Some notes about Uzbekistan, people, culture and economy

family group in Khiva

We talked to many Uzbek citizens who want to go to the U.S.  Most want to study here and return to Uzbekistan to help build their country.  Some, of course, want to stay.

suzani shop in bazaar

The collapse of the Soviet Union, of which the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan was a part, was an enormous event.  Those of us watching from the comfort of the U.S. had no idea of the catastrophe this was for citizens of the Soviet republics.  Everyone old enough to remember what it was like 20 years ago has a story to tell.

hats for sale along Khiva's main street

hand knit slippers for sale

First, no one could believe what was happening.  The livelihood of every Uzbek depended on the Soviet Union.  The day they were told that they were now citizens of an independent Uzbekistan, they had no idea what to do or what was happening to them.  Their money was gone.  Their jobs were gone.  Many of their doctors, teachers, professors and lawyers were Russian and left soon after for Russia.  The same with much of the bureaucracy that ran the country.  They had no education or health care system.  Their economy was in complete collapse. Their housing was no longer theirs as it had been assigned to them by the Soviet state.  The government was in free fall with few people knowing how to run the cities or state or government agencies.  It is almost impossible to imagine the total disorientation, and confusion that resulted from the end of the Soviet Union.

Don with students in uniforms

woman and baby outside market

For women, the Soviets had brought a large measure of freedom.  Though men and some women resisted, the Soviets insisted that women be able to move about freely, without having to wear a veil or having a man with them.  They ensured that women were educated and had access to jobs.  This was a massive cultural revolution in this Muslim country. Suddenly, women had a voice, money and knowledge.

modern women's dresses in Samarkand market

Gradually, after 1991, Uzbekistan pulled itself back up.  It's economy depended on cotton, but only on production. All the higher value processes were in other republics.  President Karimov, who was the Party Secretary during Soviet times, became leader of the newly independent Uzbekistan, a job he continues to hold today.  Most of the people we talked to admire him for leading them forward during the greatest crisis of their lives.  President Karimov would easily win any election.  But, no one wants to talk about Uzbek politics.

woman working at Timur's tombs

Today, there is a big income gap.  Businesses and individuals can't convert the Uzbek currency into dollars, so there is a lively black market, with a conversion rate many times higher than the official rate.  One problem in attracting foreign direct investment is the near impossibility of getting profits out of the country, a problem the government understands.  But, because they don't have much in the way of foreign exchange reserves, it is difficult to make changes.

Security is very tight, resulting in no major security threats.  A number of years ago, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was a threat, but now people watch one another and report any suspicious activity to the National Security Service.  This both improves safety and ensures that few people will challenge the status quo.  Not talking about politics is part of the culture.

Right now, more than 2 million Uzbeks work in Russia, the country most Uzbeks feel a deep affinity with and where they go to find a better life.  But, because of the Russian recession, remittances to Uzbekistan are 50% of what they were a couple of years ago.  This is, obviously, having a very negative impact on the Uzbek economy.

All news is in Russian and controlled by Russian language TV stations.  Russian propaganda (as, for example, that the U.S. is responsible for shooting down the Malaysian airplane over Ukraine) is pervasive and very difficult to counteract.

For the U.S., helping Uzbekistan to be a stable state is very important, particularly in a part of the world that is very unstable, notably Afghanistan, which shares a border with Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Stalin drew the borders of the Central Asian countries, in part to make sure that they were divided and not very stable.  While relations between the U.S. and Uzbekistan have been rocky for about a decade, they are beginning to improve.

bread cart in market

Uzbekistan is trying to diversify its economy, but it needs a broader Central Asian trade agreement to make that happen.  Right now, most of the countries in Central Asia prefer to have bilateral agreements rather than regional agreements.  Infrastructure is also a big issue.  There are, for example, more paved roads in the state of Virginia than in all of Russia, so it is difficult to move goods to Russia and throughout the region.  Rail links need to be upgraded and, without the Aral Sea, which is virtually gone, there is no ship transport in this landlocked country.

old Bukhara bazaar

one of Bukhara's many bazaars

We were impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of so many Uzbeks we met.  One city guide opened a large restaurant to cater to the growing wedding business (in Uzbekistan, weddings often have 600 or more people, though the government has just restricted wedding size to 300 guests to save poor families the crushing cost of hosting a too-large wedding).  Now he is building a hotel.  Many artisans have flourishing businesses making and selling their wares, either on the street or from shops in the many bazaars.  Our country guide has started several successful businesses, with more in mind. Restaurants, small hotels, countless shops and stalls selling goods, roadside fruit and vegetable stands--all these are central to the economy Uzbekistan hopes to build for the future.

the ubiquitous subdivision house

A major area of economic activity is new housing.  The government is building subdivisions all over the country.  Each house looks exactly like every other house no matter where or how large the subdivision.  Some people told us Uzbeks could buy and sell these homes (the government owns the land) and others said they were just for government employees.  I assume it's a little of both.

a subdivision

Many subdivisions are mostly empty, so it seems that it is hard for most people to afford a home. Throughout the country, the housing stock is old and dilapidated, so these new homes may find a market.  They tend to be outside of city centers, making transportation a problem since public transportation is very limited.