The Jewish community of Kyrgyzstan was established in the 20^th century.  Nearly all of its members emigrated to the country after the Russian Revolution, though some came as deportees from European Russia following World War II. 

About 80 percent of the community is Ashkenazi and 20 percent Bukharan.  Bukharan Jews have lived in central Asia – primarily in Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan – for more than 2,000 years.  They claim they are descendents of Jews who were exiled to Persia in the 5^th century, and speak a dialect of the Tadjik. 

Life has never been easy in Kyrgyzstan, and the country currently faces mounting problems.  Ethnic tensions have risen and the political trend is toward greater Islamization. The health care system is one of the least developed among former Soviet states. It is estimated that almost 90 percent of the population lives in poverty.  Between 1989 and 2001, 4,907 Jews made aliyah.

Prior to the collapse of Communism, there was little Jewish life in Kyrgyzstan. In the early 1990s, JDC established a presence in the region and began helping the Kyrgyzstan Jewish community learn to rediscover its heritage and begin taking steps toward self-sufficiency.