RFE/RL reports on a new pro-Russian youth movement in Uzbekistan that may become, alongside Kamolot, the country’s second officially sanctioned youth organization.
“We are Russian-oriented youth who love Uzbekistan and believe that Uzbekistan’s future is in cooperation with Russia only — not China, not America, not Europe, but only with Russia. Russia is [our] elder brother,” Murakov says. “We stand for Uzbekistan’s leadership in the Central Asian region and at the same time for Russia’s leadership in general in the future.”
Murakov stresses that Nashi Rossiya-Uzbekistan opposes attempts to restore the Soviet Union. Uzbekistan should maintain its independence and pursue its own path of development — which he adds quickly “should be parallel to Russia’s path.”
“The priority for us is strengthening friendly ties between generations of our states — Russia and Uzbekistan,” Murakov says. “As our partners in Russia, the Nashi movement is antifascist. Thank God, there is no fascism in Uzbekistan, but there is some nationalism — [and] we oppose it. We stand for friendship, for strengthening ties, for international cooperation.”
Wow. I would hate to be in Murakov’s shoes if the Uzbek government all of a sudden decided to get a little more nationalistic or switch partners in international relations.
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.
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I wonder how the new organization, which calls for unique cooperation with Russia alone can be viewed as anything but Russian nationalism exported to its “near abroad.”