It is surprising how close roots of Kyrgyz and Russian peoples are – Almazbek Atambayev

“It is surprising how close roots of Kyrgyz and Russian peoples are,” announced President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev on Manas epos hero monument opening ceremony.

“If somebody doesn’t know Manas was from Altay territory. In other words, he is an ethnic representative of one of the Russian peoples and today he found himself in the capital of Russian Federation. There are a lot of memorials in Siberia, Khakassia, Tuva territories which are telling about our [ethnic Kyrgyz] roots. We the Kyrgyz know that we are from Yenisei river area. And it is also surprising that the last research of American scientists showed that American Indians are from Altay too. It means that Altay territory was the center of peoples’ worldwide migration. General of Russian Imperial Army during Patriotic War of 1812 Mikhail Kutuzov is a successor of Kutuz, an Asian man. So, we have the same roots,” said President Almazbek Atambayev.