Estrada is a French word meaning “stage.” In the USSR, it came to refer to big-name performing pop stars. Estrada artists rarely play an instrument and instead focus on pulling the audience into the performance through soaring vocals, intense emotions, direct interaction, humor, or other performative elements. Estrada music across the USSR is always recognizable […]

The Rebellion of the Brides (Kelinlar qoʻzgʻoloni/Бунт невесток) is one of the most famous films released in Uzbekistan under the Soviet Union in 1984. The film is available for free on YouTube from the studio. The original was shot with both Uzbek and Russian used in the dialogue. Another version is also available online from […]

Feruza Jumaniyozova is an Uzbek singer. She has released songs in Tajik, Uyghur, Farsi, Dari, Turkmen, Azeri, Hindi, Turkish, and Uzbek. Feruza was born on 14 Feebruary, 1984 in Khorezm, in the Uzbek SSR. She started performing music when she was three. Originally wanting to be a doctor, she enrolled in the Institute of Medicine […]

The London School, where the SRAS students in Bishkek study, is located near a small shopping mall known as the VEFA Center. Due to its proximity, VEFA is where most students do their shopping. It also hosts many rotating attractions, however, in the large presentation space at the main entrance. Sometimes this is marketing for […]

Nargiz Zakirova (Наргиз Закирова; or Nargiz Zokirova in Uzbek) is an Uzbek-American singer who sings mostly in Russian. Better known by her stage name, Nargiz, Zakirova made her big break after winning the Russian music contest Voice (Голос). She is known for her strong voice, striking appearance (with a shaved head and powerful body covered […]

Munisa Rizayeva (Муниса Ризаева) is an Uzbek singer and actress. Rizayeva has been on the scene for some years, but her popularity has been picking up recently. She is seen as unique in the world of Uzbek pop, with an unusual voice and fashion style—she’s bringing the Uzbek pop scene in a new direction with […]

Nilufar Usmonova is a popular contemporary Uzbek pop singer. She is perhaps best known as the daughter of legendary Uzbek singer Yulduz Usmonova; another of her major achievements (if it can be called that) is that she has never fallen out of favor with the Uzbek authorities, as is common for Uzbek pop singers. Usmonova […]

Sogdiana (real name Oksana Nechitaylo, Оксана Нечитайло) is a Russian-Uzbek pop singer. She sings in Uzbek, Russian, and Chechen, though most often in Uzbek. Sogdiana’s family is Chechen, but she grew up in Uzbekistan—she was born in 1984 in Tashkent. She studied the piano in school and studied at a conservatory at the same time, […]