Uzbekistan in the Twentieth Century

Of all the newly independent Central Asian republics, Uzbekistan is one of the most interesting and powerful - with a large, diverse population, major industrial cities in the Ferghana Basin and a hub position within the region, it is a country with tremendous potential, capable of dominating the whole area, much as did the caliphates from which it is descended before the Russian invasion of the 19th century.

This book describes Uzbek history from the last days of the Tsarist era to the emergence of the independent state.

Colonial develoment, the ethnic complexities of the area, the doubtful status of its borders and the remarkable geographical extent of Uzbekistan (from the deserts and the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea in the northwest, to the mountainous, heavily-populated southeast) are important factors in the contemporary state.