Comments on: Karmov-GMK

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:51:47 +0000

Yes and yes. It has always been a de jure state enterprise, but it’s also, as you note, been a fairly independent one. Like you say, the change here is that it looks like the state is becoming more involved for some reason.

By: jonathan p

jonathan p — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:24:29 +0000

Here’s my point of confusion: Correct me if I’m wrong, but hasn’t NGMK always been a state-owned entity, at least in part? To call this move a “takeover” is a little much, don’t you think? Granted, portions of the company were privately held during the last 15 years (mostly by foreign entities), but it was my understanding that NGMK was always majority controlled by the government. … Kuchersky was/is on the cabinet of ministers, after all.

By the way, Kuchersky has actually been in ill health. That part of the story is legit.

I think what’s happening here is that the government (or Karimov, via his appointees) is becoming more actively involved, probably in a bid to wrest away some of NGMK’s significant power. NGMK/Kuchersly truly has been the de facto government of Navoi Region (particularly the company’s three cities), and exercises a degree of influence outside the region as well.

The thing is, however, that this has been a good thing for the locals (as long as you have an association with the company). Navoi region is in pretty good shape (relatively speaking, of course) and the locals enjoy some nice perks of living in proximity to the NGMK cash cow. It’ll be interesting to see what, if anything, changes as a result of the closer involvement of Karimov and Co.

By: jonathan p

jonathan p — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:12:23 +0000

There are a few such “resorts” at Tudakul. Each is “owned” by a different branch of the company. The one I stayed at several times is owned by the Navoi branch of the company and is operated by NMZ, the metalworking factory in Navoi. These places are indeed very nice.

There is access to the reservoir elsewhere (for the locals, I mean). Mostly on the south and west sides. Somebody told me there’s even a small fishing company. But access to these little fiefdoms is restricted, of course. You know, Tudakul is not particularly clean. It’s salty and has pretty high concentrations of gunk from agricultural runoff. I wouldn’t want to spend much time in the water…

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:21:07 +0000

Almost an hour away from Bukhara, across a bit of desert and through some poverty stricken villages there’s Lake Tutagul. On the shores of this lake is a ridiculously posh, near first-world quality resort complete with a beach, waterpark, a small zoo (complete with a little mini-train), luxury hotel, hot-spring medicinal spa, sauna, pool, restaurants and bars. Pine trees are planted around the hotel and irrigated to keep them alive. To keep the riff-raff out the place is surrounded by guard towers and a double-fence and is patrolled by numerous police. There’s hardly anything else nearby so all the security seems overkill. Tourists don’t know about this place because it’s not open for tourists – or locals for that matter – at any price. However I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to spend a couple afternoons there (a friend of a friend of the owner’s relative). I was told the purpose of this resort is a playground for the bigwigs who run the Zarafshon gold mine, and indeed all of the few guests I spoke to there said they were either from Zarafshon or Navoi.

The huge lake itself is beautiful in the summer, and would make a perfect getaway for families nearby during the hot summer months, but it’s a real shame that the only real access to the lake is obtainable only if you’re a mining elite.

By: student

student — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:52:06 +0000

Yes he does, Brian. And he has to, because he is inside.

Nathan, you are right. Kuchersky is more popular and powerful than any hokims of the city or province.

I have just remembered one thing:
During my high school years, while walking home from school, we saw sometimes the coolest car in the city, which was very rare even in Uzb. Then, of course, we guys started arguing whose car is this. Some said it was hokim’s, some said Kuchersky’s. But most of us agreed that it was Kuchersky’s car. I am not sure, whether it was his or not, but the point is he was the powerful man in people’s minds too.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:52:35 +0000

Mr. Kuchersky sounds a bit defensive about the subject, don’t he?

By: Nathan

Nathan — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:36:31 +0000

The situation he’s describing doesn’t sound too different from what Ferghana.ru was describing. He’s putting a positive spin on things, but it’s clear there was some change. Things may be running more or less as normal, but there does in fact appear to be a new set of eyes watching NGMK.

By: student

student — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:05:49 +0000

According to Uzbek RFE/RL “Ozodlik” Nikolai Kuchersky, the general director of NGMK, has denied all the statements about the takeover.

These are what he told during the phone conversation with RFE/RL:

“Everything might come to one’s head. All these are lies. Now the complex is operating normally as it did before. Information about President’s taking control over the complex is fable. He has many other jobs to do. If we didn’t do good job, it would be other words.
There are supervisory councils in other branches such as chemical, oil and gas, aviation, and transport and communication fields. And now the supervisory council was established also for us to accelerate resolving our problems with the government’s aid. Supervisory councils like in all countries will help us to win over current bureaucratic barriers.
I think someone from outside is fed up with me. But inside is peace. I even go to Moscow with the permission of the government. That’s why I had been in the clinic hospital #83 for 4 days. They checked the level of my blood sugar and sore in my stomach. I spent exactly four days in Moscow and on the fifth day I was at the Prime Minister’s office in Tashkent.”

http://www.ozodlik.org/domesticreports/democracy/uz/2008/05/928453AF-0238-4487-A16D-1AA28E9D72A0.asp