Andijan - Andijan During and After Soviet Rule

Andijan During and After Soviet Rule

During the Soviet Union, Andijan was separated from its historical hinterland when the present borders were created, dividing Ferghana Valley between three separate Soviet republics. Andijan itself became part of the Uzbek SSR. The borders did not make a great deal of difference during the Soviet period, as the entire region was developed to grow cash crops such as cotton and silk.

During World War II many Soviet citizens were evacuated to Andijan and the surrounding republics.

In the 1990s, though, the Andijan and the surrounding region became much more unstable. Poverty and an upsurge in Islamic fundamentalism produced tensions in the region. The town, and the region as a whole, suffered a severe economic decline following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Repeated border closures badly damaged the local economy, worsening the already widespread poverty of Andijan's inhabitants. Islamic fundamentalists established a presence in the city. In May 2003, a local man named Azizbek Karimov was arrested and accused of carrying out terrorist bombings on behalf of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. He was convicted and executed in April 2004.