State-Society Relations and Internal Migration: How Practices of State and Society Reproduce the Registration System in Osh, Kyrgyzstan

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, migration became a widespread phenomenon in Kyrgyzstan, while a high percentage of the migrants are internal migrants who move from rural to urban areas within the borders of the country. As in the majority of the countries, people who move from one place to another have to register in the new place of residence, in order to inform the state about their staying. The registration system of Kyrgyzstan goes back to the Propiska system which was applied in the Soviet Union. This system was officially abandoned after Kyrgyzstan became an independent Republic in 1991 and was replaced through a notification-based system which complies with the Guidelines on population registration of OSCE. However, hegemonic practice seems to differ from the given law, as the registration procedure is mostly depending on local self-governance bodies and their local provisions. There are evidences from Bishkek that the registration system remains restrictive as it is difficult to register and the lack of registration results in the limitation of basic services and rights.