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Islam Karimov

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Islam Karimov (born January 30, 1938, Samarkand , Uzbekistan, U.S.S.R.—died September 2, 2016, Tashkent , Uzbekistan) was an Uzbek politician who became president of Uzbekistan in 1991.

Karimov earned degrees in engineering and economics from the Central Asian Polytechnic and the Tashkent Institute of National Economy. Later he became a member of the Academy of Sciences in Uzbekistan. He worked first as an aircraft engineer (1961–66) before entering government employment in 1966 as an economic planner for the Uzbek state planning office.

Karimov became first secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan in 1989 and was elected president of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he was elected president of independent Uzbekistan. In 1995 a national referendum extended his presidency to 2000, when he was reelected to another five-year term. In 2002 another national referendum extended his presidency to 2007. Although the Uzbek constitution prohibits presidents from serving more than two terms in office, Karimov was elected to a third term in 2007. The international community largely agreed that the elections that had placed Karimov in office were neither free nor fair. Karimov won another term in 2015 amid similar concerns regarding the fairness of elections.

Karimov was accused of stifling political opposition and sanctioning widespread human rights abuses in his country . Despite such criticism , he became an ally of the United States after the 2001 September 11 attacks and granted basing rights to U.S. forces operating in Afghanistan in exchange for military and economic assistance. Karimov was also supported by the Russian government.

On August 29, 2016, one of Karimov’s daughters, Lola Karimova-Tillyayeva, announced over social media that her father had been hospitalized for a cerebral hemorrhage . Karimov’s health crisis set off a round of speculation about who would succeed him as president. There were also unconfirmed reports that he had actually died but that the news was being held back by members of his inner circle. On September 2 the government officially confirmed Karimov’s death. A funeral was held the next day in Samarkand, and the prime minister , Shavkat Mirziyoyev , took over as acting president.

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Islam Karimov, president of Uzbekistan, 1938-2016

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Dictator-lit: Islam Karimov's bland menace

Islam Karimov (b.1938) was appointed General Secretary of Uzbekistan's Communist party by Mikhail Gorbachev in June 1989, days after interethnic violence between Uzbeks and Meshketian Turks in the Fergana Valley had cost 200 people their lives, and a further 160,000 people their homes. Karimov immediately banned all public meetings, arguing that while all this glasnost malarkey might work well in Leningrad, it didn't suit volatile Uzbekistan. And that pretty much set the tone for how he was going to govern the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional state, both pre- and post-independence.

Karimov's CV ticks all the boxes required of a central Asian dictator: technical education; CPSU membership; rise to power as a God-denouncing, party apparatchik; and then, post 1991- rebirth as an Islam- praising, (allegedly) democracy-loving, (allegedly) market-embracing reformer. He is also a prolific author whose most famous book, Uzbekistan on the Threshold of the 21st Century, first appeared in Uzbek in 1997 and was then translated into English a year later by a mysterious, nameless firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The book contains numerous surprises, foremost among them being that it is actually quite well written. Indeed, after Brezhnev's (ghosted) autobiographical trilogy , it is undoubtedly the most lucid work of dictator literature I have yet encountered. Almost immediately I knew I was in the hands of an authoritarian despot who could nonetheless do a passable imitation of a human being, whose intellectual energies were not solely dedicated to generating fear, funnelling money to Switzerland and erecting monuments to his own wonderful self. Indeed, as the pages of coherently expressed, logical ideas went by I could not resist the conclusion that Karimov is genuinely intelligent, and not merely cunning and ruthless (although no doubt he is those things too).

Karimov's ultra-dry outlook (he studied both engineering and economics) is evident in his fondness for clear organisation and bullet points. Uzbekistan on the Threshold reads like a detailed report on the country written by its chief executive for the attention of future investors. The book has an extremely simple structure, and its headings are self-explanatory. For instance: Part I, "Threats to Stability and Security" is followed by detailed discussions of the following themes: 1) Regional Conflicts; 2) Religious Extremism and Fundamentalism; 3) Great Power Chauvinism and Aggressive Nationalism; 4) Ethnic and Inter-ethnic Relations; 5) Corruption and Clan Influence; 6) Regionalism and Clan Influence; 7) Ecological Challenges. This is followed by the equally systematic Part II, "Toward Stability and Security", and Part III: "Promise of Progress".

Throughout, Karimov remains resolutely un-seduced by ego, and sticks to the restraints his structure imposes. He is so reasonable, banal even, that you might find yourself agreeing with him, when he says things like this:

Human beings are unable, for obvious reasons, to choose their race or ethnic identity, or to select their parents, but their world outlook, and their spiritual and moral choices can and must be made privately without any external force or pressure. And these choices must be respected.

And then there's this:

Above all, participation in the securities market encourages individuals to purchase securities and fosters the habit and culture of ownership. It is important that people think of themselves as stockholders not only for the sake of owning shares, but because they are the real proprietors of part of the nation's property and as owners, have the opportunity to affect the financial success of their enterprises.

Actually, I dozed off during that last bit.

Karimov also argues forcefully (he breaks his argument down to seven points) that Uzbekistan faces a serious threat from Islamic fundamentalists both outside the country (from Afghanistan and Tajikistan ) and internally (for instance, starting in the 1980s, Saudi-funded Wahhabis infiltrated the Fergana Valley ). Fortunately he is committed to a vision of a stable, open, democratic state respecting the rights of everyone, so that's nice.

And yet … and yet. Uzbekistan on the Threshold was an extremely difficult read. It is excruciatingly boring; although not pathological-boring like the works of Kim Jong Il or Ayatollah Khomeini , whose books have a hallucinatory intensity about them, rendering the experience of their prose akin to reading trippy SF. Not having lived in the open air prisons they have built I use those deathly volumes as psychic gateways into hell-worlds.

Karimov by contrast is boring in a Clinton/Blair way. Indeed, Karimov's bland liberalism sounds as if it may have been written by a Clinton adviser sometime in the mid-1990s. And aside from a brief and lacklustre diversion into nation-building with the fictional claim that the (non-Uzbek) 14th-century conqueror Timur /Tamerlane was the father of the Uzbek nation, Karimov cleaves stubbornly to his centrist, moderate line. Indeed, reading his book is like sitting through a very tedious conference on growth and development in the developing world, watching as self-righteous NGO-jetsetters in expensive suits deliver platitude after platitude, shortly before they head off into the night to fornicate with emaciated young flesh, and possibly eat a still-warm human liver, freshly plucked from its victim's corpse.

That is to say, Uzbekistan on the Threshold makes you feel rather sick - because of course, Karimov is not a liberal at all, but rather a man who stands accused of deploying torture against his enemies, of failing to distinguish between Islamists and devout Muslims and oppressing both with extreme violence; of rigging elections; and most notoriously of ordering the massacre at Andijan where Uzbek forces fired upon a crowd of protesters, leaving hundreds dead. Clearly he doesn't believe a word he says, does he?

Well, you never know. Some time ago a man who was a student in Tashkent during the 1990s told me about the publication of this book. It was all over the media, he said, and student groups were encouraged to discuss its contents. And they did just that. And almost immediately they were told to stop, because it is filled with democratic, liberal ideas. The students had forgotten that since Karimov is a dictator, there was only one interpretation of those ideas; and perhaps Karimov, in his authoritarian isolation had forgotten that too; surrounded by sycophants he had come to believe his own hype.

And so Karimov carries on oppressing minorities, the opposition, religious people, and basically anyone who disagrees with him. Then again, he does dedicate the first 70 pages of the book to "Threats to Stability and Security". Fortunately for Karimov, being a dictator, he gets to decide what that means, and what to do about it.

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Dictator-lit

As their tyrant nears his end, the people of Uzbekistan hold their breath

WHETHER Islam Karimov, who has ruled Uzbekistan with astounding brutality for the past 27 years, is dead or alive, his era is almost certainly drawing to a close. Two questions now hover over his hapless people. Who will succeed him? And will they get a better deal? The one they have suffered under for so long could hardly be worse. Of the five post-Soviet regimes in Central Asia, Uzbekistan’s is widely regarded as the nastiest, its leader the most mercilessly paranoid.

News of Mr Karimov’s death went viral among Central Asia watchers on Twitter on August 29th, when it was reported by Ferghana News, an independent Moscow-based agency that focuses on Central Asia, citing unidentified sources. Rumours of the 78-year-old president’s imminent demise have circulated for years in Tashkent, the capital, but this time they were more solid. In its first official announcement concerning the president’s health, the secretive regime revealed that Mr Karimov was in hospital with an undisclosed ailment. His daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, then took to Instagram, admitting that her father had suffered a stroke. His condition, she said, was stable, his prognosis unknown. Celebrations for independence day on September 1st were cancelled. The government has not yet reacted to reports of the president’s death.

If he is dead, what next? Mr Karimov has not publicly planned for a transition from his rule, which began in 1989 when the Kremlin appointed him as communist boss of Uzbekistan. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, he became president of an independent state. Mr Karimov has clung to power by rigging elections—last year he was re-elected with supposedly 90% of the vote—and by ruthlessly crushing dissent. In 2005 his security forces gunned down demonstrators in the turbulent city of Andijan. The official tally of victims was 187; independent observers put the figure at between 300 and 1,000.

Torture is “endemic in the criminal-justice system”, says Human Rights Watch, a New York-based monitor, which describes the country’s record under Mr Karimov as “atrocious”. Tales of prisoners being boiled alive surfaced in 2002. Political opposition and independent media are banned. Some 10,000 political prisoners languish in jails. Though most Uzbekistanis are secular-minded and practise an easy-going brand of Islam, extremism is festering thanks to the repression of any form of religious opposition. Hundreds of Uzbeks are thought to be fighting for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. A citizen of Uzbekistan is among those suspected of attacking Istanbul airport in June.

Uzbekistan’s clans have been jockeying over the succession for years, eager to preserve the economic spoils amassed during Mr Karimov’s long rule. Unless it has been secretly settled already, a power struggle is likely to intensify. Outside powers will also be manoeuvring. Russia, the former colonial master, will be eager to assert its interest in what the Kremlin sees as its backyard. China, with its more mercantile approach, will want to secure its gas imports. And the United States will continue to woo Uzbekistan as an ally in the war against terrorism, mindful of the country’s border with Afghanistan.

The president’s eldest daughter, Gulnara Karimova, was once groomed to inherit the crown, but a few years ago she had a spectacular fall from grace, leaving the family tainted by scandal. In 2014 she was put under house arrest in Tashkent and may be nervously awaiting her fate in a post-Karimov era. The presidency may yet be kept in the family through the president’s younger daughter, Lola, a sworn enemy of Gulnara, but she and her businessman husband, Timur Tillyaev, are not thought to be part of the ruling circle.

Spooks and stalwarts

Two long-serving insiders probably have better chances: Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the prime minister, and Rustam Azimov, his deputy, though some say Mr Azimov has been arrested. Others say that Rustam Inoyatov, head of the National Security Service, the country’s most powerful and most fearsome institution, will be the final arbiter and that he may arrange for a dark horse to emerge.

Whoever succeeds him, Mr Karimov will bequeath a troubled legacy. Though Uzbekistan is the most populous of the “stans”, with 31m people and plenty of minerals, and was once widely considered the most hopeful, it has become an economic basket-case, riddled with corruption and run along Soviet lines. A black market flourishes. Foreign investors are deterred by a history of assets grabbed. Vested interests in Tashkent rake in the cash from exports of gas, gold and cotton (reaped by a million forced labourers every year), while ordinary Uzbeks struggle to get by. Many depend on remittances from migrants to Russia, but these are dwindling as recession bites there, too.

Whoever succeeds Mr Karimov has an unenviable choice. He (or conceivably she) could use the same brutal methods to stem the torrent of disaffection that may burst forth after his demise, or he could loosen up a little and risk being swept away in a deluge of popular anger. Many analysts are pessimistic. “The system that Karimov built can continue after him, self-replicating regardless of who sits at the top,” says Daniil Kislov, editor of Ferghana News. “There will not be a thaw.”

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “An ailing despot”

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With Uzbekistan’s Ruler Gravely Ill, Questions Arise on Succession

By Neil MacFarquhar

Aug. 29, 2016

MOSCOW — The authoritarian president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, who has ruled the isolated Central Asian country for more than 25 years using old Soviet methods like forced labor for cotton harvesting, has been hospitalized with a stroke, his younger daughter announced Monday on Facebook.

Later on Monday, Ferghana, an Uzbek website banned at home since 2005, reported that Mr. Karimov had died in the afternoon, citing sources outside the government. The report was widely repeated by independent news outlets in Russia.

There was no official confirmation, however, and Russian outlets, such as the state-run RIA Novosti agency, quoted unidentified government officials in Uzbekistan as saying that the president remained alive and in stable condition.

The nightly news on the main Uzbekistan television channel did not refer to the story at all, mentioning the president as the active leader.

Daniil Kislov, the Moscow-based editor of Ferghana , said a “Brezhnev scenario” was possible, referring to the delayed announcement of the Soviet leader’s death in 1982.

Under the Constitution, upon Mr. Karimov’s death, the head of Uzbekistan’s Senate would run the country for three months to allow for new presidential elections. Presidential elections in Uzbekistan have always come with a known outcome.

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President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan dies at age 78

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MOSCOW (AP) — Islam Karimov, who crushed all opposition in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan as its only president in a quarter-century of independence from the Soviet Union, has died of a stroke at age 78, the Uzbek government announced Friday.

Karimov will be buried Saturday in the ancient city of Samarkand, his birthplace, the government said in a statement.

His younger daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, said in a social media post Monday that he had been hospitalized in the capital of Tashkent after a brain hemorrhage Aug. 27. On Friday, she posted again, saying: “He is gone.”

Little other information was available. Media freedom and human rights have been harshly repressed ever since he became leader in 1989 while it was still a republic of the Soviet Union.

One of the world’s most authoritarian rulers, Karimov cultivated no apparent successor, and his death raised concerns that the predominantly Sunni Muslim country could face prolonged infighting among clans over its leadership, something its Islamic radical movement could exploit.

“The death of Islam Karimov may open a pretty dangerous period of unpredictability and uncertainty in Uzbekistan,” Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told the Tass news agency.

Given the lack of access to the strategic country, it’s hard to judge how powerful the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan might be. Over the years, the group has been affiliated with the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, and it has sent fighters abroad.

Under the Uzbek constitution, if the president dies his duties pass temporarily to the head of the senate until an election can be held within three months. However, the head of the Uzbek senate is regarded as unlikely to seek permanent power and Karimov’s demise is expected to set off a period of jockeying for political influence.

Karimov was known as a tyrant with an explosive temper and a penchant for cruelty. His troops machine-gunned hundreds of unarmed demonstrators to death during a 2005 uprising, he jailed thousands of political opponents, and his henchmen reportedly boiled some dissidents to death.

He came under widespread international criticism from human rights groups, but because of Uzbekistan’s location as a vital supply route for the war in neighboring Afghanistan, the West sometimes turned a blind eye to his worst abuses.

Noting Karimov’s death, President Barack Obama said in a statement the U.S. “reaffirms its support for the people of Uzbekistan.”

“This week, I congratulated President Karimov and the people of Uzbekistan on their country’s 25 years of independence,” Obama said in the statement. “As Uzbekistan begins a new chapter in its history, the United States remains committed to partnership with Uzbekistan, to its sovereignty, security, and to a future based on the rights of all its citizens.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was “saddened” at Karimov’s death and paid tribute to his efforts “to develop strong ties between Uzbekistan and the United Nations as well as strengthen regional and global peace and security,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Ban singled out Karimov’s promotion of the treaty to establish the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone which entered into force in 2009.

China’s Foreign Ministry called Karimov “a sincere friend” who promoted a strategic partnership between the two countries. His death “is a great loss of the Uzbek people,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, according to state media.

Uzbekistan, a country of 30 million people famous for its apricot orchards, cotton fields and ancient stone cities along the Silk Road, had been one of the Muslim world’s paragons of art and learning.

But Karimov cracked down on any form of Islam that wasn’t patently subservient to him. His leadership style was epitomized by propaganda posters often displayed in Uzbekistan that depicted him alongside Tamerlane, a 14th-century emperor who had conquered a vast region of West, South and Central Asia.

He was known to shout and swear at officials during meetings and it was widely rumored that in bursts of anger he would beat officials and throw ashtrays at them.

Under Karimov, the economy remained centralized, with a handful of officials controlling the most lucrative industries and trade. A 1996 ban on the free convertibility of the national currency, the som, blocked trade and foreign investment, while unemployment soared and poverty was widespread.

Endemic corruption stymied development, despite considerable resources of natural gas and gold, along with its cotton exports. Millions of Uzbeks have flooded into Russia and neighboring Kazakhstan to support their families with remittances that amount to a sizable part of the country’s GDP.

Karimov was suspicious of the West and infuriated by its criticism of his human rights record, but he also dreaded Islamic militancy, fearing it could grow into a strong opposition.

He unleashed a harsh campaign against Muslims starting in 1997 and intensifying in 1999 after eight car bombs exploded near key government buildings in Tashkent. The explosions killed 16 people and wounded more than 100.

“I am ready to rip off the heads of 200 people, to sacrifice their lives, for the sake of peace and tranquility in the country,” Karimov said afterward. “If a child of mine chose such a path, I myself would rip off his head.”

In the next few years, thousands of Muslims who practiced their faith outside government-controlled mosques were rounded up and jailed for alleged links to banned Islamic groups.

In 2004, a series of bombings and attacks on police killed more than 50 people and sparked a new wave of arrests and convictions.

Following 9/11, the West overlooked Karimov’s harsh policies and cut a deal with him in 2001 to use Uzbekistan’s Karshi-Khanabad air base for combat missions in Afghanistan.

During a May 2005 uprising in the eastern city of Andijan, Uzbek troops fired on demonstrators, killing more than 700 people, according to witnesses and human rights groups. It was the world’s worst massacre of protesters since the 1989 bloodbath in China’s Tiananmen Square.

Angered by U.S. criticism of the crackdown, Karimov evicted U.S. forces from the base.

He later quietly softened his position, allowing Uzbekistan to be part of the Northern Distribution Network supply route for Afghanistan, whose utility declined when Russia dropped out of the network in 2015. The United States in turn agreed to start the sale of non-lethal military goods to his regime.

Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov was born on Jan. 30, 1938, and studied economics and engineering in what was then a Soviet republic, rising through the Communist Party bureaucracy.

In 1989, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made Karimov Uzbekistan’s Communist Party chief in the wake of a huge corruption scandal that involved top Uzbek officials. At the time, Karimov was seen as a hard-working and uncorrupt Communist.

On March 24, 1990, the local parliament elected him president of the Uzbek Socialist Republic, and in December 1991, just days after the Soviet Union ceased to exist, Karimov won the presidency in a popular vote.

Shaken by a series of ethnic and religious riots in the turbulent years surrounding the Soviet collapse, Karimov was obsessed with stability and security. He said Uzbekistan would follow its own path of reform and would build democracy and a market economy without the turmoil and crises of most other former Soviet nations.

After his 1991 election, the fledgling democratic opposition was banned and forced into exile. The media were muzzled by censorship. Law enforcement and security services grew increasingly powerful and abusive, and the use of torture in prisons was labeled “systematic” by international observers.

Karimov’s death would “mark the end of an era in Uzbekistan, but almost certainly not the pattern of grave human rights abuses, said Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International. “His successor is likely to come from Karimov’s closest circle, where dissenting minds have never been tolerated.”

Karimov was a distant leader. His annual New Year’s address to the nation was always read by a TV anchor. His wife rarely appeared in public, and his vacations were never announced.

But the public was constantly reminded of his leadership by banners with quotes from his speeches posted on buildings and billboards.

All of his election victories were landslides, but none were recognized as free or fair by international observers. His only challenger in 2000, Abdulkhafiz Dzhalolov, said he himself voted for Karimov.

His nephew, opposition journalist Jamshid Karimov, was forcibly committed to a psychiatric institution after a series of articles criticizing his uncle and other officials.

Karimov’s oldest daughter, Gulnara, generated media buzz over her immense wealth, fashion shows and music videos done under the stage name GooGoosha. Sometimes touted as a potential successor, she was both admired and despised at home.

In 2014, she used her Twitter account to accuse Uzbekistan’s security services of orchestrating a campaign of harassment against her and deceiving her father. Her tweets then stopped, prompting speculation that she and her 15-year-old daughter were under house arrest in Tashkent.

Word of Karimov’s death began spreading even before the Uzbek government announced it Friday night, with officials in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan saying leaders from those countries would attend his funeral and the Turkish prime minister offering condolences. Uzbekistan celebrated its Independence Day on Thursday, which is perhaps why the government had delayed any news about Karimov.

Photos carried Friday by the respected Central Asian news website Fergana.ru showed what appeared to be undertakers in Samarkand working on a plot in the cemetery where Karimov’s family is buried.

The Samarkand airport said it would be closed to all flights except specially approved aircraft Saturday, according to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s website.

Uzbek opposition blogger Nadezhda Atayeva said Friday that Uzbek authorities appeared to be cracking down on communication channels. Speaking from western France, she said an opposition contact told her via Skype that government officials had been told to turn off their phones and Internet speeds had slowed. As he spoke, she said, the signal went dead.

Associated Press writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Angela Charlton in Paris and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

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Uzbekistan’s Karimov Leaves Behind a Legacy of Repression, Slavery, and Kleptocracy

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Uzbekistan’s founding president has plenty of atrocities to his name.

Uzbekistan’s Karimov Leaves Behind a Legacy of Repression, Slavery, and Kleptocracy

With reports of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s death effectively confirmed , the outlines of the now-former leader’s legacy can begin to take shape. While Karimov can retain credit for leading Uzbekistan through its first quarter-century of independent statehood, the predominance of Karimov’s most notable achievements dovetail directly from the human rights restrictions — and, in certain cases, horrors — rampant under his stewardship. Moreover, his regime and family have managed to not only establish mechanisms of autocracy other post-Soviet autocracies have mimicked, but they’ve managed, over the past few years, to lead a parallel, record-setting campaign of kleptocracy.

To be sure, some of the domestic realities Karimov left behind weren’t necessarily the most appalling internationally, based on available metrics. Rather, they’re merely indicative of the domestic repression brought to bear under Karimov. For instance, while not the worst globally, Uzbekistan under Karimov had both a lower score than Saudi Arabia in Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index and a worse score in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index than Zimbabwe. Karimov’s Uzbekistan also found itself among the 17 worst countries internationally for religious freedom, per the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom , and, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists , was one of only two post-Soviet countries in the top 15 globally for the total number of journalists jailed. And according to Freedom House — with whom, in the interest of disclosure, I’ve worked in the past — Uzbekistan was not only one of ten nations labeled as the “ Worst of the Worst ” in 2015, but has received the worst possible score every year since 2006.

But there are metrics and events that allowed Karimov to outpace his authoritarian peers, both regionally and internationally. Due to the country’s cotton industry, the Walk Free Foundation tabulated that Uzbekistan challenged North Korea for the world’s highest rate of domestic slavery, coming in at nearly 4 percent of the population . Karimov’s daughter, Gulnara Karimova, further partook in a record-setting kleptocratic drive, linked to more than $1 billion in bribes . As a result, she’s currently involved in the most substantial case the U.S. Department of Justice has ever opened within its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. Karimov’s other daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, has also been tied to multiple luxury residences in the United States and at least one shell company. (Karimov also earned another regional record: recipient of the largest single military donation the U.S. had ever offered to Central Asia.)

On the human rights front, it will remain difficult to slip into hyperbole in describing the security state, and attendant suffering, constructed under Karimov’s regime. Not only will Karimov leave behind some 10,000 political prisoners in the country’s fetid jails — prisoners the International Committee of the Red Cross will no longer visit — but he will also leave a legacy of imprisoning opposition figures for improperly wearing slippers and “ incorrectly peeling carrots .” And then, of course, there’s the Andijan massacre , one of the largest government-led slaughters since Tiananmen Square . Finally, he’ll have the legacy of having led the only modern regime known to boil dissidents to death .

There are also the little things — the innovations, the pioneering, the tweaks toward authoritarianism that caught on, and spread elsewhere. As Freedom House’s Nate Schenkkan summed ,

Much political science attention is now given to how authoritarian governments learn from each other and share techniques, with a disproportionate focus in Europe and Eurasia on Russia as the innovator, spreading ideas like labeling nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, “foreign agents.” But Uzbekistan was the region’s original pioneer: banning all unregistered religious activity in 1998; expelling nearly all foreign NGOs in 2005-2006; blocking access to social media platforms; kidnapping dissidents and secretly delivering them to prisons; and assassinating exiles in countries as diverse as Sweden and Turkey .

These are some of the highlights — some of the record-setting abominations; some of the neo-Stalinist innovations — girding Karimov’s legacy. Recent prisoner releases have pointed to a slight softening in the regime’s rule, but only barely. Karimov’s successor, whomever he (or she) will be, will inherit a regime whose legacy competes with Ashgabat, Pyongyang, and Beijing in terms of both human rights violations and unabated kleptocracy. While he stewarded a sovereign Uzbekistan through a quarter-century of independence, Karimov managed to entrench a regime — a regime that will remain — whose legacy will come weighted with the memories of Andijan, political decimation, and dictatorial tactics swiped in appreciation by autocrats who looked to Karimov as an example.

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Islam Karimov was named founding father of Uzbekistan, who pulled the country from would-be collapse after the evaporation of USSR; and built present-day Uzbekistan relying on the following sources of political philosophy: hierarchy of power, where president is the main state engine and step-by-step transition to democracy - an aversion to the dark Soviet past and vigorous endeavors to fill ideological and cultural vacuums; revitalization and revival of the economy by promoting diversification, protectionism and realistic conduct in foreign policy, which was based on balancing and geographical rationale.

Independence is priceless, since it is a matter of "blood and iron" [1] ; however, far more invaluable is to preserve it, along with preserving sovereignty – as being independent without the latter is to be as though a bird without wings. The independence of Uzbekistan was not gained through “blood and iron”, but abruptly granted after an unexpected demise of the Soviet Union. Having been on the brink of ruin, Central Asian Republics, inclusively Uzbekistan, were “ballasts for Russia” [2] . “Why should we bail out these strife-torn regions of Central Asia, who share nothing with us? We should be much better off on our own…” [3] , said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, one of the principal economic advisers to President Yeltsin. And Uzbekistan was left with harsh socio-economic situation to row it alone. Nevertheless, devoutness, foresight, courage and leadership of the first President Islam Karimov were pertinent to overcome all possible hurdles. Karimov was named founding father of Uzbekistan not for gaining independence, but for being guided by his wise political vision, did not let the country mushroom into chaos as in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that still cannot recover from, for preserving sovereignty and lying solid bedrock for further development.

Karimov appeared in the right place at the right time. Uzbekistan was in need of courageous leader indeed, who would save the country from collapse. Many can think that these are high-sounding and empty words, but his assertiveness and courage were manifested in three slips. The first slip to the Communistic Party was in the cabinet meeting held on June 24, 1989, when he said: “Henceforth, we cannot keep living the old way, and the time itself will not enable us” [4] . The second slip was on October 21, 1989 – enactment of a bill “On state language”, when Uzbek became the state language. And the third one was in 1990, when the institution of presidency was established in Uzbekistan, where Islam Karimov became the second President after Mikhail Gorbachev himself. These steps are worthy of commendation, since they were the messages implying lurch for independence, and should be evaluated as courageous acts because totalitarian Communist Party was alive and still able to suppress opposition.

The other bright example of the embodiment of his courage was the Namangan events. After gaining independence, a group of diversionists, on December 9, 1991, took hostages in the building of executive committee in Namangan, and made an emotional appeal to establish Islamic Republic of Uzbekistan. Having been a candidate for the Presidency, Islam Karimov came to Namangan the next morning. He entered the building alone, and went unguarded and unescorted into the mob, poisoned by the ideas of religious dogmatism. Taking away the microphone from Tohir Yo?ldoshev (cofounder of terroristic organization the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, now Turkestan), Karimov asserted that it is impossible to build Islamic state in Uzbekistan. (These fragments were recorded [5] ).

Whatever reform took place in Uzbekistan, it was the initiative of the president. Karimov became the engine of the whole state policy and was the generator of reforms. This was predominantly on his own, because during the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s there were few whom he could rely on in conducting state policy: there was a shortage of qualified workers in public management sphere. Hence, on April 19, 1995 Islam Karimov signed the decree “On establishing State and Nation building Academy under the President of Uzbekistan” [6] , which produced several sophisticated politicians who nowadays hold state positions and on August 29, 1997 law “On national manpower development programme” was adopted.

“Realists value order above freedom: for them the latter becomes important only after the former has been established” [7] , said Robert Kaplan. Logic behind his incremental approach in reaching democratic society was to preserve order. After gaining independence, Karimov realistically perceived that Uzbekistanis are not ready for sheer democracy, because having been in the grip of totalitarian regime of USSR for so long time, they did not know what the democracy is. To reach it, a step-by-step, not "shock therapy", should be resorted to, planned Karimov; otherwise Fergana and Namangan events could break out once more, which could have spillover effect encompassing the whole Uzbekistan.

His words were not as a token gesture to mislead the world community, but gradually Karimov started implementing democratic reforms. At first, a unicameral parliament was established in 1994, then, in 2004, a bicameral parliament – Oliy Majlis (Senate and Legislative Chamber) – started functioning [8] . Moreover, the role and the place of women in politics and society have increased steadily. In 1991, the Business Women's Association of Uzbekistan was established and it still promotes women`s interests in this realm. The number of women represented in the government and parliament is quite representative. For example, in the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis, 16 per cent are women and in the Senate – 17 per cent [9] , taking into account that Svetlana Artikova is the Deputy Chairman of Senate.

“…The sculptor can more easily carve a fair statue from a rough block, than from the block which has been badly shaped out by another” [10] , said Niccolo Machiavelli. An aversion to the dark past in the political view of Karimov manifested itself in almost every book of him. It was directed to carve badly-shaped-by-others block – to the current and younger generation so as to show them how thorny and dark past the Uzbeks experienced under the yoke of USSR. “Without being aware and having any intention to familiarize with the richest history and culture of the people and unique features of the region, they (communists) began to break down and change the life of the republic in a different, bad, way. …persecution of customs, traditions and culture was unleashed; the scope of the Uzbek language usage was circumscribed. Even wearing national costumes were prohibited. The situation even reached a point that people were even afraid of celebrating weddings, organizing funerals in accordance with longstanding traditions”, said Islam Karimov [11] . Always reminding others of the dark past, the first President cordially strived to reshape the current (older) generation that still had a persistent communistic mindset and to make the younger generation keep the terrible past the Uzbeks experienced in their minds.

“Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev have had no uplifting ideas to offer, no ideology of any kind, in fact: what they do have in their favor is only geography. And that is not enough” [12] , said Robert Kaplan. That is not enough to build “healthy”, with strong immunity and patriotism, nation. Recently, I participated in the conference at Higher School of Economics, Moscow. Getting acquainted with the Russian people, I hardly heard any good words from them about their Motherland: they spoke mostly on the shortages of Russia and only, notwithstanding the latter is a great power. This was unpardonable overlook of the Kremlin. That is why, ideological, cultural and identical issues kept in step along with economic and social reforms in the political philosophy of Karimov.

“Along with making every possible effort our generation to be as good, wealthy and sufficient as other nations, moral (ma'naviy-ma'rifiy) education plays equally paramount role. If we dismiss this important factor, then we will lose our sacred values and historical memories once and for all” [13] , said Islam Karimov. With the aim of implementing aforesaid, “The idea of national independence” as a subject has been taught at secondary and high schools from 1993 and “National idea: main conceptions and principles” – at higher education institutions. Furthermore, there have been TV programs, documentaries, and family films inextricably interlinked with culture and history of Uzbekistan and intra-family relations which have been broadcasted often.

Aversion to the Soviet past did not spring from nowhere, but – besides being culturally suppressed by communist ideology prohibiting practicing religion and customs – harsh socio-economic situation in Uzbekistan. Describing social and economic situation in the country, Karimov wrote: “Statistics show that the per capita income of about 9 million or 45 per cent of population of Uzbekistan does not exceed 75 rubles. And if you take into account that the minimum subsistence level is evaluated in about 85 rubles, you can judge for yourself how difficult it is for these people to make ends meet today. … One cannot consider the situation normal when only 5 percent of rural residents are provided with sewage and water supply, about 50 percent with normal drinking water, 17 percent with natural gas, etc.” [14]

Furthermore, Uzbekistan within the Soviet Union, was no more than raw materials' source for the Center. “Cotton fiber went and goes beyond Uzbekistan at low fixed prices, and what do we get? We get 84 percent of the labor input from cultivating cotton and only 16 percent of the income from its primary processing. Other republics receiving our cotton – the inverse proportion: a ready-made shirt, woven and sewn in Russia brings a huge profit. It means that we work hard by the sweat of our brow and others gain profit. That is what it means to be a “cotton workshop” of the country” [15] , said Karimov.

Stemming from these factors, revitalization and revival of the economy by promoting diversification and protectionism became part and parcel of his philosophy. The only way Karimov thought success could be achieved was diversifying the economy that had been the victim of monoculture of cotton. Initially, he diversified agricultural sector. Before, farming lands were only for cotton cultivation, then the government started giving lands for growing vegetables. As a result, “in 2000 the sown area in comparison with 1985 declined by 25.7% and the gross cotton harvest – by 30%, respectively” [16] . Then, government activated privatization policy very quickly. As for fostering domestic markets, the government increased protectionism. If the price of foreign-made car “A” cost, let’s say, 10 000 USD, then an imported one costs double - 20 000 USD. It was far cheaper for people to buy domestic cars. Moreover, Uzbekistan has been skeptical about free-trade agreements, especially with economic giants. The result is not bad. If the economy of Kazakhstan depends on petrodollars, Turkmenistan – on gas export, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on revenues coming from migrant workers abroad (mainly Russia and Kazakhstan), then Uzbekistan has nothing to be used by outer powers to leverage our economy and, and consequently our policy, since it has been diversified.

Given its geographic location and the deep scars left from the Soviet past, Islam Karimov had to be a proponent of the main principles of Realpolitik, which provided stability and inviolability of sovereignty in Uzbekistan. “…the legacies of geography, history, and culture really do set limits on what can be accomplished in any given place” [17] , said Robert Kaplan. The situation was fragile after the demise of USSR, because the legacies of territorial delimitation undertaken in 1924 resurfaced when Central Asian republics have become independent: territories ethnically belonging to Uzbekistan had become part of Kyrgyzstan and the same with Tajikistan. On top of this, water problems became strained (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, being upstream countries that used water as the leverage over downstream counties, as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). Provided the abovementioned factors, outer powers found a golden opportunity to wedge into regional issues, and it laid a path for New Great Game in Central Asia. Taking into consideration these realities, Islam Karimov resorted to the art of balancing.

“The balance of power”, according to Mackinder, “because it grants each nation its security, forms the very basis of freedom” [18] . The way Karimov used this tool was quite different than what great powers do. Actually, what the school of political realism considers is great power politics: whatever principles proponents of Realpolitik elaborate, they are directed at relations between “superpowers”, and minor states are no more than their objects. But the first President of Uzbekistan did vice versa: he considered “superpowers” conversely, as objects in his political philosophy. Keeping a balance in cooperation between Russia, USA, and China and conducting multi-vector foreign policy, he made these powers compete with each other in the region. Notwithstanding the competition for these powers was zero-sum game, Uzbekistan benefited from this, since great powers were striving for attracting the attention of Uzbekistan in order the latter to choose one of them to closely cooperate. For example, the only one who could say “No” was Karimov. Several times, Uzbekistan’s membership in CSTO was suspended (while no one member could do this because of fear of Russian aggression). Moreover, in spite of several provocations by Russia to pull Uzbekistan back to the Organization, Karimov withstood them. Russia launched missiles in Syria from Caspian Sea [19] , which could be evaluated as provocation directed at Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (countries out of CSTO).

Also, periodical publications and announcements of Russian officials about the threat of ISIS from Afghanistan (IRA) were directed at misleading neighboring IRA countries - because the number of ISIS militants is unable to threaten Central Asia. Karimov could say “No” to the military base of USA in Khanabad in 2005 after Andijan events. Uzbekistan said “No” to the Chinese economic expansion in the region, rejecting free-trade agreement with SCO. The foothold behind Uzbekistan that allowed it to say “No” was Karimov`s art of balancing. Islam Karimov could preserve the sovereignty of the country.

Geography also played its own part in the foreign policy philosophy of Karimov. As Napoleon said, “to know a nation's geography is to know its foreign policy” [20] . Uzbekistan is one of the two countries that is double landlocked (the second one is Liechtenstein). Given this factor, Karimov could not ignore adjacent countries, since in order to have an access to the Indian Ocean or connect with other economies such as China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and others, for good or ill, he had to cooperate with neighboring countries for them to provide transition to Uzbekistan. Hence, Central Asia has been designated as a priority in foreign policy concept of Uzbekistan [21] . More important, Karimov wanted to unite the region. He said: “All the Central Asian states must get together to form a new confederation…” [22] , what now new President Shavkat Mirziyoyev continues.

On September 1, 2016, on the day when the whole nation celebrates Independence, the first President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov passed away. Notwithstanding, the independence was not achieved, but granted, is associated with Islam Karimov. Owing to his wise political philosophy, Uzbekistan stands on its own feet today, conducting sovereign domestic and external policies. After assuming power, Shavkat Mirziyoyev asserted that the new administration would follow his suit. In order to understand the internal situation in Uzbekistan and its foreign policy conduct, one should take into account that the role of leader is paramount. An incremental approach in reaching democracy take: dealing with the Soviet past of the country, diversification, protectionism in economic sphere, and geographic rationale and balancing in foreign policy.

Otabek Akromov is currently a senior student at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, majoring in International Relations. He is a research assistant in Center for Advanced International Studies. His research interests lie in the area of security, religion, anthropology and ideology. Otabek is also a close observer of new trends and developments in Middle East and Central Asia.

[1] Otto von Bismarck.Politics is the art of the possible. Centrpoligraf Press, 2015. p. 27.

[2] Russia is losing the struggle for Central Asia to China. October 1, 2009. Retrieved from https://regnum.ru/news/1210913.html

[3] Rahsid A. The resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism? Oxford University Press, 1994. p. 3.

[4] «Uzbek Model» – main factor of wellbeing of our nation. July 24, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.uza.uz/ru/business/uzbekskaya-model-razvitiya-vazhnyi-faktor-blagopoluchiya-nashego-naroda-24.07.2013-24498

[5] Islam Karimov in Namangan, 1991. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqf_8zGIrMg

[6] Decree of the President of Uzbekistan. Tashkent, April 19, 1995. Retrieved from http://lex.uz/pages/getpage.aspx?lact_id=181727

[7] Kaplan R. The revenge of geography: what the map tells us about coming conflicts and the battle against fate. Random House, New York, 2012. p. 24.

[8] The history of development of parliamentarianism in Uzbekistan. Retrieved from http://senat.uz/ru/about/

[9] The role of women in politics is gradually increasing . November 6, 2016. Retrieved from http://uzbekistan.lv/zhenshhiny-uzbekistana-igrayut-vse-bolshuyu-rol-v-politike/#

[10] Machiavelli N. Discourses on the first decade of Titus Livius. The Project Gutenberg EBook, p.41. Retrieved from www.gutenberg.org/etext/10827

[11] Karimov I. O'zbekiston mustaqillikka erishish ostonasida, Uzbekistan, 2011. p. 145

[12] Slaughter A. Power Shifts: The Revenge of Geography, by Robert D. Kaplan. October 5, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/books/review/the-revenge-of-geography-by-robert-d-kaplan.html

[13] Karimov I. Yuksak ma'naviyat – yengilmas kuch. Toshkent « Ma'naviyat », 2008. p. 3-4.

[14] Karimov I. O'zbekiston mustaqillikka erishish ostonasida, Uzbekistan, 2011. p. 28-30

[15] Ibid. p. 306

[16] Cotton sector of Uzbekistan: priorities and perspectives. February 15, 2000. Retrieved from http://rustm.net/catalog/article/690.html

[17] Kaplan R. The revenge of geography: what the map tells us about coming conflicts and the battle against fate. Random House, New York, 2012. p. 23.

[18] Mackinder H. J. Democratic Ideals and Reality: A Study in Politics of Reconstruction. Washington, DC: National Defense University, 1919, 1942, p. 205; Parker W. H., Mackinder: Geography as an Aid to Statecraft. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, pp. 211– 12.

[19] Gander K. Russia launches missiles at 'Isis targets' in Syria from Caspian Sea - as Turkey claims Moscow is targeting rebels. October 7, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/russia-in-syria-russia-launches-missiles-against-isis-from-caspian-sea-a6684631.html

[20] Brzezinski Z. The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives. New York: Basic Books, 1997, p. 37.

[21] Foreign policy concept of Uzbekistan prohibits foreign military bases. August 3, 2012. Retrieved from http://vestikavkaza.ru/news/Kontseptsiya-vneshnepoliticheskoy-deyatelnosti-Uzbekistana-vvodit-zapret-na-inostrannye-voennye-bazy.html

[22] Rahsid A. The resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism? Oxford University Press, 1994. p. 4.


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