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Uzbekistan: Central Asia
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Uzbekistan is located between two big rivers of Central Asia: Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya rivers. Uzbekistan is the first largest of the Central Asian republics in population and the third in area. The following countries of Central Asia surround Uzbekistan: Kazakhstan to the north, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan to the south, and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east.
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Uzbekistan is situated in central Asia between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers, the Aral Sea, and the slopes of the Tien Shan Mountains. It is bounded by Kazakhstan in the north and northwest, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the east and southeast, Turkmenistan in the southwest, and Afghanistan in the south. The republic ... includes the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic, with its capital, Nukus (1992 est. pop., 182,000). The country is about one-tenth larger in area than the state of California.
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The Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan has recently signed a treaty committing the US to respond to “any external threat” to the country. Uzbekistan’s foreign minister explains: “The logic of the situation suggests that the United States has come here with a serious purpose, and for a long time.” According to a Washington Post report, the other Central Asian nations—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—have similar agreements with the US. The US claims it is supporting democracy in these nations, but experts say authoritarianism has been on the rise since 9/11. A new US military base in Uzbekistan currently holds about 1,000 US soldiers, but is being greatly enlarged. The article makes the general point that the US is replacing Russia as the dominant power in Central Asia.
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The constitution of Uzbekistan provides for separation of powers, freedom of speech, and representative government. In reality, the executive holds almost all power. The judiciary lacks independence, and the legislature--which meets only a few days each year--has little power to shape laws. The president selects and replaces provincial governors. Islam Karimov, former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Uzbek SSR Communist Party, was elected to a five-year presidential term in December 1991 with 88% of the vote. In a December 1995 referendum, his term was extended to 2000.
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Uzbekistan is the most historically-fascinating of the Central Asian republics. Within it are some of the oldest towns in the world, turquoise domes, minarets and a multitude of preserved relics of the Silk Road’s treasures. The Ferghana Valley, surrounded by mountains, still produces silk and is well worth visiting for its friendly bazaars and landscape of cotton fields, mulberry trees and fruit orchards. Uzbekistan's mountain ranges draw hikers, cyclists and cross-country skiers, while skilled mountaineers come to climb some of the highest peaks in the world. Uzbekistan is ripe for adventure.
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[O]f Karimov’s multi-vectored policy, political dialogue between Russia and Uzbekistan has become frequent, with greater contact between Karimov and Putin; conversely the U.S. President still has not responded to President Karimov’s invitations to visit Uzbekistan. In August 2003, Putin visited Uzbekistan and met with Karimov–not in Tashkent, as protocol and tradition required, but in the Uzbek President’s hometown of Samarkand, Uzbekistan’s second largest city, and the capital of (the Islamic conqueror) Tamerlane’s vast empire. Such intriguing symbolism and high-level reception seem a clear indication of a new course in Russian-Uzbek relations. Karimov once again flattered Putin by referring to Russia’s interest in Central Asia, while demanding reciprocal recognition of Uzbek predominance:
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