Tattoos in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

A week ago I was talking with a friend of mine about tattoos. She told me that she was interested in getting a small one but that she didn’t know how to go about doing it in Kyrgyzstan or whether to do it here at all. Bishkek, for obvious reasons, doesn’t particularly stand out as the safest place to get a tattoo. I found this subject, because I have tattoos, incredibly interesting and I set out to look into the Bishkek tattoo scene.

I started asking around to see if there were any tattoo parlors in the city. Everyone I talked with told me that there were places somewhere in the city, but no one knew exactly where they were. Eventually, it was suggested that I look on the Diesel Forum for information. Because very few businesses in Kyrgyzstan actually have their own websites, they post their services and locations on the forum. I had looked on the website a while ago when I started looking for places and information about skydiving but I had some serious trouble searching because I hadn’t yet learned to type in Russian. This time it was much easier.

I quickly came across an artist named Nikita who was answering questions, offering advice and posting his artwork for those that were interested. Typically, Russians are the ones that get tattoos here. There are very few Kyrgyz people that do. The ones that do usually get cosmetic tattoos like lips or eyebrows. It seemed like that was his specialty but he had a good portfolio of body tattoos as well. I looked up his contact information and called him.

We agreed to meet on Wednesday at a hair salon called “Vash Stil” (Your Style). When we met I talked to him about how he handled body substance isolation and he explained to me the use of new needles, gloves and clean hands. The precautions had been included in the tattoo certification course he took a few years ago (Although he started tattooing when he was 16). When I asked about his studio he told me that he rented out salons like the one we were meeting in or came to his client’s houses. I called my friend and we decided to have Nikita over to our apartment on Saturday to tattoo her up.

On Saturday we attempted to skydive again but it was cancelled due to a bit of snow in the morning. Everyone relaxed most of the day and Nikita came over around 5:30 pm to start his work. He set up in my room because it had good open space with a large bed. He showed her the design she had asked for and applied it to her leg. He then drew over a few areas with a pen and got his kit ready. I turned on some music and a few minutes later his needle was buzzing away and my friend was getting her ankle tatted.



The whole process from set up to closing up shop lasted about two and a half hours but when the tattoo was finished it looked amazing. It seems that most tattoos here are done in this manner. There are very few actual tattoo artists here but most of them seem to be freelancers like Nikita. So, if you’re a foreigner in Bishkek and you’re looking for a tattoo, Nik’s your guy.

Artistic Tattoo and Permanent Makeup
Tel.: 0-555-674-108
Email: nikich-neo@yandex.ru

Художественное тату и перманентный макияж (татуаж)
сот.: 0-555-674-108 Nikita.
Nikich-neo@yandex.ru