Ata-Beyit, “Grave of Fathers”, is built to commemorate a mass grave of 137 victims of Stalin-era purges in 1938. Among the victims were the representatives of the intelligentsia of the country who were sentenced to death for their political views. The place of the mass grave was revealed late in 1991 when one of the guards witnessing those events confessed about the secret. His daughter in her turn revealed the secret after Kyrgyzstan gained independence. After the mass grave was discovered, the remains of the victims were exhumed and moved to a formal cemetery, 100 meters away from the previous one.
The memorial complex was built in 2000, in Chong-Tash, 30 km from Bishkek. The complex includes monuments and sculptures and a museum built in the form of а yurt. The cemetery is located in the very center of the complex.
The museum exhibits documents and biography of the victims. Among them was the father of future famous writer Chingiz Aitmatov, significant figures Yusup Abdrakhmanov, Kasym Tynystanoc, Bayali Isakeev, Torokul Aitmatov, and others. Chingiz Aitmatov is also buried on the territory of the complex.
Another monument in the shape of “Tunduk” was installed in the memory of the victims of the Central Asian uprising in 1916 against the Russian Empire. The locals were forced to leave the country and flee to China through the mountains. Many people died in the mountains of the Tien Shan.
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