Category Archives: Uzbek Culture

How November 7 was celebrated in Uzbekistan — history, parades, and photographs

November 7 was celebrated in Uzbekistan for decades. The photos show how it was marked in 1919, 1931, 1965, 1970, 1973, and 1981. The last official celebration of November 7 in Uzbekistan took place in 1990. History of the November 7 holiday in Uzbekistan The October Revolution in Russia (then part of the empire that… Read More »

Cotton harvesting in Uzbekistan: my memories of the 1970s–1980s and photos from the 1950s

It took me thirty-five years to recover from the autumn smells that haunt me — the smells I associate with cotton harvesting and Soviet cotton campaigns in Uzbekistan. I picked cotton as a student at one of Tashkent’s universities in 1979, 1980, and 1981, living for at least a month on wooden bunks in field… Read More »

Tashkent in autumn in the second half of the 20th and early 21st century

Autumn in Tashkent has been a theme explored by both painters and photographers. Vladimir Petrov’s paintings, Soviet photographs from the 1960s–1990s, and contemporary 21st-century images allow us to see how the appearance of Uzbekistan’s capital has changed. Autumn in Tashkent in Vladimir Petrov’s works Autumn Tashkent in the 1950s in Petrov’s works Soviet painter and… Read More »

Uzbekistan Independence Day: how the country gained freedom and began celebrating September 1

Independence Day of Uzbekistan (history) Uzbekistan’s Independence Day has been celebrated annually on September 1 since 1992. In Uzbek, it is called O’zbekiston Respublikasi Mustaqilligi kuni — Independence Day of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This day was established in honor of the proclamation of the country’s state independence from the USSR. This happened on August… Read More »

Chilla in Uzbekistan: Forty days of summer heat

Chilla in Uzbekistan means 41°C in the shade today, and 43°C is expected in the coming days. That’s the temperature in the capital — in the regions, it’s even higher. In direct sunlight, it likely reaches 60°C. You can’t even touch the car door — it’s scorching hot. What is сhilla? Chilla, also known as… Read More »