Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Tashkent is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a country in Central Asia. It is the nation's economic and political center and was a major center of commerce in the former Soviet Union, in which it was the fourth largest city. It remains Uzbekistan's most cosmopolitan city, and is a regional hub for transportation in Central Asia.

Landscape

Tashkent is situated in the Chirchiq River valley at an elevation of approximately 480 meters (1,575 feet) above sea level, in the northeastern region of Uzbekistan. The Chirchiq River is the source of many canals, several of which run through Tashkent. To the east of the city lie the Chatkal Mountains.

Tashkent, like much of landlocked Uzbekistan, has a continental climate, typically consisting of hot and dry weather. The country has mild winters and extended summers, with January typically being the coldest month. Average temperatures in the winter vary between 0 degrees and 8 degrees Celsius (32 degrees to 46 degrees Fahrenheit), with summer temperatures averaging around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).

Uzbekistan is vulnerable to water shortages, mainly because most of its water comes from outside the country. Climate change has exacerbated the country's water scarcity. The country has also experienced soil salinization, poor water quality, erosion, and land degradation because of climate change.

Due to its landscape, Tashkent is prone to earthquakes. As a precaution, the city's subway tunnels are padded with rubber to protect the trains. Completed in 1977, the subway was the first public transit system in Central Asia. Although much of the city was destroyed in a devastating 1966 earthquake, portions of Tashkent's Old Town still exist, and form the center of the modern city. However, in the tradition of Soviet cities, Tashkent has no true downtown area.

People

Tashkent is home to 2.6 million people (2023 estimate). While most of the population is ethnically Uzbek, Russians make up a sizable minority in the city (and account for just over 2 percent of the population nationwide). The dominant and official language in Uzbekistan is Uzbek, though Russian and Tajik, a modern Persian language, are also spoken. There is also a growing Chinese population in Tashkent. The majority religions are Islam and Eastern Orthodox.

As in many major metropolises, there is a large gap between the social classes in Tashkent, exacerbated after the 1966 earthquake which destroyed the homes of approximately 300,000 people. Due in part to this large wealth gap, Tashkent has seen an increase in crime, particularly evident at large outdoor gatherings such as the Chorsu Bazaar. Nonetheless, Tashkent is known as a hospitable city, and is a frequent site of film festivals, international symposiums, and conferences.

Economy

Uzbekistan's primary industry is cotton (it is among the largest cotton producers and exporters in the world), and many of Tashkent's other industries are somehow tied to the production of cotton and textiles. Tashkent is also a major player in the silk industry (being on the Great Silk Road) and is known as a center for silkworms. Major factories in Tashkent manufacture machinery used either for agricultural purposes or in the production of textiles. Chemicals and processed foods are also manufactured, and the city does produce many food crops unrelated to cotton or textiles, including melons, wheat and rice.

Tashkent also is a major producer of natural gas, the most notable of Uzbekistan's energy resources. The city has sought to expand its international business interests in the early twenty-first century, following similar moves by neighboring Kazakhstan. Toward this end, Tashkent officials have sought out investors in several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and South Korea. Tashkent's economy has long relied on Russia and China, which remain significant trading partners with Uzbekistan. In the early twenty-first century, though, Uzbekistan worked to expand trade and increase privatization and diversification in industry.

Landmarks

Though much of the city is new, having been reconstructed after the 1966 earthquake, Tashkent is still renowned for its architectural history and monuments. It is home to several mausoleums, or tombs, of some of the country's most famous and most-revered sheikhs (an Arabic term for a leader or elder of a family or tribe). They include the mausoleum of Sheikh Zaynudin Bobo, constructed in the sixteenth century, and the mausoleums of Sheikh Sheihantaur and Sheikh Zangiata, both erected in the fourteenth centuries. In addition, historic madrassahs, or Islamic religious schools, include the Koukeldash Madrassah and Barak-Khan Madrassah, which both date back to the sixteenth century. However, many of these ancient landmarks remain in a state of restoration due to the 1966 earthquake.

Saligokh Street, often referred to as "Broadway," is a street in Tashkent open to foot traffic only, connecting two of the city's main squares, Mustakillik Mayodony (Independence Square) and Amir Timur Hiyebony (Amir Temur Square). The latter is named after Timur, or Tamerlane (1336–1405), the former ruler of central Asia and purported descendant of Genghis Khan. There is also Chorsu Square, which served as the ancient center of Tashkent. Today it still serves as a bazaar, where native foods, textiles, and various imports are sold.

The parliament building, Oliy Majlis, is one of the more modern buildings in Tashkent; it is particularly noticeable because it is relatively isolated within the city. Another modern landmark is the Tashkent TV Tower, a large television tower in the center of the city that is also home to a rotating restaurant that offers a clear view of the city. Other recreational landmarks include a Japanese Garden and a water park.

Tashkent has its share of museums, including the Museum of Applied Arts, the State Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan, and several history museums such as the Amir Temur Museum and the Central Asia Museum. On display in the Museum of History, is one of the famous Twelve Keys, which were gold keys hand-delivered to Russian invaders during the 1865 assault on Tashkent, signifying Tashkent's surrender to the invading force. The Amir Temur Museum, which is shaped like a giant crown, focuses specifically on the Temurid period (roughly 1370 to 1507). Tashkent also boasts several colleges and universities, including the Uzbek Academy of Sciences and Tashkent University, which was founded in 1920.

History

Tashkent began as a major settlement on the historic Silk Road, an ancient trade route connecting the Asian continent and beyond. By the end of the first century BCE, however, the city was conquered and destroyed, before being temporarily replaced by a military outpost called Chach. In fact, Tashkent was continuously conquered throughout its history, most notably by the Arabs in the eighth century CE, after which time control of the city changed hands between several different ruling Muslim families.

Tashkent's modern development began in the ninth century, when it incorporated the territory known as Ilaque, the area's major source for gold and silver. Tashkent later improved its financial standing by producing Turkistan fabrics that became famous throughout Central Asia.

Built during the tenth century CE, the Tashkent Gates were intended to protect the city as it expanded along the bank of the Bozsuv canal. According to ancient texts, the gates were originally named after the tribes from the area, each of which was assigned one gate to protect. The walls were rebuilt during the mid-nineteenth century, and the twelve gates were renamed for roads within the city or destinations outside of the city.

By the end of the thirteenth century, despite being conquered by Genghis Khan and the Mongols in 1219, Tashkent was the biggest and most prosperous city on the Silk Road. It remained so through the decline of the Silk Road during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and was often self-governing. It was not until 1809 that another local power took control of the city, when the government from the nearby town of Kokand annexed Tashkent and controlled it for most of the first half of the nineteenth century. During that time, Tashkent grew into a large, prosperous city that counted Russia as one of its major trade partners.

However, in 1865, Russian troops invaded and occupied Tashkent. Although Tashkent had ten times as many soldiers defending it as the invading force, the Russians overtook the city in part because of dissatisfaction among Tashkent's citizens with the Kokand government. In 1890, the last of the Tashkent Gates was destroyed due to the continuing expansion of the city. The Russians later established Soviet rule in Tashkent, declaring it the capital of the new nation of Turkistan. After the creation of Uzbekistan in 1924, Samarkand served as the capital for six years before Tashkent assumed the role.

Tashkent suffered a devastating earthquake in 1966, which destroyed most of the buildings in the city. This tragedy had long-term effects on Tashkent, particularly in the ethnic makeup of the city. Many Russian and Slavic immigrants came to Tashkent to help rebuild the broken city, and ended up staying—becoming a permanent part of Tashkent's culture. In addition, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Tashkent, like numerous other cities in the former Soviet states, replaced many buildings and monuments representative of the Soviet era with more modern and nationalistic buildings and landmarks.

In 2016 longtime Uzbek president Islam Karimov died in office; he had ruled with authoritarian power from 1989. He was succeeded by Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who declared his intention to pursue economic liberalization and improve relations with neighboring countries. The government based in Tashkent took the step of sharply devaluing the national currency rate in 2017 as part of an economic reform initiative.

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