrgyzstan from other countries. In scale; migration with outside countries fact this is the case to such a point that the has become possible. Emigration abroad identity of the inhabitants of the Republic is has been partially initiated, but is quite of- marked by the contentiousness of personal ten hindered by administrative measures experience of family or group of history of of potential destination countries, both in geographic movements. This is still the case, other CIS states and beyond them. even if in the 1970s and 1980s and to some • The first years following independence extent even the 1990s have been periods of have been characterised by a deep econo- decreasing mobility. mic recession. Many sectors of the eco- The analysis of migration processes in nomy have undergone major restructu- Kyrgyzstan shows fundamental changes, ring processes and numerous enterprises which have occurred since independence. have closed or lost many employees. The The new political and economic conditions mining, metal and machinery industries, of the country can be characterised by the textile industry, as well as tourism and following findings: transport have seen their activities redu- • The transition of the former Soviet Union ced by the loss of their integration in the Republics to the new independent CIS Union-wide system of co-operation. The countries has reinforced the barrier func- economy of Kyrgyzstan is still suffering tion of the borders between them. New from the effects of international competi- state legislation (taxes and tolls, national tion and from its geographical situation of money, patents, social insurance system) extreme remoteness. But new economic and informal changes have modified the activities are gradually replacing former 74 sectors, especially in trade, tourism, fi- since ethnic Kyrgyz (and also Germans and nancial services and international organi- Uigurs) lived predominately in rural areas, sations. Some traditional economic bran- but Russians, Ukrainians and Koreans inha- ches, first and foremost agriculture, have bited essentially towns or industrial places. also undergone very deep changes throu- Uzbek settle both in urban and rural places gh privatisation; this sector has shown a in Southern Kyrgyzstan. certain capacity and flexibility to occupy At the end of the communist era and since people in critical economic situations. independence, the relations between the dif- • The geographical allocations of the dif- ferent ethnic groups have changed: ferent activities are not identical: internal • First, the ethnic Kyrgyz portion of the po- migration between urban and rural areas pulation became predominant. All coun- and between the different regions of the tries of the former Soviet Union unde- country has occurred as a result of the rwent a period of reinforcement of their economic changes. In addition, it is to be national attributes. Probably the strongest expected that many probably desired mi- element has been the definition of the sta- gration movements could not be realised tus of the national language(s); all Repu- due to lack of opportunity and means. blics have chosen to adopt a policy that We have attempted to summarize the main favours the indigenous ethnic group. Kyr- findings of the reorientation of migration in gyzstan has been one of the Republics in Kyrgyzstan since independence: which this transition has been conducted 1. Migration has followed a process of with a high degree of understanding of “opening” from a Union-wide horizon to the needs of all groups. Nevertheless, the a worldwide scale. relationship between the ethnic groups 2. At the same time, a reduction has occur- has changed and some groups have lost red from this Union-wide horizon to a the real or relative advantages they en- national orientation. joyed before. Consequently, immigration 3. Within the national context, the economic and emigration have become one of the situation has lead to a growth of the part principal means of responding to these of the rural population of the country and changes. as well as to the strong expansion of the • The second point is the fact that the diffe- capital and its surrounding areas. rent ethnic groups responded in quite dif- This very general pattern has been modi- ferent ways to the newly available oppor- fied by differences in migration behaviour tunity to migrate. These differences must by different groups of the population espe- be considered in light of the former social cially between different ethnic groups. Du- integration and economic status of these ring several decades of the former Soviet groups. But outside factors have probably Union, the Kyrgyz Republic was a territory been more decisive than inside elements. of immigration. The 1960s were a period Some ethnic groups have been encoura- of strong modernisation in the industrial ged to move to their corresponding coun- sector as well as in agriculture. During this tries, as in the case of Jews and Germans; time, immigration contributed significantly for others, the country of origin promotes to population growth, but even before this, a policy that is less clear (or more varia- following the creation of the Republic and ble over time), such as Russia and other during the Great Patriotic War, migration Slavic countries. For other groups, emi- to Kyrgyzstan was promoted and forced in gration is still not possible. As a result order to develop the country and to resettle of these conditions, emigration (and the representatives of various nationalities from intensity of return) varies quite strongly other parts of the Soviet Union. The Kyrgyz from one group to another, ranging from Republic thus reinforced its multi-ethnic so- a near 90% loss of the German popula- ciety with relatively clearly defined social, tion to stable migration flows (Uigurs, political and economic specialisations by Koreans). ethnic group as well as certain typical geo- • Quite a different situation exists in the graphic differentiations. The clearest sepa- migration flows with the surrounding ration has been the urban-rural dichotomy, Republics of Central Asia. Historically, 75 different ethnic groups have been living bouring countries than to their own capital. together for quite a long time and ethnic Talas and the southern oblasts are strongly differentiation was rather social or pro- linked to outside economic centres. In addi- fessional difference. Migration across tion, social structure and ethnic composition the borders was frequent during Soviet vary in the different parts of Kyrgyzstan. Al- times, since these borders had almost no though there may be some centrifugal for- discriminatory effect. Before indepen- ces, the role of Bishkek as capital and centre dence, quite a high percentage of non- of the education system, international com- indigenous ethnic groups were living in munication and information became more all the Central Asian Republics. This is important since 1991. Population migration still the case: a great number of Kyrgyz is considered to be an excellent indicator of are living in China, Tajikistan, Uzbekis- the attractiveness of the regional and urban tan and Kazakhstan. On the other hand, areas. Uzbeks make up 14% of the Kyrgyz po- Geographically, Kyrgyzstan can be divided pulation, and Tajiks and Kazakhs are also in three distinct regions which are differenti- quite numerous in the Republic. ated by geographical characteristics as well • In a region of high population growth as by the economic and demographic struc- and competition for very limited natural ture. For analytical purposes, the Kyrgyz resources and land reserves, migration themselves work quite often by altitude clas- becomes an important factor. The figures ses usually applied at the level of rayons1, show that migration across the borders has sometimes at the community level. In this decreased sharply; all ethnic groups pre- article, we will refer to this analytical tool. sent in Kyrgyzstan, besides Tajiks and the The Chui Valley, with the capital Bishkek in ethnic Kyrgyz themselves, have shown a Northern Kyrgyzstan, is situated on the pied- negative migration balance between 1989 mont of the Tien-Shan at an altitude between and 1999. If the result of the migration 700 and 1000 meters above sea-level. This flows is a reduction in ethnic minorities, region has been the main centre for immi- the population remains very mixed. gration since the end of the 19th Century. Im- International emigration had some signifi- portant irrigation projects guarantee a high cant effects on the internal migration flows. agricultural production, but the region is also Emigrants liberated places, which can be by far the most industrialized of the country. reoccupied by people living within the Emigration from the Chui Valley after in- country: job positions or social positions, dependence is strongly linked to the ethnic housing and land. Effectively, since emi- composition of its population, but also a re- grants had often been active in the tertiary sult of the important loss of industrial jobs. sector (administration, education and other) Bishkek with nearly one million inhabitants or living the most fertile regions in the North is becoming a modern capital with a diffe- (Chui Valley), internal migration flows can rentiated tertiary sector.