KYRGYZSTAN (Кыргыз Республикасы) ( KYRGYZ EXPRESS POST)

Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz: Кыргызстан, Qırğızstan, Kyrgyz pronunciation: ), officially the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyz: Кыргыз Республикасы, romanized: Qırğız Respubliqası; Russian: Кыргызская Республика) and also known as Kirghizia (Russian: Киргизия), is a country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country with mountainous terrain. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west and southwest, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.

Kyrgyzstan's recorded history spans over 2,000 years, encompassing a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain, which has helped preserve its ancient culture, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road and other commercial and cultural routes. Though long inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under foreign domination and attained sovereignty as a nation-state only after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. "Kyrgyz" is believed to have been derived from the Turkic word for "forty", about the forty clans of Manas, a legendary hero who united forty regional clans against the Uyghurs. Literally, Kyrgyz means We are forty. At the time, in the early 9th century AD, the Uyghurs dominated much of Central Asia (including Kyrgyzstan), Mongolia, and parts of Russia and China. "-stan" is a word in the Persian language meaning "place of" or "country". 

The 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan is a reference to those same forty tribes and the graphical element in the sun's center depicts the wooden crown, called tunduk, of a yurt—a portable dwelling traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. In terms of naming conventions, the country's official name is "Kyrgyz Republic" whenever it is used in some international arenas and foreign relations. However, in the English-speaking world, the spelling Kyrgyzstan is commonly used while its former name Kirghizia is rarely used as such.

The postal history of Kyrgyzstan began when the nation declared independence in August 1991. Under the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz SSR postal service was an integral part of the Soviet system. The republic was periodically recognized in sets of stamps honoring the different parts of the USSR. Kyrgyzstan is a member state of the Universal Postal Union since 1993 with its two designated postal operators - "Kyrgyz Pochtasy" SE and "Kyrgyz Express Post" LLC. Kyrgyzstan issued its first postage stamp on 4 February 1992, a single design depicting the Sary-Chelek Nature Preserve in Jalal-Abad Province. The country's name was given in both Cyrillic and Latin letters; many Kyrgyz stamps have since done likewise, although the practice is not consistent, with some stamps only inscribed in Cyrillic and others only in Latin. In April and June 1993, several types of Russian stamps were surcharged in ruble values, followed in August by the first stamps denominated in tyiyn.

In 2014 the second designated postal operator of Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Express Post (KEP), decided to issue its stamps by the consent of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz Express Post LLC has been operating in the postal market of Kyrgyzstan since March 16, 2012 under the license no. 12-917-КР granted by the State Communication Agency of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic , providing a wide range of postal, financial and other services both to individuals and legal entities.  Pursuant to the decision of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic dated December 7, 2012, Kyrgyz Express Post LLC was granted the status of second designated postal operator of Kyrgyzstan, which was further confirmed by the UPU International Bureau circular no. 83 of May 21, 2013.

Inasmuch as KEP provides postal delivery services on the basis of established tariffs, it has been decided to issue postage stamps of the second designated postal operator of the Kyrgyz Republic. The issue of each stamp goes through an approval process under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic (currently the State Committee for Information Technology and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic).

KEP stamps represent a real payment instrument, ensuring payment for services of forwarding postal items from Kyrgyzstan to all UPU member countries. KEP stamps are sold at their face value. All mail sending franked with KEP stamps can be executed only at KEP offices.

Kyrgyzstan has two official postal operators, Kyrgyz Post and Kyrgyz Express Post LLC.This cover is sent by Kyrgyz express post, which is started in 2014, and the stamps used on the cover is the first issue of Kyrgyz express post.This philatelic service is really good, they cancel all stamps and allow to use multiple stamps and count the value of all stamps affixed. The Kirgyz Post -the govt. postal service provider has a stupid rules and regulations like should not use more than one stamp, and they will count only the least valued one if we affix more stamps. I could not understand why they made such unfair rules . At the same time they issue many stamps even as sets, with different values, but If a collector want them on covers as postmarked, they will not do. So among cover collectors Kirgyz Post has no reputation and most of them will not buy their stamps even there are interesting themes. Now the new postal operator Kyrgyz express Post do an excellent job for philatelists and cover collectors by issuing thematic stamps, cancellation services, even they send emails after sending back the covers as postmarked.