Have I got a treat for you! While working at the Inner Asian & Uralic National Resource Center [IAUNRC, what a mouthful!] that pays my tuition, I found these lovely pictures from the early 1990s. They were part of a magazine-like publication that the Uzbek government put out through some German publisher, which is odd considering the language inside is solely English. In any event, these are right up there with some of the craziest pictures I’ve ever seen. The first one is definitely about the funniest [short of that great billboard where Karimov is bear-hugging some poor soldier] and the second might be the scariest. I think someone photoshop’d the eyes, or something – what do you think?
This post was written by...
Michael Hancock-Parmer – author of 153 posts on Registan.net.
Michael earned an MA in Central Eurasian Studies in 2011 and remains a student at Indiana University pursuing a dual PhD in Russian History and Central Eurasian Studies. He served 6 months in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan in 2005. After the events in Andijan and the subsequent closure of the program, he served 2 years in southern Kazakhstan, returning to the Midwest in 2007. His general area of interest is on post-Timur Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, centered on the Syr Darya river valley.
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A very poor photoshopping effort, but frighteningly funny. Looks a little like a Cheney photo. Keep up the great work. You are an inspiration for the generations.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Karimov Bear Hug picture, I have an example here: http://expat.savagenet.com/gallery2/2005+01+Uzbekistan/Karshi/DSC01036.JPG.html
It is pretty hard to beat.
Oh, it’s been so long, and yet the wait has only excited the palette. That picture of the bear-hug is just as great as I remember. Thanks, Robert!
Looks like he is doing suplex to the soldier:)