Four Daughters of Tököldösh: Kyrgyz Actresses Define Soviet Modernity

This article analyzes the lives of four stage personalities whose lives, career paths, and achievements connect us to the cultural makeup of Soviet Kyrgyzstan during the second half of the twentieth century. The stories of Sabira Kumushalieva, Saira Kiyizbaeva, Baken Kydykeeva, and Darkul Kuiukova take us back to an era when Kyrgyz women first took charge of their lives in a public forum. These “four daughters of Tököldösh” established the modern conventions of Kyrgyz stage and film. They helped construct idealized models for Kyrgyz women and fashioned a new Kyrgyz identity that redefined the meaning of “Sovietness.”