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Globe Trooper > Uzbekistan
What To Do In Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has borders with Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. It is doubly landlocked but includes the southern shoreline of the Aral Sea.
Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, following the break up of the Soviet Union. In theory the county is a democracy, however, since 1991 it has been run by iron-fisted dictator Islam Karimov, whose security services are widely believed to have killed several hundred protesters in Andijan in 2005 and have been responsible for some severe breaches of the most basic human rights (torture and killings). Little power exists outside of the presidents family or his close allies.