The civic funeral rites of prominent composer and band-master of Kyrgyzstan Asanhan Dzhumahmatov took place in Bishkek. It was attended by members of the government, deputies of Jogorku Kenesh (parliament), minister of culture and information Sultan Raev, minister of education and science Ishengul Boldzhurova, first deputy prime minister Iskenderbl Aidaraliev, and art workers.

Asanhan Dzhumahmatov is a father of a symphony performance in Kyrgyzstan. For several decades, renowned actor was the principal band – master at the Kyrgyz Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Abdylas Maldybaev. He was the Hero of Kyrgyzstan, People’s Artist of the USSR, laureate of Toktogul State Prize, art director and band-master of the state academic symphonic orchestra named after A.Dzhumahmatov, academician of the World Music Academy (Munich), academician and member of the presidium of International Academy of Creation (Moscow), honorary citizen of Bishkek.

He died on July 21, 2008 at the age of 85.

III International Festival OIMO-2008 will start in Bishkek on July 26, reports Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The program on supporting art and culture of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation supports the festival for the third year, financing expenditures on cultural program. The festival’s goal is to promote Kyrgyzstan as regional area for development of intercultural dialog and international cultural tourism.

The festival’s program includes fair of handicrafts of Central Asia, fashion-show, concerts, demonstration of films of Central Asia, master-classes on applied art for children and adults, roundtables on issues of developing craftsmanship and traditional cultures, etc. The festival will end on August 1.

On Monday president of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev held a traditional work meeting with the heads of administration’s departments of his administration led by its chief Medet Sadyrkylov, reports news agency “Kabar”.

Bakiev said that he was going to meet with sportsmen, who would represent Kyrgyzstan at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Lately, much attention has been paid to the development of sport in Kyrgyzstan, particularly attracting youth to sports and physical training.

“We should render every kinds of assistance to our Olympians. Except those material rewards, which established by the government, there are other stimuli. For example, last year, I had signed a law on establishing life monthly scholarship to champions of Olympic Games”, – said Kurmanbek Bakiev.

The Kyrgyz Embassy in Russia took part in the festival of national cultures with the participation of pupils-winners of school olympiads from CIS countries. Representatives of Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Egypt, India, Italia, Mongolia, Poland, Serbia, USA, Syria, Turkey, Finland, France, Czechia and Sweden also took part in the festival.

After the end of the solemn event heads of pupils-delegations met with representatives of the Moscow Government, including deputy head of Education Department of Moscow Y. Goryachev, who expressed gratitude to guests and participants of the solemn event for fruitful cooperation.

In their turn, heads of delegations expressed gratitude to the Moscow Government for organization of this event, which assists development of the Russian language and strengthens friendly relations between pupils of CIS countries.

Presidents of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev discussed preparations for the upcoming CIS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits at their meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.

Dmitriy Medvedev stressed that he meets the Kyrgyz counterpart fairly often, and “this is a sign of high interaction between the two countries”.

He said the meeting was connected with the need to “check watches, take a look at the progress of a number of projects and discuss preparations for the summits that will be held in the near time”.

The Russian President promised Bakiev to tell how the G8 summit in Japan went and what decisions were made. President Bakiev thanked Medvedev for the possibility for another meeting.

He stressed that there was the need to discuss a “number of questions that warrant solution. We had begun discussing them earlier”, Bakiev said.

The heads of two states noted the positive dynamics of development of traditional and mutually beneficial relations between Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Bakiev and Medvedev discussed the details and further perspectives of deepening bilateral cooperation between the two states.

President Kurmanbek Bakiev received chairman of the country’s social fund Marat Sultanov, the presidential press service reported.

Marat Sultanov informed Bakiev about the social fund’s accepting measures in order to implement tasks that set by the country’s president. He said that it is started preparations to switch to cumulative pension system.

Pensions have increased by 11.4% from the beginning of this year. The social fund plans to increase pensions by 5-7% starting from October 1, 2008.

The head of state set numerous tasks before the social fund. In President’s opinion, the social fund’s planned increase of pensions by 5-7% starting from October 1, 2008 is not enough. All parts of pensions should be increased minimum by 15%.
The head of state emphasized that it could compensate increase of price and cover inflation.

An exhibition of young talents devoted to writer Chingiz Aitmatov’s creative works will be opened in Bishkek at Kyrgyz national museum of fine arts named after Gapar Ayitiev.
Organizer of the exhibition is the department for youth affairs. Participants from all over regions of Kyrgyzstan have sent their works to the exhibition.
Within the framework of the exhibition, works of young painter Mirlan Sabyrov, would be presented. The most of his creation makes Chingiz Aitmatov’s works.

Photo exhibition Bauhaus Photography opened in Bishkek in the National museum of fine arts. Organizer of the exhibition is the Institute of International Cultural Links.

“Bauhaus is the high school of construction and industrial designs in Germany”, Representative of the museum Valentina Ivanova said.

Among authors of photos – world artists: Yoseph Alberts, laslo Maholi-Nad, Walter Peterhans, Marianna Brand.

Kyrgyz blogger Timurrs has visited that exhibition, but it didn’t impress him. You can see some of his pictures via that link.

US Peace Corps celebrate its 15th anniversary of its activity in Kyrgyzstan, reports Kabar Agency.

According to the words of assistant of director of PC in Kyrgyzstan Mahabat Sultanbekova, in frames of the jubilee 63 volunteers from various corners of America arrived in Kyrgyzstan.

“The main purpose of volunteers is exchange of opinions, ideas and culture and contribution into local societies. They will cooperate with local communities during two years to support plans on development of educational and health care spheres”, M. Sultanekova said.

Volunteers will live in Kyrgyz families in villages and learn Kyrgyz and Russian. Besides, they will teach English in schools and universities of Kyrgyzstan.

Volunteers came at the invitation of Kyrgyzstan on the basis of inter-governmental agreement on mutual cooperation between Governments of Kyrgyzstan and USA signed in 1993.

There is a book by Mark Twain, “What is a man.” Also the book,” It is hard to find the man,” by some other author, but I haven’t yet encountered a book saying, ‘what is a woman’ or something with similar idea. But I would like to make possible scatches of a woman portrait, so that one may try to understand a modern woman, though it is not an easy job indeed. I believe it is important this time, and first of all for a woman to rethink about the role of a woman in modern society.
Kyrgyz people have its epic “Jangyl Myrza,” which can be translated as “worrior or sir by name ‘mistaken.’” “Jangyl Myrza” is wellknown among kyrgyz people as an epic but I think it is not much talked about, which would be appreciative if is. The nomad women nevertheless differed from the women from other oriental cultures by the necessity to be mobile and ability to ride a horse. Maybe that is why nowadays I see mostly women trying to feed their family.
I see women sitting at the counters of bazars, offices are generally full of them, at schools the subjects are taught mostly by them, the medical personell packed by them, then what are men busy with? The men are seen at taxi stations, parliament and some kind of hardly noticable places. Actually there is nothing bad in that, so women are much involved in different kinds of jobs, it seems as an indication of a democratic society but is it really so that kyrgyz women are happy?
It better depends on the social status since a woman living in a remote village can’t allow herself to be mobile while a city girl or woman have privillages to be a modern woman but the reality is strong that still keeps them imprisonned within the cultural borders. I mean kyrgyz women first of all oriental ones and try to be busy mostly with family ties. Even if they work at the offices they try to wrap up quickly at the end of a job rushing home since they have to prepare a good meal for their children and husband and it has to be done for the most of time as fatty as possible and delicious. Kyrgyz men look like live in paradise, so that they only have to sit in the cool places with sipping beer and saying as in soviet movie, “Caucusses Prisoner,” “to live in this world is good, then to live good life is even better.”
Kyrgyz women thus score for the traditionalizm then for a pace doing new world, which demands speed and more social sacrifice.