The urban history of Osh began very long ago. In the 9^th and 10^th centuries, it was a typical medieval city with a citadel, around which shahristan, or township, with adjoining fortifications was placed. In the 17^th and 19^th centuries, Osh developed as a classic oriental city with an intricate web of streets, noisy bazaars, teahouses, and complexes of mosques and madrasas.

After 1876, having become part of the Russian Empire, Osh began to develop rapidly. To the south of the “old city” (the area of the old bazaar), a “new city” arose and expanded throughout the Soviet period.

In 1938, a group of Moscow architects arrived in Kyrgyzstan, tasked with the ambitious project of building and reconstructing towns and settlements. Incidentally, in 1939, Osh became the administrative centre of the region of the same name.

In 1940, the Kirgosproekt (Kyrgyz State Project) Trust, under the guidance of Vasily Zmievsky, a graduate of the architectural faculty of the Odessa Art School and a talented artist and architect, created the first city planning for the development and reconstruction of Osh. The architects proposed a mixed layout for the city, with both rectangular blocks and radial webs of streets, which took into account the peculiarities of the old streets and maintained their appearance. Thus, a new chapter in the history of the city began.