Uzbekistan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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Central Asia’s Only Intercity Trolleybus System: Where Does It Run And How Does It Work?

The only intercity trolleybus route in all of Central Asia, the Urgench - Khiva - Urgench route (about 32km one-way), has been popular with commuters and local residents for 26 years. According to the Uzbek Statistics Agency, demand for the only trolleybus route between the two cities in Khorezm has only increased in recent years. According to the drivers, tourists are all found the passengers, with an average of two to four on each trip. "Foreign guests like our green trolleybuses very much. They not only photograph [posing with] it in the background, but also film both inside the cabin and video along the way. Sometimes we are asked to pose in front of the camera lenses. We are also pleased that all the passengers are happy," said Oybek Sobirov, one of the drivers. The route is also popular with Urgench State University students. They account for a significant share of regular passengers. "The rector of Urgench State University shared with us that the university's dormitories are not used by students from Khiva, as they travel to study from one city to another by trolleybus. They know that they have regular, safe and fast transportation almost [all the way] to their place of study," said Ruslan Ruzmetov, head of the Road and River Transport Development Department at the Uzbek Ministry of Transport. The infrastructure itself was built in 1997 and commissioned in 1998 to coincide with Khiva's 2,500th anniversary. The total length of the line is almost 36km one-way. The main part of the route is practically in a straight line, and the average trip along it takes 60-70 minutes. At present, the fare is standard for Uzbekistan -- 2,000 soums ($0.16) -- but traveling on it outside the city is converted into a suburban fare -- 4,000 soums ($0.32). On average, 1,700 to 2,000 people travel the route per day, which translates into about 700,000 passengers per year. On average, eight trolleybuses depart daily, one remains in reserve, and five are currently non-operational. In total, there are 14 trolleybuses on the department's balance sheet, with the oldest of them more than 25 years old. The line works from early morning until 19:00. Every day, according to the schedule, four trolleybuses depart from the two cities alternately, meaning four vehicles stay overnight in Khiva and Urgench every day.

Female Entrepreneurs

Platform Supporting Female Entrepreneurs Launches In Uzbekistan

An online platform called Coozin has been introduced in Uzbekistan, with the goal of championing female entrepreneurs. Women can use Coozin to learn the fundamentals of business, sell their goods and services, network with other entrepreneurs, and find inspiration. The platform will also help Uzbekistan to achieve the UN's sustainable development goals. The Coozin initiative is the first in Uzbekistan to enable women to independently promote their businesses. It was coordinated with the help of the OSCE, IT-Park, and the Business Women's Association of Uzbekistan, as well as the the Coca-Cola Foundation.

€10bn To Be Invested In Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor

The two-day Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity opened on January 29th in Brussels, Belgium. The event brings together high-level representatives from the European Commission, countries of the EU, Central Asia and Caucasus, as well as Turkey. At the forum, the European Commission’s executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis announced that European and international financial institutions will commit €10bn ($10.8bn) in support and investments towards sustainable transport connectivity in Central Asia. The forum’s agenda includes discussions of the required investments to transform the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor into a cutting-edge, multimodal, and efficient route, connecting Europe and Central Asia within 15 days. The European Commission said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has underlined the urgency to find alternative reliable efficient trade routes between Europe and Asia. The development of transport connectivity is also a means to strengthen regional integration and economic development in Central Asia. The €10bn commitment is a mixture of ongoing and planned investments which the European Commission foresees to be mobilized for sustainable transport development in Central Asia in the short term. In concrete terms, several significant commitments are being made on the first day of the forum as part of the overall €10bn. The European Investment Bank (EIB), represented by its vice-president Teresa Czerwińska, signed memoranda of understanding totaling €1.47bn ($1.6bn) with the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as with the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. These loans will be made possible by guarantees provided by the European Commission.

Tashkent To Introduce Cable Car To Help Resolve Transport Problem

The Tashkent municipality and Chinese company Beijing North Bartholet Ropeway Technology Co., Ltd. have agreed on a project to introduce a cable car service to help in solving the Uzbek capital’s transport and environmental problems, the press service of the Tashkent municipality said. The agreement was signed during the Tashkent mayor’s visit to the Chinese city of Shenzhen on January 23rd, where he met with the management of Beijing North Bartholet Ropeway Technology, a joint venture with the Swiss company Bartholet Maschinenbau AG, a world leader in ropeways production. According to the agreement, the Chinese company is going to invest in a project to duplicate ground municipal transport in Tashkent with cable taxis. The project will first be presented to the public, whose recommendations and suggestions would be taken into account by the Chinese company’s designers, the municipality said. The Uzbek Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change earlier this month stated that emissions from motor vehicles largely the cause for increasing levels of air pollution in Tashkent. On average 730,000 vehicles are on the move in Tashkent every day, with between 160,000 to 300,000 entering the capital from the regions. To resolve the problem, the Tashkent municipality intends to develop green public transport.

Violence Against Migrants: Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan Appeal to Russia

Regarding the mistreatment of labor migrants who were made to walk like ducks in Yekaterinburg, the ombudsman of Uzbekistan filed an appeal with the ombudsman of Russia. The number of them who were Uzbek citizens was not stated. A case was started “at the level of Russian federal authorities” by Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On January 17, workers at a construction site in Yekaterinburg, Russia, were forced to walk like ducks during a raid by representatives of the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Rosguard, and the Prosecutor’s Office. Approximately 150 people’s documents were examined during the raid. Which country or countries they are citizens of is unclear. Ombudsman Feruza Eshmatova of Uzbekistan appealed to Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova of Russia about the unfair treatment of labor migrants in Yekaterinburg. The press office of the parliamentarian’s human rights representative released this information on January 22. In the petition, it was asked that the rights of Uzbek nationals employed in Russia be upheld. Online images and videos depict security personnel compelling migrant laborers to hide as they navigate a snow-covered construction site. The number of migrants who were Uzbek citizens was not stated. There were reportedly also citizens from other nations, including Kyrgyzstan. According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the republic’s general consulate in Yekaterinburg paid a visit to the police, the center for temporary detention of foreign nationals, and construction sites on January 20. “It was discovered that three construction sites in Yekaterinburg had 150 foreigners’ documents examined, among them were 40 Kyrgyz citizens. There are no known instances of Kyrgyzstani citizens breaking the immigration laws, according to the report. According to the information provided by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, three of the migrants who were forced to walk like ducks were Kyrgyz. According to the message from the neighboring country’s MFA, the Consulate General of Kyrgyzstan is taking action to “organize the verification of the legality of the use of methods that degrade the dignity of citizens engaged in labor by law enforcement officers”. The statement from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs states, “In light of this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic is initiating a case at the level of the federal authorities of the Russian Federation in order to prevent such actions against citizens working from Kyrgyzstan”.

The Last Emir of Bukhara – In the Shadow of Antiquity

The seventh largest city in Uzbekistan, the history of Bukhara is swathed in legends which stretch back for millennia and can be traced to the period of Aryan immigration into the region. After passing through the hands of Alexander the Great, the Bactrians, the Kushan Empire and many others, Bukhara became an epicenter of Persian culture in medieval Asia. With the rise of the Caliphate, by the end of the ninth century Bukhara was one of the most significant Islamic and cultural sites in the region. Throughout its history, Bukhara has been nourished by merchants and travelers, establishing itself as a major hub of trade and crafts on the Silk Road. Today, in the orange early morning light, women holding parasols walk their children to school down gravel alleyways to the ever-present hum of air-con units. Broom-wielding figures in high-viz orange jackets cast bulbous shadows as they sweep the dust from side to side. As the sun arcs towards its zenith, a haze develops, the heat so overpowering that even the hawkers lose the will to sell. Weaving past scant pedestrians, infrequent marshrutkas head out of town towards the glittering Summer Palace of Bukhara’s last Emir, the outsized Sayyid Mir Muhammad Alim Khan. Beyond the imposing majolica tiled gateway of the Russian-built Sitora-I Mohi Khosa – Palace of the Stars and the Magnificent Moon - the banqueting hall contains an elaborate bronze chandelier from Poland weighing half a ton. To gasps of awe, Bukhara’s first electric light shone from it during the 1910s thanks to a fifty-watt generator.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="12020" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]An avenue of quince trees leads to an ostentation of peacocks parading around a voluminous pool, where the Emir’s harem used to frolic. Raised on a platform high above them, the Emir would sit upon his gilded throne, bejeweled and decked in golden threads, choosing his lady for the night. Escaping the conflict between reformers and imams, and ever more dependent upon the overlords who would inevitably bring about his downfall, Amir Khan spent his last years as ruler cocooned in the Summer Palace, sating his gluttonous appetite from a glass-fronted Russian refrigerator.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="13877" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]Putting his lot in with the reformers, then switching sides in the face of the mullah’s power, in his final years the last Emir was a leaf in the wind. These were the dark days of mass executions, book burnings, and an intellectual exodus from the Emirate. When the ripples from the Bolshevik Revolution reached his kingdom, Alim Khan declared a Holy War upon the Russians and their reformist allies, the Young Bukharans. With Russian gunners initially forced back by frenzied, knife-wielding true believers, tit-for-tat retributions took place before, with their inevitable victory sealed, the Red Army set about pillaging and murdering their vanquished foes. On September 2nd 1920, soldiers raised the Red Banner from the bombed-out lantern of the Kalon Minaret. From the ninth-century Pit of the Herbalists to the Ismail Samani Mausoleum, Bukhara isn’t about...