Uzbekistan

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Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, Turkmenistan to the southwest, and Afghanistan to the south. Slightly larger than California at 447,400 square kilo-meters (172,742 square miles), it has long hot summers and mild winters, and is semiarid.

As of July 2003 Uzbekistan's population was estimated at 26 million. The prominent ethnicities are 74.3 percent Uzbek, 5.5 percent Russian, 5 percent Tajik, and 3 percent Kazakh. The prominent religions are Sunni Muslim at 85 percent followed by 9 percent Eastern Orthodox.

The region that became Uzbekistan was annexed by Russia in the late nineteenth century. There was resistance to Russian rule, and in 1917 the region was taken over by the Bolsheviks. In 1924 the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. Uzbeks were very supportive of the former Soviet Union. Nevertheless, in June 1990 Uzbekistan was the first Soviet republic in Central Asia to declare its sovereignty; it became fully independent on August 31, 1991.

Uzbekistan's constitution was approved on December 8, 1992. The country is officially a constitutional republic, but in fact the government is dominated, as of 2004, by an authoritarian president, Islam Karimov (b. 1938). Karimov took office in March 1990, was directly elected in 1991 with 88 percent of the vote (in an election that foreign observers did not rate as free or fair), had his term extended for two years in 1998, and was reelected in 2000 for a seven-year term. The president names the prime minister and the provincial governors. He may dissolve parliament with the concurrence of the Constitutional Court and declare states of emergency, with the approval of parliament. He also holds the position of commander in chief.

The constitution provides for a unicameral parliament, the Supreme Assembly. It has 250 members who serve five-year terms. A 2002 constitutional amendment provided for a second chamber to begin operation in December 2004.

The legislature has little power to shape laws. It can only enact legislation that is initiated by the president, the high courts, the procurator general, or by the government of the autonomous province of Karakalpakstan. The second chamber is responsible for formulating legislation.

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and the High Economic Court. Judges at all levels are appointed by the president and approved by the parliament. The judicial branch lacks independence and remains under the complete control of the executive branch.

Political parties have played little role in local politics, although some parties have been established, but only with government approval. The international community has deemed elections in Uzbekistan as not meeting even basic standards.

Uzbekistan was classified in 2003 as not free by Freedom House, an independent advocacy foundation, in its annual review of the world's nations. The country received the worst possible Freedom House rating of 7 on political rights and a not much better rating of 6 on civil rights and liberties. The 2003 U.S. State Department's Human Rights report on Uzbekistan noted a litany of government limitations on freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion, as well as numerous other human rights violations.

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Freedom House. "Uzbekistan." Freedom in the World 2003: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2003/countryratings/uzb ekistan.htm>.

Turner, Barry, ed. "Uzbekistan." In SYB World: The Essential Global Reference. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. <http://www.sybworld.com/views/e ntrymap?id=uz&x=11&y=4&#x 003E;.

"Uzbekistan." In Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. <http://www.bartleby.com/65/uz/U zbekist.html>.

"Uzbekistan." CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/uz.html>.

United States Department of State. "Uzbekistan." In Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—2003. Washington, DC: Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2003/27873.htm>.

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