My VE Day in Kyrgyzstan

In travelling to Bishkek, I was heading for the hills. I had not expected to be marking the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe there. But thanks to our leader, Alexandra Tolstoy, who has high standing with the authorities in Kyrgyzstan, we found ourselves in honoured places beside the presidential podium for the parade. Being a former Soviet republic, Kyrgyzstan speaks not of the second world war but of the Great Patriotic one. The Russian link remains so strong that the president had advanced the date of the parade so he could join President Putin for his great march past in Moscow on 9 May. Standing near us were bemedalled Kyrgyz veterans, wearing their tall, four-cornered Ak-kalpak hats. Among the well-drilled troops was a smart contingent bearing the red, white and blue flag of Russia, a small provocation which caused the British ambassador to stay away. The Kyrgyz flag is red, with a yellow sun whose 40 beams represent the 40 tribes united by Manas, hero of the national epic. The motif on the circle of the sun represents the roof of a yurt. The parade’s atmosphere was solemn but friendly, with low security. It was an interesting moment to be reminded that the larger part of the answer to the famous question ‘Who won the war, then?’ is ‘The Soviet Union’. That pride remains, even in the satellites Communism persecuted. Kyrgyzstan, with China immediately to its east, enjoys Russian protection, and that word ‘enjoys’ may not be wholly inappropriate. In Bishkek, the colossal statue of Lenin has lost pride of place, but is still prominent and well-tended. 

Alexandra was leading us to camp and ride in the remote and wildly beautiful Tienshan mountains. Rather than trying to make arrangements for satellite phones, I decided to surrender any direct link to the outside world for a week.