Süymönkul Chokmorov

Süymönkul Chokmorov (Kyrgyz: Сүймөнкул Чокморов, before 2000: Kyrgyz: Чоң-Таш, romanized: Chong-Tash,[1] Russian: Чон-Таш; English translation: "Big Rock") is a small village (kishlak) in Chüy Region, Kyrgyzstan, located just south of the capital Bishkek. It is part of the Alamüdün District.[2] Its population was 729 in 2021.[3] It is a ski resort and tourist area, and also the site of an NKVD execution. In 2000, it was renamed "Süymönkul Chokmorov" after the actor and artist Suimenkul Chokmorov.[1]

For the actor and artist, see Suimenkul Chokmorov.
Süymönkul Chokmorov
Сүймөнкул Чокморов
Chong-Tash
Süymönkul Chokmorov is located in Kyrgyzstan
Süymönkul Chokmorov
Süymönkul Chokmorov
Coordinates: 42°44′59″N 74°36′06″E
CountryKyrgyzstan
RegionChüy
DistrictAlamüdün
Population
 (2021)
 • Total729

The settlement was established in the 1930s when the local nomadic people were forced to settle.[4]

Natives of Chong-Tash

Memorial of Soviet repressions

In 1938, when Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union, Chong-Tash was the site of execution by the Soviet secret police, NKVD, as part of the Great Purge in the Soviet Union.[5] 137 people – politicians, teachers, scientists and other professional and intellectuals from all over Kyrgyzstan – were secretly taken from the Bishkek (then Frunze) prison, shot to death, and their bodies dumped into a brick oven at a mountain NKVD location near the village. This was part of Joseph Stalin's crackdown of nationalist movements in Central Asia.[4]

One of those killed was Törökul Aitmatov, father of the Kyrgyz author Chinghiz Aitmatov.[6]

The site was discovered in 1991 after Kyrgyzstan gained its independence. The caretaker of the site had been sworn to secrecy by the NKVD (and, later, the KGB), but on his deathbed he told his daughter the location of the grave, who then told the Kyrgyz authorities. The bodies were then dug up and interred at a memorial site just outside the village called "Ata Beyit" ("Grave of our Fathers"). Former president Askar Akayev, other Kyrgyz dignitaries, and relatives of the dead participated in the reburial.[6]

References
  1. Law 21 January 2000 No. 33
  2. "Classification system of territorial units of the Kyrgyz Republic" (in Kyrgyz). National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. May 2021. pp. 67–69.
  3. "Population of regions, districts, towns, urban-type settlements, rural communities and villages of Kyrgyz Republic" (XLS) (in Russian). National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2021. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021.
  4. Alan J. DeYoung, Madeleine Reeves, Galina K. Valyayeva (2006) "Surviving the Transition?: Case Studies of Schools and Schooling", ISBN 1-59311-511-3, p. 66
  5. Regina Khelimskaya (1994), "Tayna Chon-Tasha", Bishkek: Ilim, ISBN 5-8355-0805-0
  6. "Short description of the village and memorial". Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
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