Any turbulent political and social changes in a country or society might trigger nostalgic responses in different ways. For our case, we largely focus on the phenomenon of post-Socialist or post-Soviet nostalgia first occurred in both academic and public discourses in East and Central European countries. This type of nostalgia is frequently labeled as nostomania (the definition of Boyer) in a way to show the "obsessional essence" of similar nostalgic experiences in different countries of the region. Nostalgic discourses in these countries tend to have a more negative connotation, in many cases, associated with nation-building, commercialization, branding, and entertainment. It is evoked by capitalist transformation, especially market-oriented economy and democratic views and values. Some studies also show how this type of nostalgia as a kind of therapeutic tool to heal different traumatic past experiences caused by the collapse of the Socialist system. It is largely applied by individuals who experience mistrust in the future, feel marginalized, disappointed or even disenfranchized in a newly-emerged social order that has been created through the transition process.

The Russian Drama Theater was officially established in 1935 by a core group of 35 artists graduated of the State Institute for Theater named after A. V. Lunacharskiy in Moscow. In 1936, the Theatre of Spectators' Theater was arranged as part of the local Russian Drama Theater. Later, in 1939, the Theater was renamed as the State Russian Drama Theater named after N. K. Krupskaya. In the post-1991 independent period, the Theater has been renamed several times. Its most recent renaming took place in 2008: Since then, it is called the State National Russian Drama Theater named after Chingiz Aitmatov, a prominent Kyrgyz writer. One can note a small bust of the writer and a quote in front of the theater.

In the early years of its operation, the Theater did not have its own building and shared the building with the Kyrgyz Drama Theater. According to the archive data, throughout the Soviet times the Theater's repertoire included a variety of the famous works of the Russian, West European and even Kyrgyz literature, for example, "Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Bride" by Alexander Ostrovskiy, "The folk's singer" (on Toktogul). As a regular Soviet theater, the Russian Drama Theater did not only host theatrical performances, but also organized short- or long-term training courses for the local artists interested in musical education, the history of theater, acting, and etc. Among other state-run cultural institutions in the Union, the Theater also served as a propaganda tool promoting Communist ideas and values among working people by familiarizing them with so-called 'the Soviet culture'. Similar to the museum activities, the Theater regularly arranged small-scale tours around the regions presenting a full program of performances for local residents, including the remote areas and villages of the country. The Theater enjoyed its generous state funding by arranging tours to neighboring Alma-Ata and some cities in Russian SSR, such as Kostroma, Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk and many others.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the cultural institution frequently suffered from a lack of state and public funding for organizing new performances, minor refurbishment works, salaries and basic communal services. As many other sites of public culture, the Theater faced financial struggles in the 2000s, and the Theater's management rented a part of the building to small-scale businesses in order to make money and cover basic needs. In 2019, the Theater started the process of removing the cafes and restaurants latched to the building, and received some funding from the state to cover its renovation costs ². In addition, it is reported that the Theater sometimes received some support, including the financial one (according to the archive data), from Russia through Rossotrudnichestvo in the form of training ³ or tours to Russia ⁴ . Nowadays, the institution receives a regular support from a range of private sponsors, including Kulikovskiy, Elite House, as well as public organizations connected with Russia.

The contemporary theater's repertoire offers the works of the Russian classic literature, such as "The Government Inspector" by Nikolay Gogol and "Thunderstorm" by Alexander Ostrovskiy. In addition, more contemporary performances based on the modern literature, such as "The Kosmos Day" by Evgeniy Ungard, "Dura i Durochka" by Grigoriy Berkovich are available for Bishkek's theater spectators. Surprisingly enough, the theatre staff members are actively involved into various collaborations with the local organizations and representations affiliated with Russia, such as the Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots ⁵ or the Union of Female Compatriots ⁶. Remarkably, this year, the Theater's actors and actresses were spotted leading the official events and performances dedicated to annual celebration of the Victory Day on May 9th, including the Bessmertnyi Polk (Immortal Regiment). It could be assumed that the Theater performs as an informal community place for ethnic Russians and some Russian-speaking citizens.

Another example of a memory site that supports the instrumentalized post-Soviet nostalgia is the Home Museum of Mikhail Frunze, a Soviet politician and revolutionary. The Memorial Museum was grounded in 1936 as a small-scale museum of Revolution telling stories about the life and revolutionary activities of Mikhail Frunze whose family lived and worked in pre-Soviet Bishkek. The Museum was arranged in a tiny family house, including a pharmacy of Frunze's father. Later, in the 1950s, acknowledged as the heyday time of the Soviet museology, the museum building experienced extensive reconstruction works and huge changes in the display content as well. The Home Museum acted as a typical Soviet memorial museum that actively promoted Communist propaganda through a variety of museum activities, such as mobile lectures and exhibitions, museum tours mostly arranged for local schoolchildren, different labor collectives and political groups as well as guests of the city. Similar to the Theater, the museum staff members frequently allowed themselves to arrange business trips to the famous and influential museums of the USSR placed in Moscow, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Minks and Kiev, such as Museum of Revolution, Museum of Lenin, the Museums for Regional Studies (kraievedcheskie). These cultural institutions operated as both the cultural and museum educational hub which offered the best practices in the Soviet museum management. For the museum staff, business trips to the European part of the Union were also an essential element of their further qualification and education but also collecting exhibits for the museum display and storage. In regard to the collection, copies of the official archive documents, books, some furniture items bought in antique shops, memories of Frunze's colleagues and relatives were considered as the basic museum objects.

Nowadays, there are constant internal discussions and regular attempts from the side of several public figures either to shut the Home Museum completely down or rearrange it into the City Museum of Bishkek. The second option is a wide-spread practice-decision related to the fate of numerous former memorial museums observed across post-Socialist countries. Compared with neighboring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where the state authorities intensively implement own state-sponsored top-down heritage policy, the Home Museum of Mikhail Frunze in Bishkek remains to operate as the memorial museum offering a Soviet-planned display content with slightly updated exhibition sections related to the independent period of the country attracting a number of the capital's foreign guests. The museum staff members attempt to keep arranging the same museum events and activities established in the Soviet period. Most of them are mainly directed to the local schoolchildren (of the certain schools) and the National Guard cadets as well. Similar to the Theater, the Home Museum also cooperates with organizations connected to Russia.

The Immortal Regiment refers to a public commemorative walk held annually on the Victory Day, May 9^th in the former Soviet republics. People walk across cities, towns and villages bearing photographs of their ancestors, who fought or otherwise contributed to the World War II on the Soviet side or so-called Great Patriotic War. The first ever Immortal Regiment in its current shape and form took place in Tomsk in 2012 and was organized by a media company. The original motivation behind the Immortal Regiment was to collect and preserve individual stories of the WWII participants, which have often been overlooked by the grandeur of the official WWII government narratives of both the Soviet Union and Russia. The idea of reviving the memories of the World War II through individual stories of the WWII participants was so wildly popular it spread like fire across Russia and beyond.

In the modern-day Bishkek, the urban flea markets could be assumed as one of the first touristic attractions and beloved sites among numerous foreign guests and so-called 'flea-market addicts'. Such places play an essential role in both in the city and public life of Bishkek and, of course, its local history. One of the vivid city flea markets spontaneously appeared on Yunusaliev/Karl Marx Street close to the Ortosay bazaar in the 1990s and 2000s is open now every single weekend. During the week, one can also meet here some solo vendors selling second-hand clothes, seasonal vegetables, fruits or nuts, old Soviet classic literature mostly available in Russian but also the objects of Soviet everyday life. Another one is located in the area next to the Osh bazaar. One can also note a few ordinary people street vending at the intersection of Baytik Batyr/Sovetskaya Street between Moskovskaya and Bokonbayev Streets.

However, if you want to have a fuller immersion, there are little pockets of commercialized Soviet reality in the city of Bishkek. One of them is a café and pub GlavPivTrest (abbreviation for the Main Beer Trust) located in a residential area of the Southern Bishkek. For about 15 years, GlavPivTrest has built a reputation for its shashlik and an ever-growing collection of Soviet memorabilia and Soviet interior design esthetics. Soviet republics' flags, rows of the Lenin-Marx-Engels busts and numerous Soviet posters create an immersive experience of an imagined, glamourized Soviet past. The use of Soviet esthetics at this café feels commercialized as it draws an image of fantasy nostalgia (see more on fantasy nostalgia in Gammon 2002). Interestingly the Soviet visuals are mixed with what looks like American retro pin-up esthetics.

Unlike other cafes that use post-Soviet nostalgia, café Anar provides a less glamourized and more authentic home interior design using original furniture and décor pieces meticulously collected via online ads and the city's flea markets. For this reason, we included the café to our category of a nostalgic location rather than a commercialized memory site. As we sit sipping our tea surrounded with old phones, clocks and chairs, we do feel like in a time machine that brought us back to an average Soviet flat. This is the main reason why this tearoom is popular with groups of older people – those, who have actually lived in similar interiors. Friendly waiters share how the tearooms regulars keep their conversations going as they use the elements of the interior to reminisce about the old good times.

The existence of such pockets of Soviet reality goes beyond attracting customers or glorifying the past, it is also an opportunity to find a safe place in the ever-changing fast-paced world. The collapse of the Soviet Union was a major disruption not only to the economic and military infrastructure and the international order, it has also taken an enormous human toll. Millions of former Soviet citizens had to adapt and adjust to new realities and reinvent their identities. To what extent each personal transition has been successful is a profound story to tell. However, the existence of such collective nostalgia places like Chaikhana Anar is a strong indication that the past needs to be talked about, lived through, and, this could help us all get the much-needed individual and collective therapeutic effect.