Uzbekistan. Economy and history

Economy. Most of Uzbekistan's economy is indirectly controlled by the government. Although many farms and small businesses are privately owned, the government controls much of the supply of raw materials and transportation. The government also regulates much of the marketing of goods, particularly exports.

Cotton is the chief agricultural product Other important products include grapes, melons, and other fruits; milk; rice; and vegetables. Wool from the karakul, a breed of sheep raised in Uzbekistan, is highly prized for coats. Mining operations produce coal, copper, gold, natural gas, and petroleum. Uzbekistan's important manufactured products include agricultural machinery, chemicals, food products, and textiles.

An airport in Tashkent handles international flights. Studios in that city broadcast radio and television programs in both Uzbek and Russian. The country publishes newspapers and magazines in several languages.

History. People have lived in what is now Uzbekistan for thousands of years. Alexander the Great conquered the region in the 300's B.C From this time through the 1400's, the area was important because of its location along the Silk Road. The Silk Road was a major trade route for caravans carrying silk and other luxury goods from China to the Middle East

In the 600's, Arabs invaded what is now Uzbekistan and introduced Islam to the area. Turkic tribes began to arrive in the region in the 700's. Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, conquered the region in the early 1200's. In the late 1300's, the Mongol conqueror Timur (also known as Tamerlane) founded the capital of his vast Asian empire in Samarqand, now Uzbekistan's second largest city.

A group of Turkic tribes known as the Uzbeks invaded what is now Uzbekistan in the 1500's. Overtime, political states called khanates were established in the region. In the 1800's, the khanates were conquered by Russia or came under Russian influence. Revolutionaries known as Bolsheviks (later called Communists) won control of Russia in 1917. In 1924, Uzbekistan became a republic of the Soviet Union, which had been formed under Russia's leadership in 1922.

The Soviets made many changes in Uzbekistan. The Soviet government built roads, schools, and modern housing, and it expanded industry. The Soviets also collectivized agriculture—that is, they ended private farming and transferred control of farms to the government. The Soviets strongly emphasized cotton production. Overplanting of cotton harmed the soil, and overuse of fertilizers polluted drinking water.

The Soviet government maintained strict control of all aspects of life until the late 1980's. In 1990, the Uzbek government declared that its laws overruled those of the Soviet central government. In August 1991, conservative Communist officials failed in an attempt to overthrow Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. During the upheaval that followed, Uzbekistan and several other republics declared their independence. In December, Uzbekistan joined other republics in a loose association called the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Soviet Union formally dissolved on December 25.

On Dec. 29,1991, Uzbekistan held its first presidential elections following independence. Islam A. Karimov of the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan won. Fie had been the Communist Party leader. The rapid changes in Uzbekistan brought economic hardships. But the government maintained political stability. However, international organizations criticized Uzbekistan's government for its failures in the area of human rights.

In 1995, a referendum extended President Karimov's term to 2000. He was reelected in 2000.