INTERVOYOINTERVOYO
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INTERVOYO

Trails of Czech heritage in Kyrgyzstan

The story of the Czechoslovak settlers who helped build modern Kyrgyzstan — and the living legacy of the Interhelpo cooperative.

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Story

The living legacy of Interhelpo

In 1923 the industrial cooperative Interhelpo was founded in Žilina. Two years later the first transport of Czechoslovak settlers arrived in Pishpek — today's Bishkek.

They built the first power plant in Kyrgyzstan, textile and furniture factories, a school, a kindergarten, a tannery and a brewery — laying the foundation of an urban experiment in inter-ethnic cooperation.

Their houses, streets and parks still stand in the city. Yet their origin has all but vanished from public memory. INTERVOYO brings it back — to the streets, to the map and to your headphones.

The first transport of Czechoslovak settlers, 1925
100years since arrival
Project

What INTERVOYO does

Six directions, one goal — to return the Czechoslovak trace to the everyday life of the city.

History

We preserve the story of the Czechoslovak settlers and their legacy.

Interhelpo

Discover the story of Interhelpo — from its founding to the present day.

Memorial sites

We map the places of the Czechoslovak trace in Kyrgyzstan.

Interactive map

Explore the architecture of Czechoslovak builders and settlers.

Audio guide

Let history come alive through a multilingual guide to places and stories.

Family trees

We map the family trees of individual Czechoslovak settler families.

One hundred years

From Žilina to Bishkek

A brief timeline of a story that has almost vanished from public memory.

1923

The cooperative is founded

The industrial cooperative Interhelpo is founded in Žilina.

1925

First transport

The first group of Czechoslovak settlers arrives in Pishpek.

1926–30

Building the city

The first power plant in Kyrgyzstan, textile and furniture factories, a school, a kindergarten, a tannery, a brewery.

1937–38

Repression

Stalinist repression strikes members of the cooperative. Memory of Interhelpo begins to fade.

2025

A century on

The Great Mission festival and the exhibition A Czechoslovak Century in Kyrgyzstan mark the anniversary.

Today

INTERVOYO

Memory returns to the streets — a map, QR-coded plaques and a multilingual audio guide.

Kyrgyzstán — Česká republika
From where to where

From Czechoslovakia to Kyrgyzstan

More than 3,500 kilometres. One story connecting two countries — returning to public space on both sides.

Borders drawn from real geographic data. The flag of Kyrgyzstan as amended on 22 December 2023 — forty straight rays and the tunduk.

A past that shapes the future.
Memory is our path. The future is our goal.

The project is built on intergenerational dialogue, Czech–Kyrgyz cooperation, and the conviction that memory belongs in the street — not only in the archive.

Opportunity

Heritage you can actually use

Mobile application

Czechoslovak traces in your phone — no install, straight from a QR code on site.

An opportunity for today

Cultural exchange, education and new tourist routes between Czechia and Kyrgyzstan.

Family trees

We compile the family trees of Czechoslovak settlers and connect their descendants.

Trust

Project partners

Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí ČR
Ministerstvo obrany ČR
Nadace ČEZ
České kulturně-osvětové centrum T. G. Masaryka
Honorární konzulát Kyrgyzské republiky v Praze
Centrum mládežnické tvořivosti Intergelpo
Gulag.cz
Synergy Financial Group
Masaryk International Cultural and Educational Centre

INTERVOYO is implemented by the Masaryk International Cultural and Educational Centre in cooperation with the Intergelpo Youth Creativity Centre and further partners in the Czech Republic and Kyrgyzstan.