TALAS

oblasty (province), northwestern Kyrgyzstan, centred on the Talas River valley that follows an essentially east-west axis through the northern portion of the oblasty. Reconstituted in 1990, the oblasty was formed in 1944 and remained in existence until 1956. It was reestablished in 198088 and once again re-formed in 1990. The population of Talas includes a large concentration of non-Central Asian groups, among them ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Hui (Chinese Muslims, also called Dungan). In the uplands of Talas the major economic activity is pastoralism, in the lowlands, agriculture. Area 4,400 square miles (11,400 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 198,000.