Despite New Obstacles, Locals Find Ways to Cross Kazakh-Kyrgyz Border

Crossing between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan has never been so difficult. 

After April’s uprising in Kyrgyzstan, Astana closed the border for a month. But now, since the birth of a new custom’s union between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, what used to be a simple crossing can take hours. Astana has constructed a concertina wire barricade near populated parts of Kyrgyzstan and reportedly plans to reduce the number of crossing points from 12 to five. Currently only three are open.

Moreover, stricter residency rules in Kazakhstan mean that foreigners can now stay only five days, as opposed to 90, without registering. The carousel of Kyrgyz workers is spinning faster, as they are forced to cross more often to beat the rules. 

Of course, in true Central Asian style, these obstacles have sparked a surge in smuggling and prompted even the most upright citizens to seek ways around what has long been a relatively open frontier. 

A woman we will call Anara is a Kyrgyz doctor with legal residency in Kazakhstan. She lives and works in Kazakh town of Chu. Attempting to get a Kazakh passport, she surrendered all her Kyrgyz documents to Kazakh authorities. 

Weeks later, deadlines passed, Anara’s son was getting married in Bishkek. So, in order to make it to the wedding, she decided to cross the border without documents. Taxi drivers told her that for a fee of $100, they would help her get to Kyrgyzstan. Other helpful interlocutors advised that if she approached the guards directly, it would only take a $70 tip. Anara decided to explore other options. For $10, a local boy led her to a hole in the new fence, a spot he said was used mostly by drug traffickers. 

Goods find their way across too. Each fall, Arman, a taxi driver in the border town of Kordai, goes to Kyrgyzstan to buy horses for winter meat. Horses are cheaper in Kyrgyzstan. But he does not take the horses through official border checkpoints. He pays young boys approximately $10 per animal to take the horses over the river, upstream from the barbed wire.

Smaller goods can be transported using a Kordai taxi service that specializes in smuggling. Reportedly, one of the wealthiest persons in Kordai is a former taxi driver. Now he manages other taxi drivers in cahoots with border and customs officials on both sides. He used to drive an old Audi beater, but in just a few years bought a brand new limited-edition Mercedes for $100,000, locals say.

Whether the Mercedes story is true or not, it gives plenty of inspiration for young would-be smugglers. And with only vague signs the Kazakhs will reverse any of their new border restrictions, smuggling is surely to be a lucrative option for many living along this latest Central Asian obstacle.