Kyrgyzstan’s Dordoi and Kara-Suu Bazaars: Mobility, Globalization and Survival in Two Central Asian Markets

Abstract

Despite modest economic indicators, Kyrgyzstan boasts two of Eurasia’s largest bazaars: Dordoi bazaar in the capital city Bishkek, and Kara-Suu bazaar in southern Kyrgyzstan. Combined, the 2 bazaars provide employment to approximately 75,000 people and serve as entrepôts for foreign merchandise into Central Asia and Russia. This paper makes three arguments: (i) mobility of people, merchandise, capital, and information became a defining feature of the two bazaars after the collapse of the Soviet Union; (ii) Dordoi and Kara-Suu are not static institutions, as bazaars were frequently considered by post-war social sciences. Instead, Dordoi and Kara-Suu are illustrative of Kyrgyzstan’s adaptation to globalization through a transnational commercial web extending between Dubai, Guangzhou, Istanbul, Moscow, Urumchi, and smaller localities in between, making the bazaars uniquely globalized spaces; and (iii) bazaar-based trade was, and remains a critical survival mechanism given the dearth of other vocational opportunities after the collapse of the Soviet Union.