The politics of memory in Samarkand in post-Soviet period

Abstract

In this paper the author explores the strategy of politics of memory in Samarkand, the hometown of the First President of Uzbekistan I.A. Karimov, in the post-Soviet period. The analysis concerns the traditions of Samarkand's memory culture chosen, invented or forgotten in independent Uzbekistan, to form ideas about the past using historical figures, monuments, holy places and renamed streets in Samarkand as examples. In this complex process it is important to take into consideration how the central authorities interacted with the local cultural elite of Samarkand. President Sh.Mirziyoyev formulated new trends in Uzbekistan's foreign policy, which was reflected in the politics of memory in Samarkand. These changes have become symbolic in the new politics of memory in Samarkand aimed at demonstrating the historical roots of the ethnic and religious tolerance in the society and highlighting Samarkand as a key place in the history of the Islamic world and the birthplace of the First President of Uzbekistan I. Karimov.

Keywords: Samarkand, memory, identity, shrines, streets, memorials, cultural elites, Uzbekistan, Nation-building, urban studies.