Photo: t-media.kg
President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov has signed a law renaming the city of Jalal-Abad in Jalal-Abad Region to Manas, according to the president’s press service.
The law was adopted by the Jogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyzstan’s parliament) on September 10 and will take effect ten days after its official publication.
According to the press service, the renaming aims to strengthen national ideology and honor the epic hero Manas, who symbolizes the Kyrgyz people’s struggle for independence and defense against external threats. The initiative came from members of the Jalal-Abad city council and Mayor Ernisbek Ormokov.
The issue was considered in haste and in several stages, Kaktus.media reports. On September 3, city council deputies unanimously supported the mayor’s proposal. On September 5, the bill was published on the Unified Public Discussion Portal. By September 9, the relevant parliamentary committee had reviewed it in an extraordinary session and approved it in all three readings. The next day, on September 10, the Jogorku Kenesh adopted the law, and on September 17 it was signed by the president.
As a result of the renaming, government institutions and private organizations will need to replace official documents, seals, and signage. According to preliminary estimates by the mayor’s office, these changes will cost at least 15 million soms ($171,500).
At the same time, Kudaibergen Bazarbaev, director of the State Agency for Civil Service and Local Government Affairs, stated that residents of the city will continue to be called Jalal-Abad residents.
ℹ️ Jalal-Abad was founded in the late 19th century as a kishlak (village) in the Fergana Valley. From 1870 to 1936, it was known as Dzhaliyal-Abad. The city’s official founding date is October 1877. Today, Jalal-Abad is the administrative center of Jalal-Abad Region and the third-largest city in Kyrgyzstan after Bishkek and Osh, with a population of more than 184,000, according to official data.
Manas is the central figure of the epic of the same name, considered the foremost monument of Kyrgyz oral tradition. The epic contains more than half a million verses and is included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
ℹ️ The decision to rename the city has sparked public debate in the country. As Kaktus.media reports, many residents of Jalal-Abad said the news came as a surprise and voiced disagreement with the move. They noted they had no clear way to convey their views to the country’s leadership, which holds the final say.
Former prime minister Feliks Kulov called the adoption of the law hasty and suggested instead strengthening the city’s status—for example, by relocating parliament and other state bodies there, following the model of divided capitals in the Netherlands or South Africa.
Political scientist Medet Tiulegenov observed that the renaming was part of a series of symbolic changes carried out by the authorities in a short time. In his view, such measures are meant to maintain a constant flow of political activity, but without a clear development strategy they could diminish the symbolic weight of the name Manas and exacerbate interregional tensions.
“On the other hand, renaming Jalal-Abad is a demonstration of power. People may ask, ‘Why change the name of the city?’ and the authorities’ answer will be simple: ‘Because we can.’ It shows that any decision can be pushed through in just a few days, even if it was never previously discussed,” the political scientist concluded.
