Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The State of Affairs in Uzbekistan

We spent a day and a half hiking with Mr. S and he shared quite a bit about his thoughts on the world as an Uzbek. I had this incredible privilege to learn about some current affairs in this region, which is not widely known to the world.

Uzbekistan as Part of Central Asia

Mr. S said that Uzbekistan has a cordial relationship with the rest of Central Asia. In terms of culture and language, the people of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan share enough similarities that they can basically understand each other’s language. Tajikistan is a little bit different, because the Tajik language has roots in Persian. The Tajiks do speak Russian, however, just like their neighbors in Central Asia. Furthermore, he mentioned Afghanistan being on especially good terms with Uzbekistan. I did not ask for the reason, but it is likely to be trade-related.

An interesting cultural aspect of Central Asia that Mr. S told us had to do with the nomadic nature of the region’s peoples. The Kyrgyzsts and the Kazakhs are nomadic. In fact, the Kazakhs are still nomadic today. In contrast, the Uzbeks are settlers. This explains the reason why Uzbekistan has very developed, heritage-heavy and commercially-focused cities. For travelling to other countries in Central Asia, the visitor would have be looking to activities in the outdoors and the nature instead.

All Central Asian countries have a close relationship with Turkey. The people of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, especially, are eager to work in Turkey. The current education in Uzbekistan demands three compulsory languages for Uzbekistan’s children, namely Uzbek, Russian and English. Indeed, we have run into many youths who spoke very good English and approached us wanting to do language exchange. In his generation, however, Mr. S learned Uzbek and Russian. Most older generations of Uzbeks have Russian fluency.

Uzbekistan as Part of the Former Soviet Union

The country’s relationship with current Russia, however, is anything but amiable. “We don’t like the Russians,” said Mr. S in a candidness that typified our conversations throughout. He wasn’t referring to the Russians that live in Uzbekistan, for the relations amongst the different peoples within the country remain peaceful. After Uzbekistan became independent in 1991, the Russian population in the country mostly moved to settle down in Tashkent.

What Mr. S had a rancor with are the Russians as they conduct themselves in world affairs, as a nation that has maintained a strongman’s presence in this part of the world in the post-Soviet Union era. In particular, of course, the way that they deal with Uzbekistan.

At 34 years of age, Mr. S does remember the times of the Soviet Union. In his early years at school, he was taught to believe that Amir Timur was a bloodthirsty monster killer. While this may very well be a historical fact, he knew that the Soviet education that he received has aimed to manipulate the population away from any sense of attachment to a national hero. Needless to say, nobody would be taught the atrocities of Soviet Union under the Stalin times.

While the times of demonizing Amir Timur has certainly passed, there are ways in which Russia still manipulates Uzbekistan in their commercial dealings. Uzbekistan has a natural endowment rich in natural gas. The Uzbeks split its resources into three provisions: for themselves, for Europe and for Russia. Russia has come to own their share of the natural gas resources in Uzbekistan. They threatened the Uzbeks, “if you do not let us have your natural gas for free, we will turn off your natural gas.” In effect Russia is asking the Uzbeks to give them the natural gas for free and then demand the Uzbeks to pay for this gas.

The relationship between Russia and Uzbekistan as it concerns energy exports has complicated historical and practical roots. Energy security is certainly viewed by Moscow to have immense strategic significance both economically and politically. For the Uzbeks, a rising need for energy for its winters have resulted in their not being able to meet export obligations to other countries, namely China.

Needless to say, we were curious about the Uzbek’s view on the War of Ukraine. When Russia just invaded Ukraine, the outgoing Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan denounced Russia. Ukraine was long a friend with Uzbekistan, especially during WWII, when Ukrain extended significant help to the country. They did wonder if they could do anything for Ukraine. Soon, Putin, without naming Uzbekistan, pretty much told them that they had better just keep quiet. The Uzbeks are roundly against Russia on the invasion, mainly due to the unsettling, uneasy concern that Russia might do the same to Uzbekistan. This element of fear resonates with the sense of resentment and fear that the Czech conversant shared with me in Samarkand.

Some Little-Known Facts about Putin

In his earlier years, Putin has spent significant time in Samarkand as a KGB. His being a former KGB seems to explain the menace with which he runs his country and seeks to run the world. His first wife was a Russian woman from Jizzakh, a region that we passed through when we took the car ride from Samarkand to the Syyod Camp.

The Uzbek’s view of the United States

I was also curious about how the people of Uzbek think of the United States. Mr. S shared a very interesting insight on this point. When Europeans say and do something, the Uzbeks think of them to be reliable and will honor their word. Not so with the Americans. He did not elaborate further on this, but the subject concluded with, “everybody in Uzbekistan wants to end up in America, but the best shot for anybody is really the green card lottery.”

Finally, A Touch on China

We asked him what the Uzbeks think of the Chinese. He told us a surprising view. He said the Uzbeks think of the Chinese as robots. They work, eat, work and eat. This seems to suggest that these are Chinese migrant workers. He also told us that their own Uzbek president has amended the constitution, like President Xi has. However, Uzbekistan is a democracy with free elections.

For the Belt and Road initiative, China wanted to build a railway through the cities of the Silk Road. But Tajikistan held up on this development because Russia tells it to. Russia probably does not want China to exert its influence on this part of the world, formerly Soviet Union, and perhaps still considered the home court of now-Russia.

Sources

Sophia Nina Burna-Asefi, Uzbekistan-Russia Energy Relations: A Tale of 2 Problems, May 9, 2023, The Diplomat.

Catherine Putz, What’s the Status of Plans to Export Russian Gas to Uzbekistan? June 8, 2023, The Diplomat.