Serious Learning of Uzbek History at the State Museum of History in Tashkent

Formerly the National Museum of Turkestan, The State Museum of History of Uzbekistan in Tashkent was first founded in 1876. It was also known as the Lenin Museum during the Soviet times, as it was built to commemorate the centennial of Lenin’s birthday in 1970. The building showcases concrete grilles on the exterior walls with traditional Uzbek patterns called Panzhara. This architectural feature is considered a rare example of Soviet architecture incorporating explicit non-Soviet, multicultural elements.



The museum presents the most comprehensive overview of Uzbekistan’s long history, from early neolithic settlement all the way to the formal establishment of its modern statehood (independence) in 1991.

Here is what the museum had to say as a welcome introduction to visitors:

Lying on the crossroad of great routes of the east, the Uzbekistan civilization was interacting with the advanced cultures of the east and the west. The first world religion – Zoroastrianism – was formed here, and other world religions – Buddhism and Christianity – have found a fertile field here. The highest level of Uzbekistan civilization has been manifested by the great contribution made by its representatives… in the strengthen of Islam as the world religion.

A defining modern event in the history of Uzbekistan is the Earthquake of 1966 in Tashkent. The museum featured a clock that was broken by the earthquake at the very moment that the earthquake struck. The 5.2 magnitude earthquake devastated Tashkent, destroying much of the city’s existing infrastructures. 300,000 of its residents were rendered homeless. The beautiful metro stations in Tashkent were part of the effort to restore the city from the earthquake. In the next three years, reconstruction of the whole city managed to restore life back to normalcy for the people.

Fast forward to September 1, 1991, Uzbekistan finally declared independence as a republic after the final demise of the Soviet Union. It has since maintained a close relationship with its Central Asian neighbors, and was very much within Russia’s zone of influence as well. The former President Islam Karimov was the Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan at the time of independence. He declared Uzbekistan an independent state following the attempted coup in Moscow in 1991. Uzbekistan was the second in the Central Asian nations to declare independence, after Kyrgyzstan.

President Islam Karimov remained in power until his death on September 2, 2016. He was the authoritarian ruler of Uzbekistan for a full 25 years, despite explicit constitutional provisions that limited presidential terms to two only. His third term of presidency was extended by the means of a referendum.

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Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Feb 23, 2025