Eight years after his death, Uzbekistan’s first president, Islam Karimov, is still symbolically present in the country.
On January 30, Shavkat Mirziyoyev honoured the memory of his predecessor by laying a floral wreath at the foot of Islam Karimov’s monument in Tashkent. The event in which the president and other officials participated marked what would have been Karimov’s 86th birthday. The same gesture was repeated at similar monuments depicting the late president in his native Samarkand and Karshi.
Paying respect to Karimov on the dates of his birth and death has become an annual occurrence in Uzbekistan after the country’s first president passed away in 2016. Foreign leaders and officials laying flowers at his monuments have also become a usual sight in Tashkent and Samarkand, where he is buried in his own mausoleum. Or whenever President Mirziyoyev happens to be in Samarkand. But that is not all. A handful Karimov statutes have been erected in and outside the country, and his name has been given to different institutions and key infrastructures. Karimov even has his own complex and museum to help preserve his legacy. Despite Mirziyoyev’s call for a “New Uzbekistan,” the key representative of the “Old Uzbekistan” is all but forgotten.
Bronze Karimovs
Contrary to his colleagues in neighbouring Turkmenistan, Islam Karimov did not feel the need to see himself reflected in large sculptures. But that changed after his death. In 2017, the Uzbek authorities inaugurated statues of Karimov in Tashkent, in front of the presidential palace where he lived, and in Samarkand, his native city. The following year the same thing happened in Karshi, a town where Karimov spent part of his career. President Mirziyoyev was present at all the inaugurations praising his predecessor and his achievements.
It is ironic that the sculptor chosen by the authorities was a renowned artist who fell out of favour with Karimov. This resulted in him losing his home, car and risking prison. But years later Ilhom Jabbarov was tasked with sculpting Karimov himself.
While the statues of Karimov in Uzbekistan did not raise any international controversies, the same cannot be said of a monument to the late president in Russia. In 2017, the Karimov Foundation, headed by his daughter Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, hired the services of a British sculptor to build a monument to guard the Uzbek embassy in Moscow. Paul Day came under fire from human rights associations and civil society for taking on the project. However, that did not stop Day and the statue was unveiled the following year. The amount the artist was paid by the foundation for such a controversial job has not been disclosed.
A complex to protect Karimov’s legacy
While the Karimov Foundation (“a charitable organization named in honour of late Uzbek President Islam Karimov” as it defines itself in its website) is a private institution established by his youngest daughter, the Uzbek state also stepped up to protect Karimov’s legacy. And it did so in a large scale.
In April 2017, the “Scientific and Enlightenment Memorial Complex named after the First President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov” was established in Tashkent. The venue chosen was no other than Oqsaroy, Karimov’s presidential palace. Besides hosting his statute and its lush surroundings, the complex includes a museum dedicated to Islam Karimov, an education centre, a library and a conference hall.
This is the venue in the Uzbek capital where the authorities gather to pay homage to Karimov. Although the proper place to do it is 300 kilometres to the southwest, in Karimov’s native city of Samarkand.
A Timurid mausoleum for Tamerlane’s fan
It is not surprising that Islam Karimov’s final resting place ended up being in his home city of Samarkand. But a simple grave was not enough for Uzbekistan’s first president. After his burial, in coordination with UNESCO, works started the mausoleum that would host his remains within the complex of the 19th century Hazrat Khizr mosque.
Karimov, who turned Amir Timur (known in the West as Tamerlane) into Uzbekistan’s main historical figure and founding father, ended up with a mausoleum not too dissimilar to those of the Timurids buried in the neighbouring Shah-i-Zinda complex. Although it must be said that Karimov’s tomb still pales in comparison to the conqueror’s famed Gur-e-Amir.
The monument was finally inaugurated on January 30 in 2018, to coincide with Islam Karimov’s 80th. Since then, it has been one of the mandatory stops of foreign leaders and officials when visiting the city. One notable exception was France’s Emmanuel Macron, who avoided paying homage to Karimov during his trip to Samarkand last year. After all, it would be reprehensible for a democratic leader to lay flowers at the grave of someone notorious for the human rights abuses committed during his presidency. Others like Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan’s Sadyr Japaorv, Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan’s Serdar Berdymukhamedov or Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to name but a few, have not had those reservations.
Streets, airport, university…
In the two years that followed Karimov’s death, his name was given to different institutions around the country. His alma mater, Tashkent State Technical University, was named after him. The same happened with the Palace of Arts in Fergana, a car factory in the easternmost town of Asaka and a number of streets across the country. Travelers arriving by plane in the capital will also be greeted by the former president as they will land at Islam Karimov International Airport.
Islam Karimov’s place in the “New Uzbekistan”
The presence of Islam Karimov in today’s Uzbekistan is paradoxical. On the one hand, Shavkat Mirziyoyev has reiterated he wants to leave the past behind, and therefore coined the motto of “New Uzbekistan.” He has even gone as far as to openly criticise Karimov, stating in 2021: “we have freed ourselves from fears in the last five years.” However, Mirziyoyev, who was his predecessor’s Prime Minister for over a decade, also owes his success to Karimov, and therefore is also a source of legitimation for his rule. Specially during his early years in office.
While Mirziyoyev keeps the yearly tradition of paying tribute to Karimov, and foreign leaders visited the first president’s mausoleum as late as 2022, most of the initiatives mentioned took place in 2017 and 2018. With Mirziyoyev establishing himself as the country’s leader and fending off potential rivals, back then continuity was the obvious and most pragmatic choice to make.
At present, Karimov’s legacy has taken on a folkloric tone. His presence serves as a link to the past and the country’s independence, but it does not overshadow or undermine the current regime. It is rather a minor complement. There is no desire to go back to the Karimov years nor a great nostalgia for his rule. Honouring Islam Karimov a few times a year or seeing his name in a street does not interfere in the country’s daily life. They are deferent gestures towards a past for which the time is up. The Karimov era is gone. The Mirziyoyev era, with its similarities and differences to that of his predecessor, is now in full swing.
One could also wonder whether Karimov, whose regime was notorious for human rights violations and chilling events like the 2005 Andjian massacre, should be commemorated at all in today’s Uzbekistan. But that is different question altogether…
Coming up soon: “Saparmurat Niyazov in today’s Turkmenistan”