Karakalpakstan

From about 500 BC to 500 AD, the region of what is now Karakalpakstan was a thriving agricultural area supported by extensive irrigation.[3] It was strategically important territory and fiercely contested, as is seen by the more than 50 Khorezm Fortresses which were constructed here. The Karakalpak people, who used to be nomadic herders and fishers, were first recorded by foreigners in the 16th century.[4] Karakalpakstan was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Khanate of Khiva in 1873.[5] Under Soviet rule, it was an autonomous area within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic before becoming part of Uzbekistan in 1936.[6] The region was probably at its most prosperous in the 1960s and 1970s, when irrigation from the Amu Darya was being expanded. Today, however, the drainage of the Aral Sea has rendered Karakalpakstan one of Uzbekistan's poorest regions.[4] The region is suffering from extensive drought, partly due to weather patterns, but also largely because the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers are exploited mostly in the eastern part of the country. Crop failures have deprived about 48,000 people of their main source of income and shortages of potable water have created a surge of infectious diseases.[7]

Karakalpakstan is now mostly desert and is located in western Uzbekistan near the Aral Sea, in the lowest part of the Amu Darya basin.[1][7][8] It has an area of 164,900 km²[9] and is surrounded by desert. The Kyzyl Kum Desert is located to the east and the Karakum Desert is located to the south. A rocky plateau extends west to the Caspian Sea.[3]

The Republic of Karakalpakstan is formally sovereign and shares veto power over decisions concerning it with Uzbekistan. According to the constitution, relations between Karakalpakstan and Uzbekistan are "regulated by treaties and agreements" and any disputes are "settled by way of reconciliation". Its right to secede is limited by the veto power of Uzbekistan's legislature over any decision to secede.[9] Article 74, chapter XVII, Constitution of Uzbekistan, provides that: "The Republic of Karakalpakstan shall have the right to secede from the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of a nationwide referendum held by the people of Karakalpakstan."

Ancient fortress of Kyzyl-Kala (1st-4th century AD), under restoration (2018). Karakalpakstan

The population is estimated 1,948,488 (2022), with 51% living in rural areas.[10][11] In 2007 it was estimated that about 400,000 of the population are of the Karakalpak ethnic group, 400,000 are Uzbeks and 300,000 are Kazakhs.[4] The Karakalpak language is considered closer to Kazakh than to Uzbek.[12] The language was written in a modified Cyrillic in Soviet times and has been written in the Latin alphabet since 1996.

The crude birth rate is 2.19%: approximately 39,400 children were born in 2017. Nearly 8,400 people died in the same period. The crude death rate is 0.47%. The natural growth rate is 31,000, or 1.72%.

The median age was 27.7 years old in 2017, which is younger than the rest of Uzbekistan (median age of 28.5 countrywide). Men are 27.1 years old, while women are 28.2 years old.

Other than the capital Nukus, large cities include Xoʻjayli, Taxiatosh, Chimboy, Qoʻngʻirot (Kungrad) and Moynaq.

Cotton picking near Kyzyl-Kala, Karakalpakstan.

The economy of the region used to be heavily dependent on fisheries in the Aral Sea. It is now supported by cotton, rice and melons. Karakalpakstan is well known for its fruits, such as plums, pears, grapes, apricots in addition to all kinds of mellons. Hydroelectric power from a large Soviet-built station on the Amu Darya is also important.

The Amu Darya delta was once heavily populated and supported extensive irrigation based agriculture for thousands of years. Under the Khorezm, the area attained considerable power and prosperity. However, the gradual climate change over the centuries, accelerated by human induced evaporation of the Aral Sea in the late 20th century has created a desolate scene in the region. The ancient oases of rivers, lakes, reed marshes, forests and farms are drying up and being poisoned by wind-borne salt and by fertilizer and pesticide residues from the dried bed of the Aral Sea. Summer temperatures have risen by 10 °C (18 °F) and winter temperatures have decreased by 10 °C (18 °F). The rate of anemia, respiratory diseases and other health problems has risen dramatically.[14]

Districts of Karakalpakstan before 2017.

Largest cities of Karakalpakstan

The autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan consists of 16 districts (listed below) and one district-level city: Nukus.[2]

Taxiatosh District was created in 2017 from part of Xoʻjayli District.[15] Boʻzatov District was created in September 2019 from parts of the Kegeyli District and the Chimboy District.[16]

There are 12 cities (Nukus, Mangʻit, Beruniy, Xalqobod, Qoʻngʻirot, Moʻynoq, Taxiatosh, Toʻrtkoʻl, Xoʻjayli, Chimboy, Shumanay, Boʻston) and 26 urban-type settlements in Karakalpakstan.[2][17]

• Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast, a short-lived Soviet entity
• Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and then the Uzbek SSR
• Delta Blues (documentary film)
• Human rights in Uzbekistan
• Mizdahkan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karakalpakstan.

• (in English) Official website of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan
• Karakalpakstan Tourism Site
• (in Russian) Photos of Nukus city
• Tours to Karakalpkstan
• http://karakalpak.homestead.com
• Karakalpak music