Zhenishbek Toktorbayev (in the middle in a camo jacket), mayor of Osh, looking at the city map. Photo from the Mayor's Office of Osh. Fair use.
Since January 2025, Zhenishbek Toktorbayev has drawn attention after becoming the mayor of Osh, Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest city in the south. His daily walks and runs around the city, during which Toktorbayev gives out seemingly ridiculous orders to his staff, often demanding their almost immediate execution, have turned him into a meme, with internet users imitating his odd communication style.
Here is a YouTube video of one of Toktorbayev's morning runs, where his staff runs alongside him and he identifies seemingly random construction objects for demolition.
It became clear from the start that Toktorbayev would introduce radical changes. At the first meeting with his staff, he revealed three new rules. First, he banned workers from using official transport and instructed them to use public or private transport.
Second, Toktorbayev ordered his staff to be ready for sudden travel and prepare a change of clothes and shoes, which could be worn at construction sites, roads, and other areas where suits were not appropriate. He favors a dark beanie hat, camo jacket, and black cowboy boots for off-site meetings and inspection walks.
Third, meetings at the mayor's office would be replaced by off-site meetings to see and promptly resolve problems. The public and media praised Toktorbayev for these alterations, highlighting his hands-on approach.
Here is an Instagram reel praising Toktorbayev's charisma, his walks around the city, and the orders he gives to improve the city.
[Toktorbayev's] Charisma is just oozing out!
Then came the memes and internet fame. The new mayor’s eccentric working methods and demanding style of communication with his staff gave birth to countless reels on social media created by regular users, popular content creators, and businesses.
Here is an Instagram reel imitating Toktorbayev's runs in the city.
The content creator imitates Toktorbayev, who gives orders to demolish houses, stores, fences, and other buildings that cross the so-called “red line” — an imaginary line separating municipal and private property, reflected in the 2023 city development plan. They also make fun of him ordering his staff not to reply with a traditional informal “ow” (similar to ‘kay) when he addresses them, instructing them to reserve “ow” for their wives at home. This phrase alone has become a meme.
Here is an Instagram reel satirizing Toktorbayev's orders to his staff.
Leave an “ow” comment under the post.
Toktorbayev has made numerous ridiculous and unrealistic demands that he wants carried out in a very short amount of time. Some examples of these include instructing his staff to unilaterally raise rent fees for businesses that use municipal property, violating lease terms, planting 100,000 roses, and building a statue of a historical Kyrgyz hero with two lions facing neighboring Uzbekistan. Some users have created funny clips imitating this habit.
Here is an Instagram reel imitating Toktorbayev's zeal for demolition and raising rent prices.
While he is certainly bringing a wave of change, some of it might not be fully thought through. For instance, Toktorbayev has demanded that local universities pay KGS 1,000 (USD 11.5) per year for every student for waste disposal, although most students live in rental apartments and pay for waste disposal as part of their utility bills.
While some people praise the new mayor’s efforts to combat chaotic construction and improve the city’s outlook, others criticize his extrajudicial demolition, whereby private property is being destroyed without a court order and due compensation.
Here is a YouTube video with the residents of Osh addressing Toktorbayev about the demolition of their property and demanding due compensation.
Toktorbayev is not alone in his radical approach to reshaping the city under his management. Land grabs and demolition of homes and businesses by municipal authorities in the name of improving city infrastructure have swept Kyrgyzstan’s major cities, including the capital, Bishkek, and the third largest city, Jalalabad, which is also located in the south.
These changes reflect the new political regime, which came to power in October 2020 following the protests over rigged parliamentary elections. The current ruling tandem, consisting of President Sadyr Japarov and the security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev, themselves have often ignored legal processes and employed extrajudicial means to solve long-standing issues, such as corruption and organized crime.
Mid-level officials, such as Toktorbayev, are taking a page out of the top leaders’ books in their attempts to reshape cities and the lives of people under their rule.
