Syrdarya region of Uzbekistan: history, geography, cities

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Syrdarya region is a source of pride for every representative of the Uzbek people. This is a prime example of what human perseverance and perseverance can change.

Syrdarya region, Uzbekistan: general information

According to the existing administrative-territorial structure, Uzbekistan is divided into twelve regions and one autonomous republic. The Syrdarya region is one of them. It is rather small in area. Only 770 thousand people live here (that is, no more than in one Russian Saratov). The administrative center and the largest city of the region is Gulistan.

Syrdarya region is located in the eastern part of the country, in the Syrdarya river basin. Most of it is occupied by the so-called Hungry Steppe - a waterless and sparsely populated desert with an area of 10 thousand square meters. km. The region itself covers an area of 5100 square kilometers. At the same time, it borders on two other Central Asian states - Kazakhstan in the north and Tajikistan in the south.

Naturalconditions within the region are not very favorable for human life. The climate is hot, sharply continental and arid. The average annual rainfall ranges from 130 to 600 mm in the foothill areas. Summer dry winds and dust storms are common in this area. In summer, they very often cause damage to crops.

History of the region

It is not surprising that the local lands have long been considered absolutely unsuitable for any kind of agriculture. However, everything changed in the second half of the last century, when the USSR Secretary General Nikita Khrushchev headed for the total development of the Soviet virgin lands. The history of this entire period in the life of the inhabitants of the region is the history of continuous labor exploits, generously described in poems, stories and pictures.

Agronomists who took the liberty of conquering the Uzbek steppe faced two serious problems: too high groundwater levels and too high s alt content in the soil. Therefore, the main task was to create a unique and well-designed irrigation system.

In Soviet times, a number of water management facilities were built in the region, which helped to solve these two problems. However, work on curbing the virgin lands did not stop during the years of independence of Uzbekistan. So, in 2008, the Syrdarya region began to actively introduce technologies for improving the condition of lands, which are widely used in Germany and the United States. Thus, in fifty years, the region has turned from a barren desert into a fairly powerfulagricultural region.

Economy and cities of the Syrdarya region

Don't think that the economy of this region is limited to the agro-industrial complex. Light industry is developed in the region, as well as the production of building materials. The Syrdarya GRES operates here, which provides a third of the country's total electricity. Feeling for firm ground and small businesses.

In 2013, a special industrial zone "Jizzakh" was created in the region with special rules of the game for foreign investors. Thus, an investor who has invested more than 300 thousand dollars in its development is exempt from paying taxes for three, five or seven years (depending on the amount of investment). So far, Chinese companies have shown the greatest interest in this territory. The press has already dubbed the Jizzakh zone the “Silicon Valley” of Uzbekistan.

Agriculture still remains the main economic sector of this region. Syrdarya region continues to hold leadership in the country in the production of wheat, melons and cotton. Famous melons grown on local fields are exported to 40 countries of the world! In the near future, it is planned to build a factory in the region, which will produce alcohol, jam, tomato juice and ketchup.

There are eight cities within the region today:

• Gulistan.
• Syr Darya.
• Width
• Navruz.
• Bakht.
• Havast.
• Yangier.
• Pakhtaabad.

Gulistan - the "capital" of the region

Gulistan is the administrative center and the largest city of the Syrdarya region, located on the Tashkent-Khavast railway line. Translated from the Persian language, the name of the city sounds very romantic - "garden of roses". Today, about 70 thousand people (a tenth of the inhabitants of the region) live here. The city was founded in the 19th century. Before the construction of the railway in this area, Gulistan was a small settlement with a mosque and a tea house. In 1952 it received the status of a settlement, and in 1963 it became the center of the recreated Syrdarya region.

The economy of the city is represented by a house-building, oil extraction and repair plant. There is also a garment factory and a number of small food industries. There is a musical and drama theater.

In general, Gulistan looks like a well-groomed and tidy city. However, a tourist in it is unlikely to find anything interesting for himself. True, there is one interesting, if not unique, attraction here - the local St. Nicholas Church. In appearance, it is completely inconspicuous, but the year of its construction is striking - 1957 (in the era of the active struggle of the Soviet government with "opium for the people"). There are only a few such temples in the post-Soviet space.

City of Syrdarya

Syrdarya is the second largest city in the region, located ten kilometers from the river of the same name. It is very young in age: the Syr Darya was founded only in 1971. Today, about 30 thousand people live in the city. Syrdarya is an important industrial center of the region. Here, a lightindustry and agriculture. There are several chemical plants, fisheries are developing (due to the proximity to the river). The Syr Darya is known for its fairly strong athletes. Representatives of the city have repeatedly achieved significant success in national and international competitions in such sports as taekwondo, handball and athletics.