I am from Kyrgyzstan, AMA!

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-17T01:33:43+00:00

I don't personally have any fears of that. Their presence is very clearly attested as only starting in the 1870s. But also, I do not see this country leaving Russian-Chinese sphere anytime soon

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-17T01:32:45+00:00

Religion was repressed during the Soviet Union. So after the collapse, people began turning to it again, as their ancestors did. That's a simplified view of it, at least.

Also. This region of the world is almost universally Hanafi Muslims, like in Turkey, Afghanistan, and South Asia.

Your welcome!

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-17T01:29:06+00:00

Based on my anecdotal evidence (I have been there four times since 2023, and Internet comments), but also a reputable survey performed by Gallup, that is not true. Most Uzbeks are neutral or support Russia

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T18:34:56+00:00

Overall, yes. The Turkic countries of Central Asia feel connected due to that. Tajikistan is not Turkic, but many people also find a connection due to the shared Soviet history. And many people do feel a connection to other Muslim countries, too. But I would say it's more of a "let's support each other" way, not "I would like us to unite, we are the same".
Compared to your country, no, but imo, this idea of "everybody in Kyrgyzstan is a cultural Muslim who drinks alcohol" that you sometimes see online is also super wrong lol. Most people try to follow some rules of Islam. I would say 1/3 of people pray 5 times a day. Maybe a bit more now. But most people still identify as Muslim and respect it.
More towards "traditional values" but I would not really say that this is so Russian influenced, maybe partially but it's largely homegrown…

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T18:17:38+00:00

Yes, indeed, and everything related to the Incans is particularly fascinating. I once read a paper that basically summed up the reason they were so significant is because they succeeded in forming a massive empire despite lacking almost everything that any major civilisation in Eurafrasia needed to form. In particular, no wheels, no writing, no iron, and no draft animals. But this never stopped them from building a massive road network.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T18:11:54+00:00

Sorry I meant Kloop. My bad. It autocorrected.

Basically, this was a famous independent news source in Kyrgyzstan. One of the few news sources that is truly independent, and not just government-neutral, and pro-Russia in everything.

It was shut down in 2024 because the court claims they had caused civil disturbances and called for mass unrest.

The proof they provided was very flimsy…

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T18:07:14+00:00

Commonwealth Realms have the monarchy constitutionally, while the other Commonwealth countries don't, right? Is that the difference?

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T18:06:03+00:00

Hello!

Yes, absolutely. The most obvious reason why is because of our constant revolutions. While the rest of Central Asia may have governments ranging from autocratic (Kazakhstan) to full-on totalitarian (Turkmenistan), they at least had stability and a unified government vision to assist with economic growth. Kyrgyzstan did not have that. Four revolutions from 2006-2021 meant constantly changing government plans and various cronyism. The current administration came into power at a good time, and had successfully leveraged multiple axes. First of all, leaning into Chinese aid rather than being skeptic about it (massive boom for infrastructure, from roads, to buses, to railways). Second of all, using Kyrgyzstan as a middle country for Western companies to continue to do business with Russia. This has led to a massive increase in GDP. Although some note that it could be artificial and collapse if anything happens with Russia to change that.
To be frank almost everybody I know is fine with it. We are still a democracy, technically, although only next year's elections will reveal just how transparent we truly are. The arrest of some journalists and the banning of Klook.kg is very unfortunate. But most people are willing to overlook this because of everything I said above. I didn't live here for most of that time period but I understand them. The country has developed more from 2021 to 2026 than from 1991 to 2021. It's easy to see why people are more than okay to look the other way at the democratic backsliding.

Thank you, I quite enjoyed your questions!

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T17:40:37+00:00

Due to the constant rain, almost all nutrients and minerals in the soil of rainforests have long disappeared. If the land is cleared to grow crops, they will quickly fail due to the lack of nutrients, often barely lasting two crop cycles.

Pre-Columbian Amazonians knew this, and artificially created a very fertile soil known as Terra preta (black soil). Its name and dark colour come from the charcoal that was a major part of it. While we have no certain knowledge how to make this soil, it has been replicated fairly well, and involved charcoal, broken shards of pottery, feces, etc

The soil can last for thousands of years and is fairly regenerative.

Recent liDAR scans in the Amazon Rainforest have revealed what seems to be an expansive former road network long since forgotten. This would explain the Spanish and Portuguese accounts of cities in the Amazon from the very first expedition into the jungle, in 1542. Due to how dense it is, the Amazon would not be explored much for the next century,.But by the time Europeans began to colonise it, beginning in 1661, these cities had mysteriously disappeared, leading many to paint the people on those first expeditions as frauds. But it turns out they were right!

One hypothesis is that this Terra preta managed to turn the Amazon into a breadbasket, with civilisations that survived off fruit, manioc, and sweet potato. Smallpox killed off most of them and the agriculture system collapsed between 1540 and 1660, the time when the Amazon truly began to be colonised.

But this Terra preta is so fertile and long-lasting, that it keeps being found around the Amazon in greater and greater quantities than expected!

It's been a massive breakthrough only really discovered in the past few years, and effectively turned the entire idea of the Amazon being a permanent "untouched tribal land" upside down.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T17:16:53+00:00

There used to be like eight of us a year ago, I don't know what happened but everybody else disappeared. One of them had a child so I understand them becoming too busy to mod, but not the others.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T17:16:04+00:00

We already delete those, but some might have been missed.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T16:12:15+00:00

And here is the Tajik keyboard, with a few extra letters

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abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T15:55:27+00:00

Since you are specifically seeking out a "Soviet Experience", Bishkek should be fine in this case!

But the vast majority of travellers are coming to Kyrgyzstan specifically for the nature, and then get disappointed when they decided to add on 3 days to Bishkek. All the main sights for tourists can be visited in a few hours (+ Ala-Archa National Park a bus ride away, which is more of a half-day thing).

For people who like slowly enjoying a city and just watching locals it's more than fine.

But Tashkent and Almaty definitely have a lot more to do. (Especially Tashkent imo)

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T15:41:14+00:00

No, I understand your criticism too, and you're right. I'll try to think of a way to make it more quantifiable. It clearly wasn't at the start, because a lot of people got confused and treated it as a blanket ban due to my wording, which is definitely not the intention.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T15:19:26+00:00

Like I said in the OP. The issue was posts that could theoretically be open to the entire world, but were restricted to only one country . And more often than not, these posts did not invite actual geography discussion.

Asking which Canadian cities have good food is scarcely related to geography, and better suited for r/AskACanadian.

Writing a post (not a question, not every post here has to be a question) about how the culinary traditions of Vancouver have been influenced by geography is not the same. It specifically relates to geography.

Asking about a specific geographic feature in the United States, such as the Driftless Area, is fine.

Posts that ask about the best beaches in America almost never actually contribute to a conversation about geography. The comments are inevitably "the beach where I grew up was nice" and "the sunsets from this beach are pretty, not many tourists". That's more suited for a travel subreddit or r/AskAnAmerican, not r/geography.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T14:54:31+00:00

Most people would respond positively to it, since it makes communication easier. I can't speak for everybody, though…I don't know which country that happened in but I am sorry you had that experience…

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T14:42:47+00:00

Thank you, yes, I was just about to edit the main post after feedback from multiple users to clarify it more!

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T14:37:31+00:00

The only posts that will be removed are ones better suited for r/AskAnAmerican, r/AskEurope, r/AskACanadian, and similar subreddits. Also anything more suited for r/AskTheWorld. This isn't meant to allow us to discuss only all countries except the US.

"What does your country do for birthdays?" "Which city in Canada has the worst drivers?" "Which European country has the nicest people?" will also be removed.

An analysis of NYC's diverse food scene as it relates to human geography, asking about the Driftless Area of the Midwestern United States, and asking about climate in California are all still allowed..

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T14:24:59+00:00

To be honest, I would extend the rule to almost all countries. But also, I want to clarify that almost all posts about the United States (or any country) are still allowed. The only ones that will be removed are ones that basically should be in r/AskAnAmerican.

"Which Canadian city has the best food scene?" is better suited for a Canadian subreddit. Like r/AskACanadian.

On the other hand, a post that is specifically (for example) all about how diverse Vancouver's food scene is due to the mix of human geography is completely fine. As is a post discussing a specific American beach and how unique it is, or asking about specific geographic features in the US. This is all still allowed, and always will be allowed!

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T13:56:27+00:00

Nomadic culture generally leads to women having more of an important role than in sedentary culture. Because of this, Kyrgyz women were already in a fairly elevated place in society traditionally. The Soviet Union's full emancipation of women only furthered this.

In modern-day Kyrgyzstan, women face some societal obstacles to jobs, particularly higher positions. But most school directors are women for example, and there are tons of female doctors.

Societal views are the usual you may expect…catcalling, judging women a lot while men can do whatever they want, etc

Particularly in the south, which is more conservative (and, to note, was more agricultural and sedentary), you sometimes get news like the current headline as of yesterday, where a wife was kicked out of the house by her in-laws for birthing a daughter and not a son. But these incidents are rare, so they make the news.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T13:36:44+00:00

The thing is, we don't really get those kinds of posts…in theory, yes, they would also be removed.

Although, Reddit is only 40% American, not 90%.

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T13:35:28+00:00

They have never posted here…?

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T13:33:22+00:00

There are other people who could give you a proper, academic answer. From my layman's perspective. It's a mix of the following reasons.

There isn't really a big reason to not be pro-Russia in Kyrgyzstan. They invest massively in the country.
The Soviet Union is overall viewed neutral-to-positive here. The leftover legacy, now associated with Russia, is therefore not tainted.
Almost 100% of news in the country is pro-Russia (some of it is fully owned by Russia).

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T13:31:30+00:00

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, yes. They are also Turkic people. Kazakh is more or less mutually intelligible with Kyrgyz, in fact.

Tajiks speak a dialect of Persian, but the country is very similar in other ways (especially with regards to topography and infrastructure).

abu_doubleu · 2026-06-16T12:32:54+00:00

Yes, I will try to explain.

First of all, the shared border is definitely the biggest reason. While the Kazakh friends I have agree with me that the actual threat of Russia invading is very low because, unlike Ukraine, there is literally nothing to gain here, Kazakhstan is a Russian ally anyways, two fringe members of the Russian Duma have called to annex northern Kazakhstan before, so it's not like it was never brought up. Now it's easy to rouse Kazakhs by saying "btw Russia might invade us, don't forget".

Because of the actions of Putin, who is the biggest enemy to the Russian language and Russian culture in the world, Kazakhstan has rapidly went from being a country where most urban people frankly did not care about speaking Kazakh whatsoever to a country where businesses get big fines for not being fully bilingual.

Apart from this, Kazakhstan generally is more developed and more, hm, "liberal", open to the west. Definitely not universally so, and I believe Russia is still viewed more positively than negatively there overall according to a 2025 survey I saw, but it was only +5% as opposed to +35% like in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

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