Politics of Uzbekistan

The Republic of Uzbekistan is a presidential constitutional republic, whereby the President of Uzbekistan is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Supreme Assembly, the Senate and the Legislative Chamber. The judicial branch (or judiciary), is composed of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and Higher Economic Court that exercises judicial power.

The movement toward economic reform in Uzbekistan has not been matched by movement toward political reform. The government of Uzbekistan has instead tightened its grip since independence (September 1, 1991), cracking down increasingly on opposition groups. Although the names have changed, the institutions of government remain similar to those that existed before the breakup of the Soviet Union. The government has justified its restraint of public assembly, opposition parties, and the media by emphasizing the need for stability and a gradual approach to change during the transitional period, citing the conflict and chaos in the other former republics (most convincingly, neighboring Tajikistan). This approach has found credence among a large share of Uzbekistan's population, although such a position may not be sustainable in the long run.

Uzbekistan

Coordinates: 41°N 69°E / 41°N 69°E / 41; 69

Uzbekistan (US ⁱ/ʊz.ˈbɛk.ɪ.ˌstæn/, UK /ʊz.ˌbɛk.ɪ.ˈstɑːn/), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi/Ўзбекистон Республикаси), is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It is a unitary, constitutional, presidential republic, comprising 12 provinces, 1 autonomous republic, and 1 capital city. Uzbekistan is bordered by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Tajikistan to the southeast; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the southwest.

Once part of the Turkic Khaganate and later Timurid Empires, the region that today includes the Republic of Uzbekistan was conquered in the early 16th century by Eastern Turkic-speaking nomads. The area was gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century, and in 1924 what is now Uzbekistan became a bordered constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, it declared independence as the Republic of Uzbekistan on 31 August 1991 (officially celebrated the following day).

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva (born July 3, 1978) is an Uzbek diplomat and philanthropist. She is the younger daughter of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and his wife, Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova. Her older sister is Uzbek diplomat and business mogul Gulnara Karimova.

Personal life

Karimova-Tillyaeva earned bachelor's and master's degrees in International Law from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent, and later received a doctorate degree in Psychology from Tashkent State University. In January 2008 she was appointed to her current role as Uzbekistan's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. She is married to businessman Timur Tillyaev and they have three children: two daughters and a son (Mariam, Safia and Umar).

In July 2013, various media outlets reported that Karimova-Tillyaeva had purchased a home in Beverly Hills.

In an interview with the BBC Uzbek Service in 2013, Karimova-Tillyaeva stated that she had not been in contact with her sister Gulnara for 12 years and that "There are no family or friendly relations between us...We are completely different people."