1. Benedict (Viktor) Gombocz

2. Geography of Uzbekistan
 Location: Central Asia, between Afghanistan
and Kazakhstan
 Area:
 Total: 447,400 sq km
 Country comparison to the world: 57
 Land: 425,400 sq km
 Water: 22,000 sq km
 Area – comparative: Slightly bigger than
California
 Land boundaries:
 Total: 6,221 km
 Border countries: Afghanistan 137 km,
Kazakhstan 2, 203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km,
Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km
 Coastline: 0 km (doubly landlocked – note:
Uzbekistan comprises the southern part of
the Aral Sea, with which it shares a 420 km
shoreline)

3. Physical Map of Uzbekistan

4. Religion in Uzbekistan
 Islam is Uzbekistan‟s biggest religion;
in 2009, 96.3% of the population
identified themselves as Muslims.

5. Religion statistics
 Muslim (majority Sunni) 88%
 Eastern Orthodox 9%
 Other 3%

6. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Overview
 Uzbekistan‟s politics function in the structure of a presidential republic; the President of Uzbekistan
serves as both head of state and head of government.
 The government exercises executive power; legislative power is vested in both the government and
the two parliament chambers: the Legislative Chamber and Senate.
 Positions in the Uzbek government are mostly reliant on clan membership and politics, instead of on
party membership.
 The movement to economic improvement in Uzbekistan has not been in line with movement to
political improvement; instead, the government of Uzbekistan has increased its hold since
independence (25 December 1991), increasingly attacking opposition groups.
 Whereas the names have changed, the institutes of government are still similar to those that existed
before the Soviet Union fell.
 The government has defended its control of public assembly, opposition parties, and the media by
highlighting the need for stability and a steady measure to change in the transitional period, citing the
conflict and chaos in the other ex-Soviet states (most realistically, neighboring Tajikistan); this
measure has found credibility among a large share of the Uzbek population, but such a position
may, in the long run, not be sustainable.
 In spite of the trappings of institutional reform, the early years of independence saw more resistance
than tolerance of the institutional reforms needed for democratic change to begin.
 Whatever initial movement toward democracy existed in Uzbekistan in its first days of independence
appears to have been overcome by the inertia of the remaining Soviet-like strong centralized
leadership.

7. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Government
 Capital (and largest city): Tashkent
 Official languages: Uzbek
 Recognized regional languages:
Karakalpak
 Demonym: Uzbek
 Government: Unitary presidential
state
 President: Islam Karimov
 Prime Minister: Shavkat Mirziyoyev
 Legislature: Supreme Assembly
 Upper house: Senate
 Lower house: Legislative Chamber

8. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Executive branch
Main office holders Electing the President
 Office: President
 Name: Islam Karimov
 Party:
○ Communist Party of the Uzbek SSR (1990-
1991)
○ People‟s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan
(1991-2007)
○ Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (2007-
present)
 Since: 24 March 1990
 Office: Prime Minister
 Name: Shavkat Mirziyoyev
 Party: Uzbekistan National Revival
Democratic Party
 Since: 11 December 2003
 The president is elected through popular vote for a seven-
year term in elections that cannot be seen as free; Freedom
House ranks Uzbekistan as absolutely not free in both
political institutes and civil society.
 The president nominates the PM and deputy ministers;
consequently, the executive branch exercises almost all
authority.
 The judiciary has no independence and the legislature only
convenes a few days per year; it has almost no power to
shape laws.
 The president chooses and replaces regional governors.
 President Islam Karimov‟s first term was extended under the
terms of a December 1995 referendum.
 On 27 January 2002, another referendum took place to
extend Karimov‟s term again; the referendum passed and his
term was extended, by act of the parliament, to December
2007.
 Most global spectators declined to take part in the procedure
and did not recognize the results, rejecting them as falling
short of basic standards.
 In the 2007 presidential election, Karimov had himself re-
elected for a theoretically unlawful third term.

9. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Legislative branch
 The Supreme Assembly (also the National
Assembly), or the Oliy Majlis, is made up of
150 members (elected to a five-year term) in
the Legislative Chamber, and 100 Senate
members (of whom 84 are elected at the
sessions of district, regional, and city
delegates; the president nominates the other
16).

10. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Parliamentary parties
 Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
 People‟s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan
 Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic
Party
 Justice Social Democratic Party
 Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan

11. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Banned parties
 Unity
 Erk/Liberty Democratic Party
 Hizb ut-Tahrir
 Birdamlik (Solidarity) Democratic Movement

12. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Former parties
 Communist Party of Uzbekistan
 Erk

13. Uzbekistan‟s political system:
Administrative divisions
 Uzbekistan is split into 12 viloyatlar (singular
– viloyat), one self-governing republic*
(respublikasi) and one city** (shahri):
 Andijon Viloyati (Andijan)
 Buxoro Viloyati (Bukhara)
 Farg‟ona Viloyati (Fergana)
 Jizzax Viloyati (Jizzakh)
 Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch)
 Namangan Viloyati (Namangan)
 Navoiy Viloyati (Navoi)
 Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi)
 Qaraqalpagstan Respublikasi* (Nukus)
 Samarqand Viloyati (Samarkand)
 Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston)
 Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz)
 Toshkent Shahri** (Tashkent)
 Toshkent Viloyati
 note: administrative divisions have the same
names as their administrative centers
(exclusions and alternate spellings have the
administrative center name following in
parentheses)

14. Islam Karimov
 Born in Samarkand on 30 January 1938.
 1st and current President of Uzbekistan; assumed office on 24 March
1990.
 Was the leader of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan from 23 June
1989-29 December 1991.
 Was placed in an orphanage in Samarkand when he was an infant;
grew up to study economics and engineering at school.
 Became an official in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and
the party‟s First Secretary in Uzbekistan in 1989.
 Became President of the Uzbek SSR on 24 March 1990; his election
to the Uzbek branch of the CPSU was a result of the failure of his
predecessor, Rafik Nishanov, to put down inter-ethnic conflicts and
instability in the Fergana region.
 Declared Uzbekistan‟s independence on 31 August 1991;
subsequently won the first presidential election on 29 December
1991, with 86% of the vote.
 The election was believed to be unfair, with state-run propaganda
and an inaccurate vote count, despite participation from the opposing
nominee and leader of the Erk (Freedom) Party, Muhammad Salih.
 Allowed the involvement of the opposition groups Birlik (“Unity”) and
the Islamic Renaissance Party until his attempts to strengthen power
over Shukrullo Mirsaidov, an ex-elite of the Communist Party who
initially backed Karimov‟s rise to the Party presidency.
 The period of political thaw was short-lived; Karimov began to
obscure the registration procedure of opposition parties during
elections.
 As Birlik grew in strength as a “popular movement”, it was forbidden
the ability to register as a “political party” without the needed 60,000
signatures.
 The Karimov government permitted Birlik one day to collect these
signatures, of which 25,000 they denied.
 Permanently resorted to authoritarian approaches to prevent any
significant opposition.

15. Shavkat Mirziyoyev
 Born in Jizzakh Province on 30
December 1957.
 3rd and current PM of Uzbekistan
since 11 December 2003; replaced
the dismissed PM, O‟tkir Sultonov.
 Ergash Shoismatov is his deputy.
 Was governor (Hakim) of Jizzakh
Province from 1996-2001, and
governor of Samarqand Province
2001 until he was nominated as
PM.

16. Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic
Party
 Political party in Uzbekistan; considered a left of
centre party.
 Won 41/120 seats in the 2004-2005 legislative
election, and 55/150 seats in the 2009-2010
Uzbekistani parliamentary election.
 Announced on 4 October 2007 that that it
proposed nominating President Islam Karimov as
its nominee in the 2007 presidential election,
even though many believed Karimov was by law
ineligible to run for another term.
 Karimov was unanimously selected as the
Liberal Democratic Party‟s presidential nominee
at a party convention in Tashkent on November
6; he accepted the nomination.

17. People‟s Democratic Party of
Uzbekistan
 Political party in Uzbekistan; founded on 1
November 1991 after the Communist Party of
Uzbekistan chose to sever its relations with the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union, changing
its name to its current name.
 Was led by President Islam Karimov from 1991-
2007.
 Won 28/120 seats in the 24 December 2004 and
9 January 2005 legislative elections.

18. National Revival Democratic Party
 Right of centre political party in Uzbekistan.
 One of Uzbekistan‟s four „officially sanctioned‟ parties,
together with the People‟s Democratic Party of
Uzbekistan, the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party,
and the Justice Social Democratic Party.
 Was founded in 1995 with a mostly intellectual
membership; has a relatively big amount of female
members.
 Supports a strong sense of Uzbek culture and desires
a cultural renewal, at the same time looking to
establish closer ties with other Central Asian states.
 Opposes Russia‟s influence in Central Asia; attacked
the establishment of the Eurasian Economic
Community on this basis.
 Took 11/120 seats during the 24 December 2004 and
9 January 2005 legislative election; their runner for the
2007 presidential election was Hushed
Dustmuhammad.
 Declared its objective of merging with the Self-
Sacrifice National Democratic Party in 2008 as the two
parties shared mutual ambitions; the new group has
preserved the National Revival Democratic Party
name.

19. Tashkent

20. Samarkand

21. The End