After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has been separated more than a dozen independent states, including Uzbekistan. August 31, 1991, was proclaimed the independence of Uzbekistan and adopted a document “On the declaration of state independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan”. President Islam Karimov became the President of Uzbekistan and still he is President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In subsequent years, Uzbekistan became a member of many of the major international organizations that do not interfere with the country’s government and leader, including breaking the rules of these organizations.
According to the World Bank, in 1991, in the first months of independence, the country had the following economic indicators.
Population: 20, 95 million people.
GDP: 13.67 billion dollars.
GDP per capita: 652 US dollar.
Inflation – 0.5%, which means that inflation even decreased.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was also a totalitarian state, Uzbekistan has passed into the hands of President Islam Karimov. The new president of the country did not build democracy in the country. In fact, the country has not moved from a totalitarian regime to another. Moreover, part of the Soviet Union’s economic performance and quality of life was better. Initially, Karimov has improved the country’s economy. Now the economy is in bad shape.
The most critical problems of the country are associated with the following factors:
1.Inflation
The state currency is unstable and prone to inflation, which every year is only increasing. According to the World Bank, over the past 5 years, the inflation rate fluctuated between 10-12 percent. It is also difficult to change the local currency for foreign, in particular on the dollar. This operation, in most cases, can only be done on the black market, and with a huge commission.
2. Force labour
In Uzbekistan, as early as in the Soviet Union administration of the country use forced labour. The so-called labour days. All public employees are obliged at a certain time to go to the cotton fields to collect the cotton. The state is also used child labor, which is prohibited by international pacts.
In 2015, the country’s administration has introduced for people who are engaged in agriculture a compulsory annual plan of harvest and autumn forcibly sending people to harvest cotton.
Teachers, doctors, nurses, civil servants and private sector workers were forced to pick cotton because otherwise they could be fired from their jobs or to deprive the salary.
According to international organizations, during the cotton harvest in 2015, killing 6 people. This happened as a result of dangerous working conditions.
As a result of a decade of international pressure, in 2015 the Uzbek authorities, in contrast to previous years, refused to use child labor. However, in 2015 for the cotton harvest was drawn a large number of adults.
3.Freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
In authoritarian Uzbekistan citizens cannot freely express their opinion on the election, to form political parties, independent candidates or nominate any other way to ensure a transparent and democratic electoral process.
On March reelection elections Karimov ran for a fourth five-year term, despite the fact that the Constitution of Uzbekistan prohibited stay the same person as president more than two terms in a row. The final report of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe noted that during the elections there was no full-fledged “political debate and fair competition”, and that such fundamental freedoms as the freedom of association, assembly and expression were virtually collapsed.
4.Tortures
In Uzbekistan, torture remains widespread and unpunished. Despite the introduction in 2008 of habeas corpus, detainees rights are violated at all stages of court proceedings . The government has not complied with substantive recommendations to combat torture proposed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Committee against Torture and other international organizations. The state-controlled bar association lawyer deprived status of those defenders who are engaged in politically motivated cases.
After a six-refoulment of Uzbek refugees from Norway to Uzbekistan in December 2014, authorities arrested, tortured and tried individuals to seek political asylum, presenting them to the charge of terrorism and incriminating view “extremist” video in Norway. In February 2015, state television showed a film with excerpts of confessions of the accused. In the documentary footage clearly shows that these people have been tortured.
5.Freedom of political expression
In Uzbekistan, an authoritarian regime and the current president Islam Karimov has ruled the country for 25 years. These tortures are used to all political opposition activities are punished. People who disagree with the leader and the government are harassed, persecuted and repressed. In Uzbekistan, there are no political freedoms and competitive of the opposition parties. All attempts by the current regime persecuted. It is beneficial to the current head of the Republic of Uzbekistan in order to rule the country for as long as possible.
The following economic indicators now Uzbekistan:
Population: 32.3 million people.
GDP: 66.7 billion dollars.
GDP per capita: US $ 2065.
GDP- gross domestic product, the benchmark in each country, it is measured by the quality of life.
For comparison, GDP per capita in other post-Soviet countries is approximate $ 10,000 per capita.