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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Uzbekistan
Index
During the decade following the death of Rashidov, Moscow attempted to
regain the central control over Uzbekistan that had weakened in the
previous decade. In 1986 it was announced that almost the entire party and
government leadership of the republic had conspired in falsifying cotton
production figures. Eventually, Rashidov himself was also implicated
(posthumously) together with Yuriy Churbanov, Brezhnev's son-in-law. A
massive purge of the Uzbek leadership was carried out, and corruption
trials were conducted by prosecutors brought in from Moscow. In the Soviet
Union, Uzbekistan became synonymous with corruption. The Uzbeks themselves
felt that the central government had singled them out unfairly; in the
1980s, this resentment led to a strengthening of Uzbek nationalism.
Moscow's policies in Uzbekistan, such as the strong emphasis on cotton and
attempts to uproot Islamic tradition, then came under increasing criticism
in Tashkent.
In 1989 ethnic animosities came to a head in the Fergana Valley, where
local Meskhetian Turks were assaulted by Uzbeks, and in the Kyrgyz city of
Osh, where Uzbek and Kyrgyz youth clashed. Moscow's response to this
violence was a reduction of the purges and the appointment of Islam
Karimov as first secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan. The
appointment of Karimov, who was not a member of the local party elite,
signified that Moscow wanted to lessen tensions by appointing an outsider
who had not been involved in the purges.
Resentment among Uzbeks continued to smolder, however, in the
liberalized atmosphere of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev's policies of
perestroika (see Glossary) and glasnost (see
Glossary). With the emergence of new opportunities to express dissent,
Uzbeks expressed their grievances over the cotton scandal, the purges, and
other long-unspoken resentments. These included the environmental
situation in the republic, recently exposed as a catastrophe as a result
of the long emphasis on heavy industry and a relentless pursuit of cotton
(see Environmental Problems, this ch.). Other grievances included
discrimination and persecution experienced by Uzbek recruits in the Soviet
army and the lack of investment in industrial development in the republic
to provide jobs for the ever-increasing population.
By the late 1980s, some dissenting intellectuals had formed political
organizations to express their grievances. The most important of these,
Birlik (Unity), initially advocated the diversification of agriculture, a
program to salvage the desiccated Aral Sea, and the declaration of the
Uzbek language as the state language of the republic. Those issues were
chosen partly because they were real concerns and partly because they were
a safe way of expressing broader disaffection with the Uzbek government.
In their public debate with Birlik, the government and party never lost
the upper hand. As became especially clear after the accession of Karimov
as party chief, most Uzbeks, especially those outside the cities, still
supported the communist party and the government. Birlik's intellectual
leaders never were able to make their appeal to a broad segment of the
population (see Opposition Parties, this ch.).
Data as of March 1996
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