Journalist-turned-politician Nurlanbek Turgunbekovich Shakiev has been a household name in Kyrgyzstan for more than two decades.
The speaker of parliament recently announced that he had legally changed his surname to Turgunbek uuli, giving up his Russified surname and patronymic.
"I didn't come to this decision overnight. It was my long-standing dream," Turgunbek Uuli wrote in a Facebook post, highlighting the importance of national identity, language, religion and tradition.
The Kyrgyz parliament adopted a bill on February 6th that promotes traditional Kyrgyz surnames and "expands the choice of surnames in accordance with Kyrgyz customs and cultural characteristics."
Forming surnames in accordance with national tradition became a popular trend in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Enthusiasm has waned, however, as widespread poverty in the region has forced millions of Central Asians to migrate to Russia in search of work. Several migrant workers who spoke to RFE/RL said it was easier to adopt Russified surnames.
The trend, however, is returning, which some experts link to a change in mood after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which many in the region oppose.
What has changed?
In the early 2000s, tens of thousands of Kyrgyz changed their surnames, removing the Russian suffixes -ov/-ev for men and -ova/eva for women, in favor of the Kyrgyz endings -uuli and -kizi.
A new Kyrgyz bill offers multiple versions of patronymics and surnames in line with national customs, such as a unique ending for both genders -tegi, or the suffixes -din and -den for male and female surnames.
The bill also states that Kyrgyz citizens are free to choose Russified surnames, if they wish. Members of different ethnic groups are free to form their names in accordance with their national traditions.
'Pure Tajik'
Tajikistan is the only country in Central Asia to officially ban Russian-style surnames, doing so in 2016.
Authorities in Dushanbe have also ordered their citizens to give their children "pure" Tajik names, and the government has even issued a catalogue of recommended baby names. The move is widely seen as an attempt to combat the growing popularity of Arabic and Islamic names.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon changed his Russified surname in 2007 and is the only head of state in Central Asia to do so.
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan adopted new laws in the mid-1990s, allowing their citizens to shape their names according to national tradition.
Most Uzbeks have retained their Russified surnames, while in Kazakhstan traditional surnames have gained popularity, especially among the cultural elite and younger generations.
Tightly controlled Turkmenistan has so far mostly retained Russified surnames.
In Central Asia, there have also been renewed efforts to change the names of Soviet-era cities, villages, streets and schools.
Kazakhstan has adopted a "roadmap" for 2022-25 for replacing what the authorities say are "ideologically outdated" geographical toponyms.
Such campaigns have not been well received in Moscow, which still has significant influence in the region.
In November 2022, Russian lawmakers strongly condemned an initiative in Kyrgyzstan to rename four districts of Bishkek that retained communist-era names: Lenin, Sverdlov (named after a Soviet politician), Birinchi May (May 1), and October (after the October Revolution).
Russian politicians and media described it as a "call for the de-Russification of Bishkek" and suggested that the process should be stopped "at its initial stage."
Mixed feelings
Alisher Ilhomov, an expert at the London-based analysis firm Central Asia Due Diligence, says that a new wave of "returns to original names in Central Asia in recent years has been spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
"This movement... is a symbol of our deep desire to restore our national identity, which has been under pressure for many years," said Kazakh journalist Gaziza Uzak, who removed the Russian suffix -ova from her surname.
However, not everyone is willing to do the same.
"My name is Parvona. But according to Tajik regulations, in my passport it is written with the suffix -i, making it Parvonai," a Tajik student in the Russian city of Kazan told RFE/RL.
"In Russia, my professors call me Parvonai and I have to explain to everyone that I am Parvona. I will change my name to make life easier for myself in Russia," she said.
According to official data, 323 citizens of Kyrgyzstan changed their Russified surnames in favor of national surnames in 2024. During the same period, the number of those who changed their traditional Kyrgyz surnames to Russian surnames exceeded 3.000, according to Kyrgyz government data.
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