| Kyrk Choro | |
| Native Name: | Кырк Чоро |
| Native Name Lang: | Kyrgyz |
| Leader: | Zamirbek Kochorbaev |
| Founded: | 2010 |
| Ideology: | Kyrgyz nationalism Ultranationalism Ethnonationalism Antifeminism Anti-LGBT rights |
| Position: | Far-right |
| Country: | Kyrgyzstan |
Kyrk Choro (Kirghiz; Kyrgyz: Кырк Чоро) is a Kyrgyz right-wing nationalist organisation. It is open to members aged from 25 to 40. The organisation's name translates to Forty Warriors, a reference to the forty knights of the hero Manas in the eponymous Epic of Manas.[1] Kyrk Choro is an outspoken proponent of traditional moral codes and ethnic nationalism. In a 2015 manifesto, it demanded that foreigners would only be allowed in hotels and called for the banning of Uyghurs from the largest clothing market in Bishkek.[2] The group also campaigned against the legalisation of same-sex marriage.[3]
Kyrk Choro has gained a degree of notoriety for its use of political violence. Freedom House described it in 2016 as an "ultranationalist vigilante group" that "enjoys official support from security agencies". Alongside other nationalist groups, it engages in protests and intimidations against political opponents and ethnic minorities.[4] The group has carried out raids on sex workers who provide services to foreigners[5] and are accused of intimidating and attacking feminist and LGBT activists on multiple occasions, allegedly in collaboration with Kyrgyz state authorities.[6] [7]