Word: bishkek
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...former Soviet city, the capital of Bishkek is surprisingly lush and green. A stroll around town reveals numerous tree-filled parks surrounding large public buildings ranging from the monstrously Soviet to the stately. These include a functioning, if not always full, opera house. Another surprise is the abundance of Soviet relics still on display. Near the deserted State Historical Museum?inside, a gory ceiling mural depicts class warfare?Vladimir Lenin zealously points the way forward...
There is a single crank for winding all four windows in the aging taxi I hail at Manas International Airport outside Bishkek. "Russian car" is the only explanation?and the only English?offered by the driver. Welcome to Kyrgyzstan, a country still recuperating from its 70-year stint as part of the U.S.S.R., when it was a top-secret site of weapons tests and uranium mines. Despite emerging as the Central Asian destination most welcoming to independent visitors, Kyrgyzstan remains seldom visited...
...rash across the soft Islamic underbelly of the former Soviet Union. U.S. officials say the new bases are "expeditionary," meaning their U.S. presence won't be constant or permanent. Some support only small contingents of special forces troops, while others - like this one just outside Kyrgyzstan's capital of Bishkek - are substantial. The steppes of central Asia - a no-go zone for the U.S. military until last year - could become home to U.S. troops for years to come. Minutes after Rumsfeld arrived here last Friday, an impatient airman demanded to know how long U.S. troops would be in Kyrgyzstan...