Talas Gendarmerie Academy

The Talas Gendarmerie Academy is the officer school of the Republican Gendarmerie of Irad, the paramilitary police and border force of the Irad Special Economic Zone, in Talas. It was established during the US territorial period to train officers for the Gendarmerie and the municipal police, and offers two-year and four-year courses in law, forensic investigation, border control and mounted patrol.^[1]

The Gendarmerie has been commanded since 2012 by Major General Ruslan Toktarov, who oversees officer training at the academy. Many of its graduates serve in the Gendarmerie's Border Demarcation Brigade at the crossings of the Qara-Chik Demarcation Line. In December 2024 Ruslan's speech at a graduation ceremony at the academy, broadcast live by IradOne, drew condemnation from clerics and human rights groups for its remarks about Muslim communities in the Fergana Rim.^[2]

References

1. ^ Republican Gendarmerie Inspectorate (2023). Annual Security and Demarcation Review. Talas.
2. ^ Eurasian Political Quarterly (2025). 'Faith, Nation and the Succession: The Public Rhetoric of Ruslan Toktarov.' Vol. 32, Iss. 1.