12 Breathtaking Landscapes Taken in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan became an independent state in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Shortly after this, the Central Asian country witnessed one of the more outlandish incidents by a (presumably) drunken Boris Yelstin, who was invited to patch things over in a 1992 state visit; the Russian leader ended up using Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev’s shiny bald head as a percussive surface for his spoons routine.

Today six million people live there, with the country having just undertaken elections. The outgoing President Almazbek Atambayev has been replaced by Sooronbai Jeenbekov in a bitterly fought campaign, with worries in International circles increasing in regards to human rights in the country during the run-up to the election.

In terms of geographical features, Kyrgyzstan is dominated by mountain ranges (Tian Shan and Pamir) and these ranges make up 65% of the landlocked country. It’s also geologically young, with the terrain marked by sharply uplifted peaks separated by deep valleys; it even boasts glaciers. Naturally, this and the remoteness in much of the country makes it an excellent place to photograph exquisite landscapes; and here we picked-out some of the most outstanding such landscapes from the Picfair library.