Kyrgyzstan Mission headquarters, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Photo courtesy of Euro-Asia Division archives.
Kyrgyzstan Mission
By Jón Hjörleifur Stefánsson, and Valeriy N. Nazimko
Jón Hjörleifur Stefánsson, M.A., is a Ph.D. candidate, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Valeriy N. Nazimko, B.A. in theology (Zaoksky Theological Seminary, Zaoksky, Tula Region, Russia), served as executive secretary of the Southern Union Mission, and then president and executive secretary of the Kyrgyz Mission. At present, he is a retiree.
First Published: February 23, 2021
The Kyrgyzstan Conference was a Central Asian church unit that was organized in 2002 and changed to a Mission in 2010.
Territory and Statistics (2017)1
Territory: Kyrgyzstan
Population: 6,211,000
Membership: 710
Churches: 12
Origin of Seventh-day Adventist Work in the Territory
Adventists arrived to Kyrgyzstan in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. For the origin of Adventist work in the territory, see the article on Kyrgyzstan and the earliest church units the country was a part of.
After being part of the early Russian church units, the territory was part of the Central Asia Mission (1908–1910), Turkestan Mission (1911–25), Central Asian Conference (1926–≥30), and—after not being listed for most of the Communist era—the Kirgizhian District (1978–90), Kirghizian Conference (1990–93), Kyrgyzstan Conference (1993–94), Southern Conference (1994–2000), and the Central Asia Conference (1994–2002).
Organizational History
In 2002, the Central Asia Conference was divided into the Kyrgyzstan Conference, the Tajikistan and Uzbekistan Missions, and the Turkmenistan Field, which all continued to be part of the Southern Union.2 The Kyrgyzstan Conference comprised Kyrgyzstan.
The conference headquarters was located at Magadanskaya Street 63, Bishkek. Membership was 1,524. Initial officers were President Vladimir P. Mikhailov, Secretary Valery N. Nazimko, Treasurer Roman L. Alekseykin, executive committee members Galina S. An, Valentina A. Belikova, Viktor A. Belousov, Uriy Devyatkin, Pavel A. Pogodin, Oleg P. Prokophiev, and Viktor N. Zotov.3
In 2010 the conference was demoted to a mission. Its territory and headquarters remained the same. The first Yearbook report is from 2012, when membership was 903. Officers were President Valery N. Nazimko, Secretary-treasurer Talgat S. Kubegenov, and executive committee members Roman L. Alekseykin, Anastasia S. Ananyeva, Evgeny U. Devyatkin, Viktor Y. Dill, Sergey R. Hametov, Ekaterina V. Kirichenko, Gulyaim Jamankulova, Vasily V. Nikonorov, and Alexander R. Ott.4
Institutions
There is an ADRA office and a SUM media center in Kyrgyzstan. Nasledie Adventist School in Tokmak enrolls over 300 students.5
List of Presidents
Kyrgyzstan Conference: Vladimir P. Mikhailov, 2002–2008; Igor P. Vasilchenko, 2009–2011.
Kyrgyzstan Mission: Valery N. Nazimko, 20126–2015; Rubin R. Ott, 2016–17; Roman L. Alekseykin, 2018–.
Sources
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.
Nazimko, Valeriy N. “Kyrgyz Mission.” Manuscript. June 2019.
Notes
-
“Kyrgyzstan Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2018), 77.↩
-
“Southern Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2004), 92–93.↩
-
“Kyrgyzstan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2004), 92.↩
-
“Kyrgyzstan Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2012), 99.↩
-
See Valeriy N. Nazimko, “Kyrgyz Mission,” manuscript, June 2019.↩
-
According to the Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook listing, the Mission started in 2012.↩