Photo from the expedition to discover the fate of Czechoslovaks in Soviet Kyrgyzstan
The horrors of the past, the wasted lives, the remains of uranium mines and labour camps - the forgotten history of Kyrgyzstan is slowly being taken away by time. Among the victims of Soviet repression there were also many Czechoslovak citizens. An expedition of the Gulag.cz organisation will visit the sites of this turbulent history in August 2024 on the occasion of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the founding of the "Interhelpo" cooperative by our compatriots in Kyrgyzstan.
The result is a documentary film mapping the search for the traces of terror, meetings and interviews with descendants of the Czechs, survivors and local experts in the backdrop of Kyrgyz cities and exotic landscapes. It will premiere on April 24, 2025 at the Aero Cinema in Prague and on April 28 at DK Poklad in Ostrava. All the findings from the expedition will then be publicly available on a special website, which we will also present in April.
We will inform you about the pre-sale of tickets for the premieres on this page and on our social networks.
In the spring of 1925, hundreds of Czechoslovakians set off thousands of kilometres into the remote steppes of the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains. In a backward corner of the Soviet empire, they built a thriving community. But their success was cruelly redeemed by disease, death and the growing Stalinist terror. It is thanks to the expedition that the names of more than 50 Czechs and Slovaks who became victims of Soviet repression have been traced. Over two dozen of them were executed on the spot under Stalin.
*Where did our countrymen die? What are the Kyrgyz archives hiding and what is the local memory of the Soviet terror? In the dark past of the Soviet Union there are still many questions to be answered and many lives lost that should not be forgotten.
Are you interested in a screening of the film or a screening with a discussion at your place? Contact us at [email protected].
Directed by: Tomáš Polenský
Subject: Štěpán Černoušek
Production: Gulag.cz
Language: CZ + ENG subtitles
