Republic of Uzbekistan

I've wanted to visit Uzbekistan since I was 16 years old.  I read a magazine article about the Soviet Union and it talked about how Uzbekistan was home to camels and pineapples.  It sounded like such an exotic part of the USSR that it's been on my bucket list ever since.  The problem has been getting a visa.  All kinds of paperwork, two days off work to apply and pick up the visa from the Uzbek embassy in Prague or Vienna, plus a $160 fee for Americans.  Well there is now an e-visa and a 30 day visa is only $20 so I'm finally going to Uzbekistan.

The Republic of Uzbekistan is in Central Asia.  It is the only country that borders all of the other "Stans" - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.  It also shares a border with Afghanistan.  Along with Liechtenstein, it is one of only two double landlocked countries in the world.  It is a little bigger than California.

O'zbekiston is home to more than 32,7 million people.  A very young population.  In 2008, about 34% of the population was younger than 14.  The capital, and largest city is Tashkent.

The area was famous for the Silk Route that connected the Middle East with Europe, India, and China.  During the 19th century the area was conquered and incorporated in to the Russian Empire.  Following the Bolshevik Revolution it became the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924.  Following the break up of the USSR, it declared independence in 1991.

Uzbekistan is a presidential republic but a highly authoritarian one.  The first president held office from independence in 1991 until his death in 2016.  The former prime minister then took over.  Things are starting to open up a bit but it's hard to image that in 28 years there have only been two presidents.

Uzbek is the official language but Russian is commonly spoken as well.  In 1940, Soviet authorities mandated that Uzbek be written using the Cyrillic alphabet.  In 1993, the country switched back to using Latin script.  Apparently there is no language requirement to apply for Uzbek citizenship.  You hear that Czechland?!

Although a secular state, 88% of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunni.  About 9% are Eastern Orthodox.  As with most Muslim countries this is not a place to be gay.  Sex between two men is illegal and punishment ranges from a fine to up to three years in prison.



The currency is the Uzbek Som.  Currently 10.000 Som equals $1.05 or €0,95.  All of the guest houses that I've booked for my trip in September don't take cards and want to be paid in U.S. Dollars.  

The Czechs and Uzbeks are continuing to improve cooperation between the two countries.  There are currently about 13 Uzbek-Czech joint ventures in Uzbekistan.  More Czech companies are also opening offices in Uzbekistan particularly those in the food and and textile industries, the oil and gas sector and tourism.

Here's a short video I found out on YouTube talking about the country's geography challenges.

©Stratfor.com

Kingdom of Norway

In a couple of weeks I'm headed off to Oslo for a weekend.  Norway will be the 49th country I've visited since moving to Europe.  So here's a bit about Norway.

The Kingdom of Norway is in Scandinavia and borders Sweden, Finland, and Russia.  Norge is a bit larger than New Mexico and has a population of about 5.15 million people.  It has one of the longest coastlines in the world with about 50,000 islands.  It also claims a portion of Antarctica.  Oslo is the capital.

©Stratfor.com

Norway was in a union with Denmark for over 400 years and then in a union with Sweden for more than 90 years.  In 1905 Norway became an independent country.  Today it is a constitutional monarchy.

In the late 1960s, oil and gas were discovered.  It is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside of the Middle East and this accounts for about 30% of government revenues.  Norway is smart because it knows that one day the oil will run out so the money goes in to the world's largest sovereign wealth fund which is valued at more than $830 billion.  The return on the fund goes to support the country's generous social welfare programs.

Norway is the second wealthiest country per GDP in the world.  There are high salaries and high taxes so everything is quite expensive.  For example, a Big Mac costs about $10 and a beer will run $8-$11.

Norwegian alphabet

Norwegian is the official language but it has two official written forms - Bokmål and Nynorsk.  In nine municipalities Sami is also an official language. 

Norway is a founding member of NATO.  There is mandatory military service for males from 19-35.  People serve one year and then there are 4-5 refresher periods, up to age 60, which totals 18 months.  In 2013, Norway became the first country in Europe to draft women as well as men.

The country is pretty progressive.  Norway was the world's first country to have an anti-discrimination law that protects gays and lesbians.  It recognized civil partnerships in 1993 and in 2009 it became the 6th country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage.

It is part of the Schengen zone and contributes to the EU budget as part of the European Economic Area (EEA) but Norway is not part of the European Union.  The country rejected EU membership in 1972 and again in 1994.

Update 2025:  Here's a short YouTube video on why Norway and Sweden broke up.

©History Matters

The Caucasus

The Caucasus is a geopolitical region that separates Europe and Asia.  Mount Elbrus is the highest peak at 5,642 meters (18,510.5 feet) as is considered the highest point in Europe.  The Caucasus region lies between the Black and Caspian seas and between Russia, Turkey and Iran.  The Caucasus can be divided in to northern and southern sections.

The North Caucasus region is part of European Russia.  This area is home to Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan.  Again, these are all part of the Russian Federation.

In the south are the post-Soviet states of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan which all became independent countries in 1991.  The Caucasus region has been one of the most complicated areas following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Abkhazia is at the western end of Georgia, on the Black Sea, and is about 8,600 km² (3,320 sq mi).  When the USSR was breaking up, ethnic tensions grew between Abkhazia and Georgia over independence.  The war in Abkhazia lasted from 1992 to 1993 and ended in Georgian defeat.  There was a ceasefire in 1994 but fighting broke out again in 2008 during the war in South Ossetia.

It is a part of Georgia and is considered a Russian-occupied state.  However, Abkhazia considers itself to be an independent state – the Republic of Abkhazia.  It is recognized by, fellow breakaway republics, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria.  The only real countries which recognize it are Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

A visa is required to enter Abkhazia.  The only way to get there is via Russia or Georgia and you have to exit the same way you entered.  So for Russia, this requires a double-entry Russian visa so that you can go back to Russia.  If you enter from Russia and exit in to Georgia then it is considered a violation of Georgia's borders. 

The situation in South Ossetia is pretty similar to the one in Abkhazia.  South Ossetia is a part of Georgia but it declared independence in 1990 as the Republic of South Ossetia.  The South Ossetia War was from 1991 to 1992 with additional fighting in 2004 and 2008.  In 2008, fighting broke out between Russia and Georgia when the Russian army entered South Ossetia.  Today, Georgia considers the area to be a Russian-occupied territory.  If you are not a Russian citizen you need permission from the Foreign Ministry of South Ossetia in order to visit.

Nagorno-Karabakh is the third breakaway republic in the region.  It was a mostly Armenia area, 4,400 km² (1,699 sq mi), which was made a part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era.  With the breakup of the USSR, the region declared independence from Azerbaijan and was supported by Armenia.  The war in Nagorno-Karabakh lasted from 1988 to 1994.  Internationally, Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as part of Azerbaijan but it has not had control of the region since 1991.  The borders are closed between Azerbaijan and Armenia so the only way to enter Nagorno-Karabakh is from Armenia, provided you have a visa from the Nagorno-Karabakh embassy in Yerevan.

Azerbaijan considers entering Nagorno-Karabakh as a violation of Azeri territory.  If your passport shows any evidence of travel to Nagorno-Karabakh then you will not be allowed to enter Azerbaijan.  And regardless of your citizenship, if you happen to have an Armenian surname then you won't be allowed entry in to Azerbaijan.  Then to make things even more complicated, part of Azerbaijan sits on the other side of Armenia.

The borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia are closed so the only way to get from one to the other is by going through Georgia or Iran.

Turkey is an ally of Azerbaijan, and in part because of the Armenian Genocide, the borders between Turkey and Armenia are closed.

There is a large Azeri population in northwest Iran.  In order to keep the area from trying to join Azerbaijan, Iran has allied itself with Armenia.

Here's a 2010 video I found out on YouTube which gives a good overview of the geopolitical issues going on in the Caucasus.

©STRATFORvideo