SUMMARY

The Republic of Uzbekistan declared independence from the USSR in 1991. Former Soviet politician Islam Karimov became the first president of the new state. He held on to power, engaging in widespread repression and fighting two insurgencies during his tenure. His death from natural causes in 2016 led to his replacement by a new, somewhat reformist but still largely authoritarian government.

Since 1989, Uzbekistan has experienced only the intrastate category of organized violence, as defined by the UCDP.

Two jihadist insurgencies

The former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan saw no armed conflict in the period ranging from its independence in 1991 until 1999. That year, a conflict over government reached the level of armed conflict as jihadist outfit IMU began an insurgency against the government of Uzbekistan, with the aim of instituting Islamic rule. The conflict produced comparatively few fatalities in 1999, geographically concentrated in three locations within Uzbekistan: the capital Tasjkent and its surrounding region, as well as in the Bukhoro and Sirdaryo regions. The conflict also spilled over the border to neighboring Kyrgyzstan, where a few fatalities occurred. The armed conflict continued in the year 2000, which saw an almost sixfold increase in battle-related deaths from the year before. The area affected by the violence also clearly shifted, with the southern Surxondaryo region now seeing most of the fatalities. Additionally, the conflict’s spillover into Kyrgyzstan drastically increased. In October 2000, the IMU retreated to bases in Afghanistan, and began fighting alongside the Taleban, effectively putting an ending the group’s insurgency in Uzbekistan.

The next, comparatively smaller peak in fatalities from organized violence came in 2004, as JIG—a group formed by former IMU members—launched a new jihadist insurgency. Through violent attacks in the capital Tasjkent and the easternmost part of the country from March to July, the Uzbekistan: Government conflict again reached the level of armed conflict. After a four-year hiatus, the group again was involved in clashes with the Uzbek government in 2009, also in the easternmost part of Uzbekistan. That year, however, the violence was insufficient to reach the level of armed conflict.

Pre-1989 conflicts

An independent Uzbek state did not exist prior to 1991. From the earliest year covered by UCDP data, 1946, up until 1989, the territory that today constitutes Uzbekistan was a part of the USSR under the name of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Thus, see the Russia (Soviet Union) country page for further information.