The Greeks in Kyrgyzstan form one of
the country's smaller minority groups. The existing data are contradictory. According to 2009 Census there are 451 Greeks.[1] According to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are 150 families of Greek origin (650–700 people).[2] However, the data of the General Secretariat For Greeks Abroad give an even lower number (50 people).[3]
For a considerable time after the end of the war, these deported Greeks remained unrehabilitated, and were not allowed to return to their pre-deportation areas of settlement. Thus some of them chose to leave Siberia to settle in Kazakhstan and (to a lesser extent) in Kyrgyzstan.[6] Most of these Greeks were finally concentrated in the
Osh province, and the town of
Nookat in particular.[7]
During a second wave of deportations (1944–1949) initiated by the
Stalinist regime, more than 31,000 families (
Pontian Greeks and Greeks from
Crimea) were sent to Bishkek; only 5,000 found a shelter living in squalid conditions. This time, the deported Greeks finally settled in the
Talas Province.[7]
Migration to Greece
In early 1990s, the Greek community of Kyrgyzstan was still vibrant,[8] and numbered 3,000 members in all.[9] Nevertheless, from 1985 onward, their number has been decreasing, due to outmigration by Greeks in search of work.[10] According to the statistics, during the 1990s 860 members of the Greek community of Kyrgyzstan (0.57% of the total number of Greek immigrants from the former
Soviet Union) settled in Greece.[8]
Organization
The community is represented by the Filia (Friendship) Association of Ethnic Greeks, headed by chairwoman Olga Kupriyanova. According to her, the association has 300 members.[10] They operate a
Greek school with a Greek teacher whose salary is covered by the Greek government, Secretariat of Greeks Abroad. The University of
Bishkek opened a Greek language department in 2003.[2]
^
abDiamanti–Karanou, Panagoula (January 2003). "Migration of Ethnic Greeks from the Former Soviet Union to Greece, 1990-2000: Policy Decisions and Implications". Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 3 (1): 27, 32.
doi:
10.1080/713999342.
S2CID154754022.{{
cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)