Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

TheUzbek Soviet Socialist Republic(US:/ʊzˈbɛkɪstæn,-stɑːn/,UK:/ʊzˌbɛkɪˈstɑːn,ʌz-,-ˈstæn/), also known asSoviet Uzbekistan, theUzbek SSR,UzSSR, or simplyUzbekistanand rarelyUzbekia, was aunion republicof theSoviet Union. It was governed by theUzbek branchof theSoviet Communist Party, the legal political party, from 1925 until 1990. From 1990 to 1991, it was a sovereign part of theSoviet Unionwith its own legislation.
Beginning 20 June 1990, the Uzbek SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty within its borders.Islam Karimovbecame the republic's inaugural president.
On 31 August 1991, the Uzbek SSR was renamed theRepublic of Uzbekistanand declared independence three months before theSoviet Union's dissolutionon 26 December 1991.
Uzbekistan was bordered byKazakhstanto the north;Tajikistanto the southeast;Kirghiziato the northeast;Afghanistanto the south; andTurkmenistanto the southwest.
The name, Uzbekistan, literally means "Home of the Free", taken from anamalgamationofuz(Turkic: "self"),bek(Turkic: "master"), and-stan(Persian: "land of"). However, the official name of the republic was theUzbek Soviet Socialist Republicas defined by its 1937 and 1978 Constitutions.
In 1924, the borders of political units inCentral Asiawere changed along ethnic lines determined byVladimir Lenin'sCommissar for Nationalities,Joseph Stalin. TheTurkestan ASSR, theBukharan People's Soviet Republic, and theKhorezm People's Soviet Republicwere abolished and their territories were eventually divided into five separateSoviet Socialist Republics, one of which was theUzbek Socialist Soviet Republic, created on 27 October 1924. The next year Uzbekistan became one of therepublics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(Soviet Union). In 1928, thecollectivizationof land intostate farmswas initiated, which lasted until the late 1930s.
Uzbekistan included theTajik ASSRuntil 1929, when the Tajik ASSR was upgraded to an equal status. In 1930, the Uzbek SSR capital was relocated fromSamarkandtoTashkent, which remained the capital since. In 1936, Uzbekistan was enlarged with the addition of theKarakalpak ASSRtaken from theKazakh SSRin the last stages of thenational delimitation in the Soviet Union. That same year in December, it was renamed to theUzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Further bits and pieces of territory were transferred several times between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan afterWorld War II.
In 1937–38, during theGreat Purge, a number of alleged nationalists were executed, includingFaizullah Khojaev, the first prime minister.
DuringWorld War II, many industries were relocated to Uzbekistan from vulnerable locations in western regions of the USSR to keep them safe. Large numbers ofRussians,Ukrainiansand other nationalities accompanied the factories, altering thedemographics of the republic. The demographics situation was further aggravated by Stalin'sforced deportation of some ethnic groupssuspected ofcollaborationwith theAxis powers(includingNazi Germany) from other parts of the Soviet Union to Uzbekistan. This included large numbers ofethnic Koreans,Crimean Tatars, andChechens.
During the Soviet period,Islambecame a focal point for theanti-religious drivesof Communist authorities. The government closed mostmosques, andreligious schoolsbecame anti-religious museums.The Soviet period also achieved virtual elimination ofilliteracy, even in rural areas. Only a small percentage of the population was literate before 1917; this percentage increased to nearly 100 percent under the Soviets.
Another major development, one with future catastrophic impact, was the drive initiated in the early 1960s to substantially increase cotton production in the republic. This drive led to overzealousirrigationwithdrawals of irrigation water from theAmu Daryaand the subsequentAral Seaecological disaster.
Towards the end of theSoviet–Afghan War, several troops crossed theUzbek borderfromAfghanistanas part of theSoviet withdrawalon 15 February 1989. During the warAfghan mujahideensponsored by theU.S.Central Intelligence Agencyand thePakistaniInter-Services Intelligencealso crossed the border to commit sabotage operations.
TheCommunist Partywas the only legal party in the Uzbek SSR until 1990. The first secretary, or head, of theCommunist Party of Uzbekistanwas consistently an Uzbek. Long-time leader of theUzbek SSRwasSharof Rashidov, head of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan from 1959 to 1983.Islam Karimov, leader of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan since 1989 and subsequently head of that party's reincarnation, thePeople's Democratic Party(PDP), became president of the Uzbek SSR in 1990. On 20 June 1990, theSupreme Sovietadopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Uzbek SSR, which took over thelaws of the Soviet Uniondays after theRussian SFSRadoptedtheirs.
The Uzbek SSR participated in thereferendumin March 1991 as a part of the proposed Union of Soviet Sovereign States. This never came to pass afterunsuccessful coup attemptevents between 19 and 21 August 1991 inMoscow. In the aftermath, the Uzbek SSR was renamed theRepublic of Uzbekistanand declared its independence on 31 August 1991, with the Soviet Union dissolving on 26 December 1991. After independence, the 1978 Constitution remained in use. The referendum was confirmed on29 December 1991.
Uzbekistan, akin to the rest of the Soviet republics, was defined by asingle-partysocialist republicframework, whereby the First Secretary of the Central Committee was the head of the party, theChairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Sovietas thehead of stateand theChairmen of the Council of Ministersserved as thehead of governmentin aone-party systemled by theCPSU's republican branch, theCommunist Party of Uzbekistan.Executive powerwas exercised by thegovernmentand the legislative power was vested inSupreme Sovietwhere it met for sessions in Tashkent.
Uzbekistan had the strongestSoviet Armed Forcespresence of the otherCentral Asian Republics. Almost all of its troops were personnel of theTurkestan Military District(TurkVO), which was based inTashkent. Personnel from the TurkVO were distributed between the military of Uzbekistan, as well as the militaries of the other fourCentral Asianrepublics when it was dissolved in June 1992. At independence, ethnicRussiansfilled the ranks of the newly created armed forces, and made up most of the officer corps.
The Uzbek SSR operated its own domesticMinistry of Internal Affairs(MVD) independent of theMinistry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union, of which it was a republican affiliate organization.
Uzbekistan had an industrial sector includingelectric power generation,engineering, andchemical production.
Uzbekistan's energy came from large thermal power plants, including those atSyrdarya,Angren,Tashkentand others. There was also a hydroelectric component to the economy, including the Charvak, Hodzhikentskaya, Gazalkent and Farkhad hydroelectric plants, among others.
The natural gas industry was of importance to the economy of the republic. The Gazly deposits and other and Kashkadarya (Mubarak, Shurtan) area contributed to this industry. Uzbekistan also produced oil (Fergana valley,BukharaandSurkhandaryaregion). In terms of minerals, there was production ofleadandzinc,tungsten,molybdenum,copper ores(found in the Karamazarskaya group of deposits), andgold(found in theNavoi region,Jizzakh region, and others).
Chemical manufacturing included the production ofmineral fertilizers(nitrogenandphosphorus) forcotton(inChirchik,Kokand,Samarkand,Fergana,Almalyk, andNavoi); the manufacture ofchemical fibers(in Fergana);plastics(in Fergana and Namangan), rubber products, household chemicals, and more.Petrochemical,chemicalandpharmaceutical, and the microbiological industry were all present in some form.
Some of the engineering sector included:agriculture(machinery for themechanizationof cotton cultivation, cotton harvesters, etc.), production oftractors, equipment for the cotton andtextile industry,constructionand road machines,electrical engineering;aviation, electronic and instrument-making,chemicalandpetroleum engineering. Some companies also produced cement, asbestos-cement pipes, slate, and ceramics.
Some of the light industry present in Uzbekistan included the primary processing of cotton, silk cocoons, wool, fiber crops,raw hides, and karakul pelts. Cotton and silk textiles, footwear, garments, and carpets were all produced in Uzbekistan.
Thefood industryproduced oil and fat - mainly oil production from cotton seeds, tinned vegetables, butter and cheese, milk, and meat.
Constitution of the USSR:
40°00′N66°00′E﻿ / ﻿40.0°N 66.0°E﻿ /40.0; 66.0