Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as Uzbek SSR (Uzbek: Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Рес публикаси) It was one of the fifteen constituent republics of the former Soviet Union, from 1924 to 1991.

History

In 1924, the internal borders of Central Asia were redefined according to ethnic criteria, determined by Joseph Stalin, People's Commissar for Nationalities in Lenin's government. On October 27 of that year, the Uzbek SSR was created from the union of the Bukhara Soviet People's Republic, the Chorasmian Soviet Socialist Republic and part of the Turkestan SSR, becoming a republic of the USSR.

Until 1929, the Uzbek SSR included the Tajik SSR, the year in which it separated, acquiring equal rank within the USSR. In 1930, the capital was moved from the city of Samarkand to Tashkent, and in 1936, the Karakalpak SSR, which until then belonged to the Kazakh SSR, was incorporated.

On September 1, 1991, the Uzbek SSR changed its name to the Republic of Uzbekistan, remaining within the Soviet Union until December 26 of that same year, when the dissolution of the USSR occurred.

Military

Uzbekistan had the strongest Soviet Armed Forces presence of the other Central Asian Republics. Almost all of its troops were personnel of the Turkestan Military District (TurkVO), which was based in Tashkent. Personnel were distributed among the armed forces of Uzbekistan, as well as the armed forces of the other four Central Asian republics when it was dissolved in June 1992. At independence, ethnic Russians filled the ranks of the newly formed armed forces. created and formed the majority of the officer corps.

The Uzbek SSR operated its own Ministry of the Interior (MVD) independent of the Ministry of the Interior of the Soviet Union, of which it was a republican affiliate organization.

Demography

During World War II, Soviet authorities relocated numerous industries to the Uzbek SSR from vulnerable locations in the western regions of the USSR to prevent them from falling into Nazi hands. A large number of Russians, Ukrainians and other nationalities accompanied the factories, changing the demographics of Uzbekistan. These changes were deepened with the deportations of entire ethnic groups suspected of collaborating with the Axis powers. This included large numbers of Volga Germans, Koreans, Crimean Tatars and Chechens.

Economy

At the beginning of the 1960s, work began, supplying the Amu Daria River, to enable the irrigation of large areas of agricultural land that were mainly dedicated to cotton production, turning the Soviet Union into the world's largest producer of cotton, but it also caused the drastic decrease in the flow of water to the Aral Sea, which resulted in its disappearance.

Industry

Uzbekistan had an industrial sector that included electrical power generation, engineering and the chemical industry.

Uzbekistan's energy came from large thermal power plants, including Sir Daria, Angren, Tashkent and others. There was also a hydroelectric component to the economy, including the Charvak, Hodzhikentskaya, Gazalkent and Farjad hydroelectric power plants, among others.

The natural gas industry was important to the economy of the republic. Gazly and other deposits and Kashkadarya area (Mubarak, Shurtan) contributed to this industry. Uzbekistan also produced oil (Fergana Valley, Bukhara region and Surjandarya). In terms of minerals, there was production of lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum, copper ores (found in the Karamazarskaya group of deposits) and gold (found in the Navoi region, the Yizakh region and others).

Chemical manufacturing included the production of mineral fertilizers (nitrogen and phosphorus) for cotton (in Chirchik, Kokand, Samarkand, Fergana, Almalyk and Navoi); the manufacture of chemical fibers (in Fergana); plastics (in Fergana and Namangan), rubber products, household chemicals and more. The petrochemical, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and the microbiological industry were present in some form.

Part of the engineering sector included: agriculture (machinery for mechanization of cotton cultivation, cotton harvesters, etc.), production of tractors, equipment for the textile and cotton industry, construction and road machines, engineering electrical; aviation, electronics and instrumentation, chemical and petroleum engineering. Some companies also produced cement, asbestos-cement pipes, slate and ceramics.

Part of the light industry present in Uzbekistan included the primary processing of cotton, silk cocoons, wool, fiber crops, raw hides and karakul skins. Cotton and silk textiles, footwear, clothing and carpets were produced in Uzbekistan.

The food industry produced oil and fat, mainly the production of oil from cotton seeds, canned vegetables, butter and cheese, milk and meat.

Administrative subdivision

The Uzbek SSR was divided into 11 oblast (provinces) and one autonomous republic, as shown in the table below (data from January 1, 1976, source: Great Soviet Encyclopedia).

Autonomous republics

Oblasts

Autonomous oblasts