Sharaf Rashidov led the Communist Party of Uzbekistan for almost a quarter of a century. During his time in power, this Central Asian republic experienced a real flourishing, its economy and culture developed rapidly. But at the same time, an all-encompassing corrupt administrative-command system with a unique Uzbek flavor was created, headed by Rashidov.
Origin and childhood
Where did Sharaf Rashidov start his life? His biography began in 1917 in the city of Jizzakh. It is usually reported that he was born into a peasant family. But among the illiterate residents of the town of Jizzakh, at that time more like a village, the Rashidov family stood out for its craving for education: all five of her children, including Sharaf, studied at the local seven-year school. But it was the middle of the 20s, gangs of Basmachi walked around the country, the authority of Islam, the local mullah was indisputable. But apparently, it was not in vain that the Bolsheviks made their revolution, even if in such a dense wilderness people reached outto knowledge.
Youth and years of study
After graduating from the seven-year school, Sharaf Rashidov goes to the Pedagogical College. One and a half years of training as a teacher, and at the age of 18 he becomes a high school teacher. There are not enough teachers in the countryside, it would seem, teach for your own pleasure, get married and live like everyone around, but a tall handsome guy dreams of more. He leaves for Samarkand and enters the Faculty of Philology of the State University.
In his student years, Sharaf Rashidov occasionally composes poetry and writes short stories. He refers them to the regional newspaper "Lenin's Way". After some time, he was accepted into the staff of the main printed edition of Samarkand. But journalistic activities have to be interrupted with the outbreak of war.
Participation in the Second World War
In November 1941, after an accelerated course of study at the Frunze Infantry School, junior political instructor Sharaf Rashidov was sent to the Kalinin Front. He never talked about his military background. Today you can already understand why. After all, what is the Kalinin Front? First of all, these are the battles for the elimination of the Rzhev salient, a two-year monstrous meat grinder in which up to a million Soviet soldiers died, and the set goal was never achieved.
Political Commissar Rashidov Sharaf Rashidovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, was wounded and in 1943 was commissioned as unfit for further service.
Party career
26-year-old retired political instructor returns to his native Samarkand newspaper. In the late 1940s he wasa journalist with a name who tried to find himself in literary work, but his poems and stories were little known. He is being actively promoted along the party line. First, he becomes the chairman of the board of the Union of Writers of Uzbekistan. Of course, it was a nomenklatura position. Appointment to her meant the trust in Rashidov in the circles of the Uzbek and allied leadership.
Soon, the 33-year-old writer becomes chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Council of Uzbekistan. In the former USSR, no one at such an early age held such a high position in power structures.
In March 1959, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, Sabir Kamalov, was dismissed. By that time, Rashidov was already familiar with Nikita Khrushchev and managed to please him. Therefore, on the recommendation from Moscow, the bureau of the Central Committee of the Uzbek Communist Party elects him for the post of head of the republic.
As the leader of Uzbekistan
Sharaf Rashidov, whose activities at first took place under the vigilant control of the allied leadership and personally Nikita Khrushchev, was considered a humanitarian, not associated with traditional Uzbek clans that grew out of the leading strata of various sectors of the economy, trade and civil service. Rashidov really began to pursue a balanced personnel policy, did not surround himself, following the example of his predecessors, with relatives and fellow countrymen, he tried to select people for leadership work on business qualities. Despite the apparent simplicity and obviousness of these principles today, then in Central Asia it was innew.
Rashidov as the face of the Soviet East
The young (he was barely 42 years old), educated, outwardly attractive head of the Soviet Muslim Republic favorably differed from many of his colleagues - party bureaucrats. This was appreciated in Moscow. Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU Artem Mikoyan, whose task was to establish relations with the countries of the East, always invited Rashidov on his trips abroad to India, Iran, Iraq. There Sharaf Rashidovich, who knew perfectly well all the subtleties of oriental politeness, was at home. In response, foreign state and public delegations frequented Tashkent.
In the autumn of 1965, a border conflict broke out between India and Pakistan, which quickly escalated into a full-scale war, in which aircraft and tanks were widely used. None of the Western states managed to seat the warring parties at the negotiating table. Only Rashidov was able to do this, organizing a meeting in Tashkent of the leaders of the two countries, which ended with the signing of the Tashkent Declaration, which put an end to this war. And although A. N. Kosygin formally participated in the negotiations on behalf of the USSR, it was clear to everyone that it was the leader of Uzbekistan who made the main contribution to the organization of the meeting.
Rashidov and Brezhnev
Sharaf Rashidovich had a particularly warm relationship with Leonid Brezhnev, who liked to come to Tashkent and did not forget to mark the merits of his Uzbek party colleague with another award. Rashidov, on the other hand, tried not to lose facebefore the General Secretary, because the amount of funding for many republican projects depended on Brezhnev's attitude. And for financing from the center among the Soviet republics there was a real struggle. The main competitor of Uzbekistan in this competition was Kazakhstan, whose leader Kunaev had been friends with Brezhnev since the time of the virgin epic.
Rashidov sought money from Moscow to build new cities. During his leadership, Uchkuduk, Navoi, Zarafshan appeared in the republic. New factories and mining and processing enterprises in Uzbekistan were launched almost every year.
Under Rashidov, the republic became a gold-mining one. The world's largest open-pit gold mine, Muruntau, was built. And today Muruntau's gold (more than 60 tons per year) is the basis for the financial stability of this country.
Rashidov Sharaf Rashidovich paid special attention to Tashkent. He sought to turn the capital of Uzbekistan into one of the most beautiful cities in the East. Fountains were arranged in the city center every 10-15 meters, the variety of green spaces was amazing. It was Sharaf Rashidov who knocked out the funds for creating all this splendor from the union center. A photo of him from the early 80s is shown below.
White gold
But of course, cotton growing remained the backbone of Uzbekistan's economy during the Soviet period. The country in the 70s and early 80s needed a huge amount of supplies of this crop. Textile enterprises and defense plants simply suffocated from its lack, so cotton crops are constantlyexpanded, and the annual harvesting campaign turned into a nationwide emergency.
The allied leadership constantly put pressure on Rashidov, demanding an increase in the cotton harvest. At the same time, no objective circumstances such as crop failure, bad weather, etc. were often taken into account. Being under the constant threat of punishment for disrupting plans for the supply of cotton and not wanting to lose power and influence, the Uzbek elite, led by Rashidov, developed a whole system of attributions and falsification of reporting. It made it possible to report to the center on the successful implementation of plans for any, even not very good harvest, to receive appropriate incentives, awards and demand new funding for republican projects.
The key moment of this system was the stage of delivery of raw cotton by producers to various wholesale bases supplying enterprises in the European part of the country. As soon as wagons with cotton began to arrive at them, delegations of “deciders” went with them from Uzbekistan, who carried money for the directors of the bases, and they already agreed with consumer enterprises that the latter should not make a fuss if instead of raw materials of the first grade second grade or pure cotton waste was received.
Where did this money come from? In the USSR there was only one source of them - trading enterprises. All of them were subject to tribute, and in return they received scarce goods, which at that time were in abundance in Uzbekistan - their supplies were a reward to Rashidov for "fulfilling" the plans for the supply of cotton. Thus, a vicious circle of deceit, bribes, and corruption was completed, which permeated the entire structure of the then Uzbeksociety.
Cotton business
Coming to power after Brezhnev's death in 1982, Yuri Andropov decided to put an end to the "cotton mafia". In early 1983, an investigative team from Moscow was sent to Uzbekistan, which began arresting the heads of regional trade enterprises, undermining the source of financing for the entire corruption system. Huge valuables were seized.
Rashidov realized that this year it would not be possible to attribute the missing volumes of cotton. During the summer and autumn of 1983, he feverishly rushed about throughout the republic, persuading local leaders to find reserves for the supply of white gold, but out of the 3 million tons of raw materials promised at the beginning of the year, Andropov managed to collect only 20%. Realizing that only a shameful resignation and criminal prosecution awaited him, on October 31, 1983, Rashidov, according to the former chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council Ya. Nasriddinova, shot himself.
Sharaf Rashidov: family, children
In the East, family values are honored, regardless of the social structure and position. Sharaf Rashidov was no exception to this rule. His family was friendly, national traditions were observed in it. His wife Khursant Gafurovna was a housewife, the children - four daughters and a son - studied at an ordinary Tashkent school. All of them still keep a bright memory of their father.
