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Batken is a small town of about 25,000 in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley.
History
Batken became the administrative headquarters of the youngest of Kyrgyzstan's seven oblasts, created from the three westernmost raions of the former Osh oblast in 1999, after concerns over radical Islamist activities in neighboring Tajikistan and Uzbekistan led to demands for a more direct and visible governmental presence in this remote and mountainous region.
Geography
Batken oblast contains several small enclaves belonging to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, respectively, created during Stalin's willful redrawing of maps in the 1930s; this causes significant problems for the movement of persons and goods within the oblast.
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