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Article: Uzbekistan's eternal realities: a report from Tashkent.
- Article from:
- World Policy Journal
- Article date:
- March 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 World Policy Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Unlike some of Uzbekistan's stunningly beautiful cities, the country's capital chiefly emits visions of autocracy. Almost completely leveled in a massive earthquake in 1966, central Tashkent consists mostly of grim Soviet buildings and a sprinkling of post-Soviet glass and steel office towers. What little remained of the old town's clay-and-straw brick walls and meandering, windowless streets has been razed during the past few years to make way for thoroughfares into the city center.
It was in front of one of the city's grand new projects--a large sports complex built by the National Bank of Uzbekistan--that Nikolai (not his real name) picked me up in his Daewoo. ...