Rashidov, Sharof Rashidovich
(1917–1983), Uzbek politician and writer. Sharof Rashidovich Rashidov led the Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1959 until 1983 as the first secretary of the Communist Party. He was a member of the Soviet Politburo, the highest policy-making institution in the Soviet Union (USSR). Born in Dzizak (then a small town in central Uzbekistan) in 1917, he spent most of his career in the Communist Party apparatus. From 1947 to 1950 he worked as editor of the leading national newspaper, Kizil Uzbekiston, and from 1950 to 1959 was chairman of the Supreme Soviet (the parliament of Uzbekistan), before being appointed as the first secretary of the ruling party in 1959. As one of the most influential politicians in the USSR, he played an important role in managing the modernization of Uzbekistan.
As a member of the Soviet Politburo, Rashidov influenced major decisions concerning Soviet Central Asia, measuring modernization purely in terms of state-led industrialization and social construction of the Soviet identity (as reflected in his writing). His political legacy is controversial. On the one hand, he managed to attract huge investments into Uzbekistan's industrial and agricultural sector, while resisting a policy of Russification and attempting instead to consolidate Uzbek national awareness. On the other hand, patronage and corruption flourished under his leadership, and excessive exploitation of the arable land and natural resources led to ecological disasters in many areas of the republic.
After his unexpected death in October 1983, the Soviet government launched a major investigation of economic mismanagement and funds embezzlement, purging thousands of Rashidov's supporters. (This was also known as the "Uzbek affair," or the "cotton affair.") After Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, the Uzbek leadership rehabilitated Rashidov's reputation, making him a national hero and a symbol of national pride, alongside medieval heroes such as Tamerlane (1336–1405) and Babur (1483–1530), in an attempt to consolidate the Uzbek people's sense of national identity.
Further Reading
Allworth, Edward. (1990) The Modern Uzbeks: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present: A Cultural History. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University.
Rashidov, Sharof. (1969) The Banner of Friendship. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
———. (1980) Sobranie sochinenii (Collected Writings). 5 vols. Moscow: Khudozhestvenaia Literatura. Rizaev, Saidakbar. (1992). Sharaf Rashidov: shtrikhi k portretu (Sharaf Rashidov: A Detailed Portrait). Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Ezuvchi.
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