The Foreign Service Journal, December 2011

one desk, and I was lucky enough to have priority usage. We eagerly an- ticipated the move to more spacious quarters, but the State Department rejected the proposed building. For about a year, the embassy didn’t have any guards — anyone could just walk in. All the Foreign Service officers were frequently to- gether, but at that time it was quite safe. The country brimmed with enthusiasm and hope, and we felt that America’s interest in Kyrgyzstan was sincere. Once we finally received official cars, a problem arose: high-octane gasoline was lacking in Bishkek. I did my ut- most to procure it, and when I found a supply to purchase, we would store it in canisters kept in the warehouse along with propane cylinders. A small spark would have caused a powerful explosion. To find suitable accommodations for the staff was a huge problem during the first year. Many stayed in ho- tels, which at that time featured Soviet-era services: in other words, practically no services. There were, how- ever, many cockroaches. In December 1993, U.S. Vice President Al Gore came to Bishkek on an official visit. He was touring Russia and Central Asia, and prior to Bishkek he was supposed to go to Alma Ata. Due to weather conditions in the Kazakh capital, Air Force Two had to land in Bishkek instead, 24 hours ahead of schedule. Though this possibility had been envisaged, the embassy and the advance team were still sur- prised by the 30-minute notice (especially since we were located 40 minutes from the airport!). It was already dark by the time nearly the entire embassy staff rushed to the airport. The tarmac was covered with thin ice and one advance team member (and future U.S. ambassador) took a bad fall that required a medical evacuation. The plane carrying the vice president’s lim- ousines was already in Alma Ata, so Mr. Gore rode through Bishkek in Soviet-made limou- sines from the Kyrgyz government garage. We had a groundbreaking cere- mony for a new embassy building and compound in 1997. And in 1998, the embassy moved to its new home on Prospect Mira (Peace Av- enue) close to the mountains out- side town. The new building has many in- teresting stories of its own, but those will have to wait for another day. Isken Sydykov started working at Embassy Bishkek on Sept. 1, 1992, as a Foreign Service National procurement clerk. From 1998 through 2006 he served as general serv- ices office assistant. He now works for the International Resources Group in Bishkek. Turning a Consulate into an Embassy Embassy Kiev, Ukraine By Mary Kruger T he year 1991 was a roller coaster. When the at- tempted putsch in Moscow began in August, I was sure that my impending assignment to Kiev (now Kyiv) was doomed. Within days, though, the situ- ation turned around, and Ukraine took its first steps to- ward independence. Several months later, I arrived there to help open our small consulate — only to see the USSR disintegrate and our fledgling post become an embassy in 54 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 F OCUS The country brimmed with enthusiasm and hope, and we felt that America’s interest in Kyrgyzstan was sincere. In 1998, Embassy Bishkek moved to this new chancery from its temporary building.