Uzbekistan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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Towards a New Tashkent

On April 3rd, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of New Tashkent; a twin capital located on 20,000 hectares east of the existing city of Tashkent, between the Chirchiq and Karasu rivers. Speaking at the launch, President Mirziyoyev emphasized the historical significance of the ground-breaking project and its far-reaching impact on the future of Uzbekistan: “Today we are laying the foundation for the campuses of Yangi Uzbekistan University and Tashkent State Pedagogical University, the National Library, the National Theater, the International Research Center, the Museum of Literature, and the Alisher Navoi School of Creativity. It is no coincidence that the construction of a new city begins with the abodes of knowledge and spirituality. They will become the basis and model in the formation of an enlightened society.” The new city’s campus of Tashkent State Pedagogical University will provide teaching facilities for 20 thousand students, dormitories for 5 thousand, a kindergarten for 300 children, and a school for 616 pupils. It will also include a sports centre, a palace of culture, and an amphitheatre. Yangi Uzbekistan University, rated as one of the most prestigious universities in the country for engineering, management, information technology, agricultural technology, humanities, and natural sciences, will be complemented by a second campus in New Tashkent. Once in operation, the new facilities will accommodate 10 thousand students, a library, sports complex, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Ambitious plans for the second city also include a new National Library of Uzbekistan with the capacity to house over 10 million books and accommodate over 1,400 users at any given time. Concluding his speech, the president underlined his belief that New Tashkent was set to become a centre for excellence in science, education, and culture not only for Uzbekistan but also for the entire region. It was earlier reported that master plans for New Tashkent had been developed by the UK’s Cross Works design company.

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Uzbekistan to Support Migrant Workers

At a government meeting on April 2nd, following his previous order to facilitate access to the external labour market, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was presented with proposals to streamline labour migration and support Uzbek migrant workers abroad. Over the past two years, the Uzbek Agency for External Labour Migration has assisted 70 thousand people in securing work in developed countries. Many unskilled laborers, however, still opt to work abroad independently and as a result, struggle. To resolve problems encountered by Uzbek citizens working abroad, Uzbekistan is to introduce round-the-clock call centres and labour migration attachés in its embassies and consulates in the UK, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Japan. A mahalla is a traditional Uzbek community centred in a residential neighbourhood. Under the new initiative, based on the principle “work abroad begins with the mahalla,” local authorities and youth leaders will identify anyone wishing to work abroad and enter their data in a designated “Online Mahalla” platform. Candidates will then be invited to compete for employment abroad. Training will be provided by vocational education institutions for citizens lacking professional skills. In addition, a centre for teaching foreign languages will be opened at the Agency for External Labour Migration to help prepare candidates. The state has announced that it will also reimburse part of the costs of work visas and tickets, as well as the assessment of labour migrants’ knowledge of foreign languages and professional qualifications. Earlier on, the head of state instigated measures to ensure employment for people returning from labour migration.

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Demolitions in Bukhara Continue Despite UNESCO Demands for a Halt

Demolitions in Bukhara's buffer zone continue despite Uzbekistan's promises to harmonize its plans with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). On February 26, demolition began on the 23,000-seat Bukhara Arena stadium near Bukhara's historic centre. Ignoring the fact that construction of the Bokii Bukhoro tourist centre is under review by ICOMOS, the advisory body of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, local authorities are activating their plans. UNESCO claims that on February 8, a letter was sent to the Uzbek government requesting clarification of plans for the project, but have received no response to date. On March 2, Sara Noshadi, head UNESCO in Uzbekistan, issued the statement: "UNESCO is closely monitoring the state of conservation of the Bukhara World Heritage Site, including concerns expressed by civil society about potential construction plans in the buffer zone of the site. The World Heritage Centre has contacted the Uzbek authorities on this matter to request additional information and clarify the situation. The World Heritage Centre hopes that the authorities will fulfil their obligations under the World Heritage Convention and will not undertake any demolition/construction projects without prior notification and assessment by the World Heritage Committee, whose next session is in July 2024. UNESCO stands ready to provide expertise and assistance to safeguard the Outstanding Universal Value of the site." Alerte Héritage is a non-governmental organization for the protection of Central Asian architectural and cultural heritage headed by Boris Chukhovich. A specialist in architecture and the protection of cultural heritage, Chukhovich actively advocates the protection of Bukhara's historic centre. He strongly criticized the plan for the tourist centre, as "disastrous" and a "sham" and stated, "We appeal to UNESCO, which is responsible for World Heritage sites, and to the Uzbek government, which is responsible for the preservation of the country's cultural heritage, as well as to all concerned institutions and individuals: the demolition must be stopped and further plans discussed and made available to the public as soon as possible!" Bukhara joined UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1993 and reflects the urban planning and architecture of the period of Uzbek rule by the Shibanid dynasty. The territory of the historical centre of Bukhara is 216 hectares, and its protected area, 339 hectares. The total area of the planned tourist centre is 32.6 hectares, all within the protected area of Bukhara's historical centre which contains two objects of cultural heritage included in the National Register: the Sallakhkhana gate, restored in 2012, and the bust of Abu Ali ibn Sina, installed in 1980. However, according to local officials, Bukhara's infrastructure -- much of which was built during the Soviet era -- needs improvement to attract tourists. According to the requirements of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO, any major facilities planned for construction in Bukhara's historical centre and its buffer zone must be pre-approved by UNESCO and, according to local legislation, by the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan.

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South Korea to Supply Uzbekistan With High-Speed Trains

Six Hyundai Rotem high-speed trains made in South Korea will soon be launched between Tashkent and Khiva. The electric trains will have seven carriages, and will be able to carry 350 passengers at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour. To purchase the trains, Uzbekistan will use a $200 million, 35-year loan from the Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the Republic of Korea. A feasibility study for the project is currently being drawn up. Uzbekistan had originally planned to purchase high-speed trains from Hyundai back in 2018, with the project estimated at $1 million. But the national rail company Uzbekistan Temir Yollari ended up instead signing a contract with the Spanish company Talgo, which manufactured the Afrosiyob trains currently in use in the country. A $162 million loan for electrification of the 465km Bukhara-Miskin-Urgench-Khiva railway line was approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) back in 2021. High-speed trains that will connect these cities will shorten the journey by two hours. The project was planned as part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridor 2 program. It will link China and Europe through Central Asia and aims to boost the countries' cross-border trade. Uzbekistan is actively developing its tourism potential. Because of this, Uzbekistan Temir Yollari and the Italian company Arsenale Group are planning a luxury tourism train project. The train will have all the accoutrements for comfortable, five-star travel along the Silk Road along the Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara-Khiva-Tashkent route.

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Tears and Laughter: An Evening at an Uzbek Theater

Tashkent, Uzbekistan - The action unfolds in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. An Uzbek man goes to Russia for compulsory military service and falls in love with a Russian woman. Back with her betrothed in his homeland, the Russian slowly wins over her recalcitrant mother-in-law and learns to love Uzbek culture. So goes the plot of “Uzbek Dance,” a play being performed in the colonnaded Uzbek National Academic Drama Theater in Tashkent, the capital. The tragicomedy made its debut in Uzbekistan in 2009 and has been re-staged several times, immersing audiences in Uzbek history and culture and making them laugh and cry. The Times of Central Asia attended a performance on March 9. So did hundreds of other people. Ticket prices in the Uzbek currency, the sum, cost the equivalent of about USD4 to USD5.60. Before the start, people in the atrium gazed at portraits of actors who helped to build the Uzbek theater scene over the last century. People mingle in the museum of the National Academic Drama Theater in Uzbekistan. Portraits of actors who contributed to the development of Uzbek theater in the past century are hung there. Photo: TCA In the early days, the “Turon" troupe performed around Uzbekistan. The first performance of the theater group was held in 1913 in the garden of the 14th century Tashkent mausoleum of an Islamic leader, or sheikh. In 1918, the state took over the troupe. Written by Nurillo Abbaskhan, “Uzbek Dance” explores tension and reconciliation between the Russian woman and her Uzbek mother-in-law, whose verbal and cultural missteps make for mutual suspicion and comedy. The play invites reflection on the nuanced relationship between Russia and Uzbekistan today (at least 2% of Uzbekistan’s population are ethnic Russians, according to government data in 2021; the population is estimated today at nearly 37 million). There’s a dark side to the drama. The family saga happens against the backdrop of a real-life 1980s corruption scandal surrounding a campaign to supply more Uzbek cotton for the Soviet Union. Spectators await the performance of "Uzbek Dance," a play that has been staged in different productions several times since making its debut in 2009. Photo: TCA The cotton campaign was marred by falsified production numbers and a backlash from Soviet officials who rounded up thousands of Uzbek people, prosecuting many on false charges. Additionally, pesticides took a devastating toll on the environment and workers’ health. In the play, the Uzbek man, Tursunboy, drives a tractor in the cotton fields. Eventually, he gets falsely accused in the purge and imprisoned. He eventually gets out of jail, but the harsh conditions and years of exposure to toxic chemicals have left him fatally ill. Then there is Panamaryova Maria Visilevna, who took the name Maryam after converting to Islam on the insistence of her Muslim mother-in-law, Kumri Aya. The two women don’t get along at first. But they get closer. Maryam, who gives birth to six children before Tursunboy’s decline, learns the Uzbek language, dances, hat-making...

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Samarkand Replaces Paris as Host of UNESCO Conference

The Silk Road Samarkand tourism and convention complex will host the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2025 -- the first time the globally significant event will be held outside of Paris since 1985. The conference will focus on discussions and decisions on UNESCO's activities. Besides Samarkand, conference events will also be held in the cities of Tashkent, Bukhara, Khiva and Shahrisabz. Samarkand was not chosen as the host venue by chance. Not only is it a great historical open-air museum city, but it has also managed to host a number of important international events over the past six months. At next year's UNESCO conference, officials plan to develop projects for establishing the State Museum of the Great Silk Road in Samarkand, restoring Amir Timur's gardens, restoring the Bibi-Khanum complex -- as well as a master plan for protecting the historical center of Bukhara, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Samarkand, by the way, has recently become the subject of heated debate over the construction of the ethnographic tourist center Bokiy Bukhoro (Eternal Bukhara) on the borders with the historical center and buffer zone of Bukhara. The complex, which will occupy an area of 32.6 hectares, involves the demolition of 29 state facilities, including the buildings of the hokimiyats (municipal offices) of Bukhara region and Bukhara city, the regional prosecutor's office, school No. 2, Bukhara State Medical College, College of Culture, Bukhara Arena stadium and others. Since 2017, 14 unique examples of Uzbek national cultural heritage have been included in the UNESCO lists. Bukhara was included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and last September, the 1,050th anniversary of the birth of the great polymath and scholar Abu Rayhon Beruni was widely celebrated at UNESCO headquarters.