A look at Uzbekistan today

‘Give an Uzbek a desert and he’ll make it a garden,’ quotes historian Akmal, gesturing to the seams of lush green vegetation that weave through the dusty landscape as we drive to the ancient city of Bukhara. But to inhabitants of Moynak, a town formerly on the shores of the Aral Sea, this old Uzbek proverb rings hollow. Mismanagement of agricultural and irrigation projects during Soviet times shrank the Aral Sea to less than half its former size, leaving ships stranded and local fishing communities high and dry. The faded statues of muscular female farmers, carrying armfuls of wheat and fish, are the only signs of the town’s former fertility.

The Soviet Union’s intensive production of cotton caused Moynak’s desertification. Known locally as ‘white gold’, cotton has remained a key export since Uzbekistan’s independence from the USSR in 1991. Drawing international condemnation for its use of forced and child labour, the cotton sector generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Most of this money is pocketed by government officials and their corrupt cronies in the capital, Tashkent. The yearly cotton harvest that forces students, teachers and other public workers into the fields was previously overseen by Uzbekistan’s new president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who served as prime minister from 2003.

Photo: Christopher Simons
Elected last December in a ballot described as ‘a sham’ by international observers, Mirziyoyev replaced Uzbekistan’s first post-independence president and long-time dictator, Islam Karimov. Even by Central Asian standards, Karimov’s 27-year-rule was brutal. Coming to power first under the Soviets in 1989, he reinvented himself as an Uzbek nationalist in the twilight years of Communism. Karimov claimed the exclusive right to define the new Uzbek state and nation, including a strictly state-controlled version of Islam. Dissenters were jailed, exiled or killed, often on the pretext of fighting Islamic extremism. Although most Uzbekistanis are secular-minded and practise a flexible brand of Islam, extremism is intensifying, thanks to government repression of any form of religious opposition.

From 2002, the US-led ‘War on Terror’ provided Karimov with ammunition to intensify his own war on religious and political freedom. In May 2005, in the eastern city of Andijan, hundreds of protesters were gunned down in what the government termed an anti-terror operation. In 2014, Karimov even arrested his own daughter, Gulnara Karimova, whom he had been grooming to inherit his crown. The once-powerful politician and entrepreneur apparently remains under house arrest; her fate is unknown.
Despite his multiple human rights abuses, Western governments mostly overlooked the excesses of Karimov’s regime. His rocky relationship with Russia made Karimov a useful buttress against Moscow’s influence in the region. For the US, Karimov provided a critical supply route for operations in Afghanistan.
Some say that President Mirziyoyev is much like his predecessor. Since taking power, he has done little to alter the political and economic system built by Karimov. Although Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia, with extensive mineral wealth, its economy is a basket case. Corruption and the black market flourish. A history of government asset grabs deters foreign investors. Vested interests in Tashkent amass cash from exporting gas, gold and cotton, while ordinary citizens struggle to survive. Uzbekistanis traditionally headed to Russia to find work, but the recession there, caused by Western sanctions and a fall in commodity prices, has made this a less viable option.

Shortages of gas, electricity and jobs are feeding disaffection, especially among the under-30s, who make up over half the country’s population. If the new president doesn’t change the rules of the game soon, Uzbekistanis may decide it’s time to upset the pieces on the board and make some new rules.
Fact file
Leader | President Shavkat Mirziyoyev (since December 2016). |
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Economy | GNI per capita $2,220 (Kazakhstan $8,710, Russia $9,720). GDP growth was 6% in 2016, down from 8% in 2015. Since independence in 1991, the government has largely maintained its Soviet-style command economy with tight controls on production, prices and access to foreign currency. Growth has been driven largely by state-led investments and export of gas, gold and cotton. In 2016, Russian energy giant Gazprom announced plans to increase purchases of Uzbek gas. Western sanctions against Russia, however, have decreased Russian imports from Uzbekistan, especially in the manufacturing sector. As a consequence, in 2015, China overtook Russia as Uzbekistan’s largest trading partner and source of direct investment. |
Monetary unit | Uzbek Som. |
Main exports | Cotton, gas, textiles, foodstuffs, machinery, automobiles, gold and other metals. |
People | 31.8 million. Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia. Annual population growth rate 1.7%. People per square kilometre 75 (UK 271). |
Health | Infant mortality rate: 34 per 1,000 live births, down from 59 in 1990 (Kazakhstan 13, Russia 8). HIV prevalence 0.2%. Lifetime risk of maternal death 1 in 1,000 (Russia 1 in 2,300). |
Environment | Uzbekistan faces multiple environmental problems caused by its rapidly increasing population, urbanization, and by economic activities that have damaged the nation’s ecosystem. Access to clean drinking water is a pressing issue, while the Aral Sea disaster continues to have a negative impact on the economic and physical health of local communities. |
Culture | The main Uzbek ethnic group accounts for 80% of the population. Minorities include: Russians 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3% and Tatar 1.5%. |
Religion | Notionally Muslim 88% (mostly Sunni), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%. However, the state strictly enforces secularism and many Muslims are non-practising. |
Language | Uzbek (official) is the native language of 74% of the population. Russian is spoken by 14% and Tajik by 4.4%. In the Karakalpakstan Republic Karakalpak also has official status. |
Human Development Index | 0.701, 105th of 188 countries (Kazakhstan 0.794, Russia 0.804). |
Country ratings in detail
Income distribution | ★★ As of 2015, 12.8% of Uzbekistanis lived below the national poverty line (down from 27.5% in 2001), three-quarters of whom live in rural areas. |
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Literacy | ★★★★★ 100%. There is gender equality in primary and secondary education, but the percentage of female students enrolled in higher education is comparatively low at 36%. 2008 ★★★★★ |
Life expectancy | ★★★★ 71 years (Kazakhstan 72, Russia 71). 2008 ★★★★ |
Freedom | ★ Torture is endemic in the Uzbekistani criminal justice system; in 2002 two prisoners were reportedly boiled alive. Political opposition and independent media are banned. Some 10,000 political prisoners including many journalists languish behind bars – more than all other former Soviet republics combined. 2008 ★ |
Position of women | ★★★ The constitution guarantees gender equality before the law. The percentage of women in the parliament has increased from 6% in 1994 to 16% in 2015. Pregnant and nursing women are protected from unfair dismissal and harassment. But there is no legislation specifically addressing domestic violence. 2008 ★★ |
Sexual minorities | ★ Discrimination against sexual minorities is endemic, especially in justice, healthcare and education. Male homosexuality is illegal and carries a prison sentence of up to three years. The status of lesbians is unclear. 2008 ★ |
Previously reviewed | June 2008 |
New Internationalist assessment | ★ Uzbekistan’s government is one of the most unashamedly authoritarian in the world. There is no legal political opposition, human rights are widely abused, and the media is tightly controlled. To justify his iron grip, Karimov fanned fears of Islamic extremism, though terror attacks are extremely unusual. In 1999, when a rare terrorist attack occurred in Tashkent, Karimov used it as an excuse to shut down mosques and arrest thousands who had nothing to do with it. In truth, government security forces pose more of a threat to citizens than Islamic militants. 2008 ★ |
This article is from
the November 2017 issue
of New Internationalist.
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