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A Glimpse Into Kyrgyzstan's Soviet Past
A visit to Bishkek's State Historical Museum (formerly the Lenin Museum) provided some interesting visuals from Kyrgyzstan's Soviet past. We're pleased that those in charge have not yet decided to renovate the museum or paint over these fascinating murals.
Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Photo Sets
Traditional China in Pingyao
18 Pictures
Visiting the Warriors in Xi'an, China
18 Pictures
A Tibetan Pilgrimage - Xiahe, China
27 Pictures
Central Asia - Landscapes and Cityscapes
36 Pictures
People of Central Asia
30 Pictures
Enslaved (Pre-Bolshevik Revolution)
The murals on the second floor of the State Historical Museum in Bishkek (formerly the Lenin Museum) provide a dramatic pictorial narration of Lenin leading the Russian people to revolution in 1917. This picture metaphorically depicts what pre-revolution life was supposedly like.©
Life Under the Tsars?
An odd symbol of oppression at the State Historical Museum, Bishkek. This mural metaphorically attempts to depict life in Tsarist Russia.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Pre-Revolution Russia
Another illustrative example of life in Tsarist Russia at the State Historical Museum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Freedom! (Post Revolution)
Breaking free from the chains of Tsarist Russia at the State Historical Museum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Escape?
Another segment of the ceiling mural series at Bishkek's State Historical Museum. We don't quite recall the symbolism of this galloping skeleton in the grand scheme of bringing forth the revolution.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Dr. Strangelove, Kyrgyz Style?
A curious ceiling mural on the third floor of Bishkek's State Historical Museum promotes peace and eschews the atomic bomb. We found the collection of people and languages fascinating.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
More Protests Against Hiroshima
Another bizarre depiction on the ceilings of the State Historical Museum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Give Peace a Chance
Looks like something out of the 60s.The State Historical Museum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Spooky
Another set of ceiling murals at Bishkek's State Historical Museum in Kyrgyzstan. Again, we found the symbolism challenging. Maybe just an artist gone wild?Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Looking Back in Time
Another odd clip from the murals at the State Historical Museum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.Maybe a psychological measurement tool?How does this photo make you feel?Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Tactile Stalin
One of the many rugs depicting Stalin, Lenin and other Soviet Union greats at Bishkek's State Historical Museum (formerly the Lenin Museum) in Kyrgyzstan. Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
A Fragile Lenin
One of the many Lenins in porcelain at the State Historical Museum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.Read more about our visit to Bishkek and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.