Suite (212)

Since becoming independent from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has attracted some attention in the West for its two revolutions (in 2005 and 2010) and the 'gay propaganda' bill introduced to its parliament in 2014, but never passed. Sometimes referred to by European liberals as 'the Switzerland of Central Asia' for its relatively democratic constitution, Kyrgzystan has a complicated relationship with its Soviet past, a fascinating artistic history and a vibrant queer and feminist culture fighting hard against virulent homophobia and misogyny. In this episode of Suite (212) Extra, Juliet Jacques - who has twice visited Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, and written extensively about the country's LGBTQI politics - talks to Communist and LGBTQI artist-activists Georgy Mamedov and Mohira Suyarkulova. They discuss the creation of Soviet Kirghizia, the Kyrgyz language and Stalin's 'Russification', the development of Kyrgyz painting, the refusal to 'de-Communise' after 1991, the School of Theory & Act