Uzbekistan: Shades of oppression

Of the places that I've visited, Georgia is positively the most open, democratic, and capitalist, followed only by Kyrgyzstan in distant second. Georgia is the most tourist and business-friendly place I've been, where (at least in Tbilisi), the police are not intimidating, and there is some measure of free expression. Sure the protests of early November were violently and probably inappropriately broken-up, but they simply could not have occurred in any other place in this region -- certainly not some of the more extreme expressions of public dissatisfaction, such as decrying the president by shouting "Misha!" and saluting sig heil. Elsewhere, I have been told that even lesser criticisms would result in beating, fines, job-loss, and/or prison. And when it comes to oppression, topping the list, there's no place like Uzbekistan! While I must admit that Turkmenistan was a very close second, since the passing of Turkmenbashi, by all appearances it seems things are improving there.

Uzbekistan's situation as only one of two doubly-landlocked countries in the world (the other is Liechtenstein), bespeaks it's isolation and the oppressive system that binds the country. And while Uzbekistan's police have been reformed in recent years and they no longer seem to shake-down tourists, they were swarming on every corner of the cities that I visited, checking documents on the street, stopping vehicles at checkpoints that appear every 10 km or so on major highways, and one can only imagine how invasive the police presence must be in the daily lives of the nearly 28 million Uzbekistani nationals. For instance, according to people I've spoken to, it is extremely difficult to start a business there, as the state bureaucracy tends to arbitrarily tax and regulate small businesses to death. The oppressive police force is, in effect, a parasitic organ of the state that feeds off of living cultural and economic activity only to perpetuate its own existence and that of the ruling party. "Stalin would have probably been jealous if he’d found out that there are people in this world even better than him at frightening people," testified Uzbek asylum-seeker Mukhammadsolykh Abutov from Russia.

According to Transparency International 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index, "which ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians," Uzbekistan ranks at the very bottom, rated at 175 of 179 countries and is exceeded only by Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar (Burma), and Somalia. When a group college students in Tashkent -- some recently graduated and unemployed -- were asked how to get rich in Uzbekistan, they immediately replied "drugs, gambling and prostitution." And according to two reports written by the former British Ambassador Craig Murray on Uzbekistani billionaire Alisher Usmanov, those students are exactly right. According to one of the reports,

When Usmanov negotiated a major oil and gas deal with Uzbekistan on behalf of Gazprom, the Russian state-owned company, $88m was paid in cash to Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the Uzbeki president. Murray has since repeated that allegation in his book, Murder in Samarkand, an account of his time as the ambassador to Uzbekistan.

So if we can learn anything at all from this, we can be certain that it is good to live at the largess of an autocracy. However, for an ordinary Uzbekistani, it would seem that life's aspirations are much more modest with very few avenues of opportunity. Naturally, any discussion relating to politics is extremely dangerous for the average Uzbekistani, and although it is not impossible to find people who "will talk," the average person seems frightened and oppressed. While ethnic Uzbeks (comprising about 80% of the population) are markedly warm, kind, family-oriented people, ordinary life in Uzbekistan seems a dull shade of gray, with little evidence of any living culture, intellectualism, arts, or creativity. Rather, the Uzbekistani people seem frightened and in some sense, dumbed-down, as if they are the end product of a society which has long hammered-down "the nail that sticks out." And it is not uncommon to find Uzbeks -- particularly young men -- staring off into infinity with a stupefied, wall-eyed, bovine stare that seems to signify something like spiritual defeat.

One assumes that this descends from the governing system, which instead of facilitating growth and progress, appears designed to make life impossible. Everything -- from the poor banking system, the absurdly denominated currency (time spent "counting money" is a significant activity in virtually every transaction), poorly maintained highways, the routine police checks everywhere, the internet crawls where it exists, censorship is pervasive, the food shops are pitifully understocked in some places, economic opportunity is extremely limited, and the dense, inevitable bureaucracy overhangs virtually every part of public life -- whether by necessity or design, all of this serves to make daily life more difficult and the disempowers the people.

Likewise, religious activities are severely curbed, and religious oppression in this Sunni Muslim nation again serves to prevent and viable opposition or organization. Religious organizations, parties, and radicalism is perhaps the force the Uzbekistani government fears most, and all mosques and madrasahs are sanctioned and monitored by the state. This religious oppression culminated in April of 2005 at the infamous Anijon Massacre, when as many as 5,000 ordinary citizens were slaughtered by Uzbekistani security forces in the town of Andijon in the Fergana Valley. In an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, an obviously terrified Mukhammadsolykh Abutov writes,

[The] people shot at on the square in Andijon were not terrorists or extremists. And we don’t even have such an organization! All of those accused of being involved in extremist organizations are there because of trumped up charges from the security service. It’s a pretext for repression, for crushing dissent among the people! Those who are in prison – thousands and thousands of people were not terrorists, and couldn’t have been! Our people are simply unhappy with the leaders of the republic. The disgruntlement is of a social nature, nothing else. The people are poor and hungry!

Academic Justifies Slaughter of Unarmed Demonstrators


Is this any surprise from a government that has reportedly boiled people alive in oil and has (appropriately, perhaps) adopted Amir Timur (Tamerlane) as their national symbol? While history has no shortage of butchers, Timur distinguished himself in the realm of genocide, killing an estimated 17 million in the course of his military campaigns, and after the conquest of Baghdad in 1401, 22 pyramids were constructed outside of the city from the severed heads of 90,000 people.

Here are some videos that further explicates the darker side of Uzbekistan through the fascinating story of former British Ambassador Craig Murray.

Warning: These videos contain extremely graphic content.

Life and Death under Karimov (Part I)


Life and Death under Karimov (Part II)


Life and Death under Karimov (Part III)

A voyeur in Tbilisi

Walking in front of Parliament in Tbilisi, there were scores of policemen and an escorted motorcade carrying the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey who were in town for a regional summit. However, what was really catching was this young woman's Fall fashion statement: black woolen leggings, miniskirt and cherry-red belt. A Venus-Pan hybrid, might you say?

The leggings are suggestive of a certain untamed bestiality with proximate pagan undertones, while the miniskirt attracts attention for obvious reasons, and exposes a lot of bare flesh that cuts a sharp contrast to the dense hair of the leggings below. This contrast is made all the more shocking by the fact that normally, human body hair tends to lessen at the extremities of the hands and feet, and we are thus drawn to the counter-intuitive inverted order of this outfit. At the same time, the woman's hair color neatly matches the leggings, thus creating a sort of lateral symmetry between her head and feet.

The bright red belt is useful in drawing attention to the waistline, providing a visual highlight which serves to accentuate the relatively exaggerated biomechanics of the female pelvic girdle. Generally speaking and ignoring considerations of flexibility and muscle tension, broader hips tend to create a larger range of motion with each step, as the distance between the axis (the hip above the planted foot) and the moving outer hip (the hip above the stepping foot) is greater, and thus, broader hips cause the outer hip to pivot across a larger arc with each step.

Moreover, broader hips cause the outer hip to drop a greater distance downward when the supporting foot is lifted for stepping and all of the body's weight is transferred to the planted foot. In this motion, the outer hip dips downward as the body weight is transferred from the stepping foot to the planted foot, and the depth of this drop will be greater for broader hips due to the higher leverage exerted on the pivot point. Conversely, the upward motion of the outer hip will be greater in completing the stepping cycle, rising again as the stepping foot is replanted and the stepping leg straightened to support the body as the opposite foot is then lifted for the next step. Furthermore, a greater hip-to-waist ratio tends to amplify the apparent pivot-and-drop motion of walking, as a smaller waist and broader hips allow the hips to protrude a greater distance from the midsection, making this motion more observable. Of course, all of this is completely obvious to anyone who looks the red belt shown above.

The leggings are called "untebi," and I am told that they are not uncommon in this region. While, I clearly found this interesting enough to clandestinely snap this photo like some dirty old pervert and then write-it-up, I would posit that any woman who is dressed like this is in all likelihood not shy and probably would appreciate the attention of a stranger taking her photo. But why bother asking?

Travel Bums

Is "bum" a derogatory term? Perhaps it would be more dignified to refer to them as "global nomads," "earth wanderers", or "lazy fucking hippies," but I think that "bum" most apt in describing a fairly small but growing number of people around the world who have left their homes, jobs, and schools for extended travel and exploration. To be fair, there are many different classifications of travel bums, and for some the term is well deserved. While others simply harbor and insatiable curiosity for adventure and learning about peoples, languages, cultures, histories, geography, cities, customs, etc. and who generally thrive on the challenge of it all. Many others (as one astute bum once pointed out to me) seem to be of the eternal misfit variety -- people with problems of a personal nature -- social, emotional, family -- which compels them to wonder constantly in places where there are always distractions from the self and relationships are rarely permanent. You will know them by their terrible personalities and poor hygiene. And still, others fall into this category by profession. They the the NGO employees, Peace Core volunteers, tour guides, and scholars who work and study in the nether reaches of the globe, attempting to shed light in some of the world's darker regions, although their motivations may not be entirely different from what drives amateurs.

I will be profiling some of these in the coming weeks, and I will reserve my more acerbic observations for people I plan to never meet again...ever. So if you're reading this, and you find yourself profiled but not insulted, I am probably whitewashing it, you dingy tosser!

A puff piece on Tashkent

I arrived at the Tashkent airport after a two-hour flight with Uzbekistan Airways from Bishkek prepared for the infamous checks by Uzbekistani* customs agents. The checks were rumored to be invasive, extortionate, and immigration plus customs could mean up to three hours waiting under the drab fluorescent lights of the receiving area. While there was a good measure of chaos and idiocy at the airport, I passed through the entire process with no baggage check and in under an hour.

When you arrive at the airport, you are herded into a line which leads to three processing stalls, which in theory accommodate six immigration agents. However, on my arrival only two agents were working. There was also a sign overhanging one line that suggested express processing, with the phrase "Business Class" printed in English only. Of course, any pretenses of civility were completely ignored and the line became a manifold of piglets, pushing and shoving their way through. I met one Russian pharmacologist rolled her eyes as a man butted to the front of the line and passed immediately without presenting documents after catching the guards attention. "That's his friend," she explained.

The rest was relatively easy, compared to both the accounts given in various travel guides and in comparison to stories I heard from fellow travelers. However, generally speaking, Travel Guides such as the Lonely Planet are a good starting point, but their information is usually at least one or two years old by the time of publishing.

At the terminal exit, I was met my two local men approached me offering a taxi ride. Defensively, I tried to lose them as I've had my visits hijacked by pushy drivers in the past, but they simply would not go away. They demanded $20 for a ride to my hotel. "This is normal price," the fat boss insisted. I counter-offered $5, which they refused. I then told them that I would call my hotel, and started off towards the telephones, with the men still following me. Then I heard the smaller man call, "Mister, mister, please! Okay, five dollars!" I felt sorry for him.

He then drove me to the hotel, his wiry, clench fist pumping the stick-shift of his aging, white Lada. He offered me a cigarette and asked where I was from and how long I would stay in Tashkent. And on arrival at my hotel, he insisted on giving me his mobile number in hopes that I would bring him more business during my stay in Tashkent and flashed a broken-tooth smile as he watched me go.

Gulnara's Bed and Breakfast was one of the few guest houses, hostels, or hotels that has been memorable on this trip. A large, traditional Uzbek house, with high gate that opens to a quiet courtyard lined with persimmon trees, branched hanging heavy with fruit. Run by Gulnara, a 60-ish Uzbek woman, who seems learn the names of each guest and speaks warmly in broken English, which usually trails into Russian after a few words. A grandmotherly woman, when asked about the persimmons, Gulnara invited me to take all I liked, and then she walked me over to the best of them, a particularly ripe, sweet fruit. In addition to being popular with the guests, by all appearances, she does a cracking business, which includes nightly "traditional Uzbek" feasts, which literally draws French pensioners (who account for 97% of Uzbekistan's GNP) by the bus-load -- with tables in the courtyard or dining room large enough to accommodate about 30 guests.

I remained in Tashkent for only three nights, as I was anxious to leave for Nukus, Moynaq, and the remains of the Aral Sea, and I spent the majority of my time their chasing my visas for Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

* Note: "Uzbekistani" refers to the nationality of Uzbekistan, while "Uzbek" refers to the Uzbek ethnicity.

Georgia: Back to Christiandom and hot action...almost

My arrival from Baku was preceded by political protests that culminated in the use of truncheons, tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons by Georgian police, shutdown opposition media, and declared a state of emergency to stamp-out the protests. While the protests were ostensibly a demand for economic reforms, early elections and the ouster of US ally President Mikhail Saakashvili, the Georgian government claims that they were instigated by Russia, and the Georgian Foreign Ministry expelled several members of the Russian Embassy's staff, declaring them persona non grata on grounds of stirring social unrest and forced the early withdrawal of Russian troops from Batumi.


In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry expelled three Georgian diplomats, citing Georgia's "unfriendly actions." Following the incident, Saakashvili replaced the Prime Minister and advanced Georgia's national elections to January 5, but the violent crackdown, which apparently left hundreds injured, damaged Saakashvili's domestic support and international standing, and hurt the former Soviet Republic's bid to join NATO.


It was a pity that I arrived in Tbilisi via Baku just one day after the state of emergency had been lifted, and now, there is no noticeable evidence that anything out of the ordinary happened here. I was in Turkmenistan when the protests began, and facing the isolation of a travel-imposed news blackout, it was announced to me by our tour guide, a huge Russian and a nine-year veteran of the Soviet Army. He attempted to present the news off-handedly but his excitement was evident, "You know, I was watching the news today, and they are having a revolution in Georgia. They're protesting because of the bad economy. The president there, Saakashvili, he's crazy." When our guide was pressed for 'why crazy,' he remarked, "He is severing Georgia's relationship with Russia, which has been more than 100 years." Of course, in Turkmenistan, all of the western media was blocked and while the block wasn't entirely comprehensive, being in a country that collects passports at internet cafés and is rumored to log the passwords of users, I didn't probe the story too deeply. After the November 7 crackdown, our guide again commented, "Saakashvili has proven that he is nothing but another bloody Kavkaz autocrat!"


Here in Tbilisi, I have casually spoken about it with some locals who are unhappy with what happened, and suggest that the US is responsible for exerting too much influence in Georgia's affairs and thus partly responsible for Saakashvili's heavy hand. Of course, there is an element of petropolitics at play here, as Georgia is a key link in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which among other things is designed to free Europe from the choke-hold of dependence on Russian energy resources. Given Russia's history of abusing its status as an energy supplier (see here, here, and here) as a blunt tool of geopolitics, it is obviously desirable for Europe to have other options and resist Russia's bullying tactics. As Robert Amsterdam writes, "the increased state control over natural resources is inspiring men like Putin and Chavez to reject and denounce the open nature of the global economic structure and seek to build a 'new architecture' that cherishes rent seeking and opacity, and at least tolerates corruption and autocracy."


Signed by the government of Azerbaijan with a consortium of 10 western oil companies (AIOC) in 1994 and christened as the "Deal of the Century", the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline was initially intended to deliver oil (and eventually gas) to Europe from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field via Baku and Tbilisi, terminating in the Mediterranean Turkish port of Ceyhan, thus obviating Russia. Of course, Russia does not like the BTC pipeline or Georgia's alignment with the West, which promises possible accession to NATO and the EU. Russia has responded to Georgia's westward shift by attempting to derail the BTC project and instigating unrest in Georgia that included peeling away the provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia. There is also an argument that the pipeline provided partial impetus for the second Chechen war, allowing Russia to maintain active troops at the border of its southern neighbor, while Chechen rebels were known to hideout in the Pankisi Gorge, across Georgia's northern border.

In any event, that's the backgrounder on the hot action I just missed, and now, I am trying to figure out something to do that does not include touring religious buildings.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline image is courtesy of WikiMedia Commons.