Uzbekistan emerges from breakup of Soviet Union

Uzbekistan emerges from breakup of Soviet Union
by Rit Nosotro
Change Over Time essay

Describe the impact of the breakup of the Soviet Union upon Uzbekistan.

As early as the first decade of the 19th century, Britain, France, and Russia became embroiled in land wars over India. At that point, Britain had colonized much of the country, and desired not only to maintain her current possessions but also increase her holdings. Furthermore, France and Russia were also eyeing that land. As a result, those three countries made various pacts of alliance in order to advance their goals but would immediately break those alliances and turn against their allies when they needed to establish their own independent victories. With the fall of Napoleon, France disappeared from the struggle, but Russia and England continued to battle for India. However, a number of countries lay in between Russia and India. England viewed this as a “buffer-zone” and as a result, these Central Asian countries became the battle ground for this struggle known as the “Great Game.” By 1917 when the Russian Communist Party rose to power, Russia had annexed Central Asia almost in its entirety. So for 130 years, these countries remained almost exclusively under the influence of Tsarist or Soviet Russia. Obviously then, when the USSR finally broke up in 1991 it had an extensive impact on the economic, religious, and political aspects of Central Asia’s culture.

During the rule of the USSR, the Soviet government used Central Asia as a vast farmland. Only 10.8% of Uzbekistan’s is arable land (1998 est.), the rest exists primarily of desert. The Soviets used the Aral Sea and its two rivers (the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya) to extensively irrigate the surrounding areas. They found that with this irrigation they could utilize the river valleys to grow fruits, vegetables, grain, and especially cotton (“white gold”). Unfortunately, in the years since the Soviet Union fell, the new Uzbek government has discovered that this “intense irrigation” has caused the Aral Sea to deplete. The Aral Sea only has 40% of the volume that it contained in 1960, and the water level has dropped nearly 50 feet. However, the government has not as of yet found any viable solution to stop this reduction and so the Aral Sea continues to diminish as “each year . . . it drops another 9-10 inches.” The primary reason that they cannot discover a workable solution is that so much of Uzbekistan’s economy depends on the irrigation from that river. As of today, Uzbekistan is the second biggest exporter of cotton in the world. In order to simply keep the water from depleting further, the annual water flow into the river would have to increase 24 cubic kilometers. This cut in water supply would obviously not support the cotton industry.

Throughout the Soviet era the government strictly controlled commerce and foreign trade, including the cotton industry. Even after the fall of the USSR, most of the cotton is still grown on vast state farms. Only the government can legally buy the cotton from the few remaining private farms, and it does so at prices extremely lower than what it then turns around and sells the cotton for. Furthermore, the government requires that the landowner of a private farm pay his workers every other day. The government banks will not loan farmers money until they undergo large amounts of paperwork and major delays; this creates a situation in which the farmers do not have enough money to pay their workers until after the cotton sells although by law must pay them far before then.

The primary religion of most Central Asian countries is officially Islam, which Arab invaders introduced in the 7th or 8th century. In some countries as many as 25% of the people profess Orthodox Christianity. During Soviet rule, “religious worship was officially discouraged.” In Uzbekistan, the government encourages moderate Islamic leaders but has in the past arrested people who organized congresses. Although officially a republic, the Uzbek president still has “totalitarian” authority. In the past, the primary political opposition to the president has always been excluded from entering elections. The co-chairman of the Birlik party said, “Politically, we have no freedom at all. The totalitarian regime has been destroyed in Moscow, but in Tashkent it continues to exist.”

Obviously the 130 years of Russian control had an extreme impact on Central Asian culture. The countries still struggle to establish their independence and freedom and the governments still bear the influences of Communism. Furthermore, while the agricultural economy of some countries progressed temporarily, it bears the impact of overuse and exploitation and has now begun to exhibit the penalties. These nations demonstrate the consequences of greed and the devastation that power-hungry government officials can cause.

Questions:

1. What is Uzbekistan's largest agricultural industry?
a. Fruit
b. Cotton
c. Grain
d. Vegetables
e. Silkworms

2. What economic phenomenon is threatening this industry?
a. Flooding due to extreme rainfall.
b. Overbearing heat.
c. Lack of workers.
d. Poor irrigational skills.
e. Depletion of Aral Sea.

3. What is the primary religion of Central Asian nations?
a. Buddhism
b. Orthodox Christianity
c. Taosim
d. Islam
e. Hinduism

4. What kind of government does Uzbekistan have?
a. Officially republic but with “authoritarian presidential rule.”
b. Republic
c. Communist
d. Monarchy
e. Democracy

Sources:

M. Wesley Shoemaker. Russia, Eurasian States, and Eastern Europe 2000. Harpers Ferry, WV: Stryker-Post Publications, 2000

Uzbekistan and its Civilization, Historical Grounds. World News/History. 23 October 2003.

CIA- The World Factbook -Uzbekistan. World News/History. 23 October 2003.

Anti-Smuggling Enforcement Imperils Uzbekistan's Cotton Farmers. World News/History. 23 October 2003.

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