Uzbek Independence Day

The Tashkent Globe in Independence Square. Literally putting Uzbekistan on the map.

Uzbekistan. What do we know about it? It's in Central Asia and its capital is Tashkent. That's about it. If we're going to celebrate its independence, we had better learn a little bit more than that, to wit, from whom did they claim their independence and what does said independence mean?

Since the 19th century, Uzbeks were under Russian rule. With the formation of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan became the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. On September 1, 1991, with the decline of the Soviet Union, the republic was able to declare itself an independent democracy. As was often the case though with former communist nations, the individuals running the country didn't change, only their political affiliations. In the case of Uzbekistan, this means that former party leader Islam Karimov became the first (and for that matter, only) Uzbek president.

I'll admit, at this point everything is going to be pretty biased, largely because it's hard in the Western world to find President Karimov's side of the story. Virtually every human rights watchdog--Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the US State Department, and many others--have defined President Karimov's government as an authoritarian state with limited civil rights. Indeed, it seems that gruesome torture and repression are every day events. It's a muslim nation, and those critical of the government are often labeled "Islamic extremists", and jailed or put to death by firing squad. As a consequence of repressive economic policies, nearly half of the population lives on less than $1.25 per day. You'd think the Uzbek people would vote Karimov out of office, but as is universally the case with authoritarian regimes, he easily wins elections with 80% or 90% of the vote. Even though the the Uzbek constitution specifically sets term limits for the president, the courts keep allowing him to run. Even those who run against him have admitted they only have done so to make the elections appear legitimate, and as a rule begin their speeches talking about how awesome Karimov is. Ultimately, they even vote for the guy.

Now I can't help but go on a little rant here, since there are many in the media and on Facebook and Twitter who slander American president Obama as a dictator. It's one thing if you vehemently disagree with his policies, or even personally hate him. I just don't see the comparison. First of all, his approval rating is way too low. If he were a dictator, he would make you like him. Karimov's government is extremely repressive of the media in Uzbekistan. In the US, the most popular cable news station is Fox News, which isn't shy about its opposition to Obama. If he really were a dictator, Glenn Beck wouldn't be claiming on his program that the president had people trying to kill him. There would be a quick and fancy show trial followed by his execution, not a devoted TV, book, and radio following that earns him tens of millions of dollars a year. Sarah Palin would begin every speech by saying how good Barack Obama is for the country, and rank him among some of the greatest presidents we've ever had. And for those of you who tweet that he's a dictator, you would disappear in the middle of the night and never be heard from again. Ultimately, you may think he's doing a lousy job as president--that's something we can debate--but we should all be able to agree that if he's trying to be a dictator, he could learn a lot more from the pros. 

World Heritage Site "The Registran" in Samarkand

Sadly, it seems that the Uzbek people are independent from Russian rule, but they are still not free. So today we instead will celebrate the Uzbek culture, their many beautiful ancient mosques and madrasahs, and above all, their food.

Our version of Plov

For dinner, we chose to make the Uzbek classic, plov. I found this good recipe (and by good, I mean it has giant pictures). I improvised a bit, namely I used pre-ground spices and ground mutton instead of lamb (which, admittedly, was mostly out of laziness). I'm sure a real Uzbek would scoff at our attempt, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The garlic bit was particularly tasty. Ultimately, our version comes off as a really fancy Rice-a-roni, so even if you're not willing to try this, you should at the very least add shredded carrots to all future boxed San Francisco treats you make.   

Day of Solidarity and Freedom

Strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, 1980

I've noticed as of late there are a large number of politicians and media pundits who decry anything they disagree with to be socialism. Progressive leaders moving toward universal health coverage and other government social programs are put into the same category as Stalin, Marx, and Lenin. Ironically, these same would-be Joseph McCarthys generally are also against trade unions--just the same as, well, actual 20th century communists. Let me be perfectly clear so as not to equivocate: If you are against trade unions you have more in common with communists than someone who is for them.

In fact, trade unions were hugely instrumental in the fall of European communism. At the forefront was the world's most famous union, Solidarność, better known in English as Solidarity. Led by the charismatic electrician Lech Wałęsa, workers at the Lenin shipyard in Gdańsk had been striking for months, waiting for the government to give into their demands for equality, religious freedom, and workers' rights. In August of 1980, the government eventually had to give into their demands, signing the August Agreement which gave the union influence over the corrupt government. The union became hugely popular, at one point a quarter of the population were members.

Cover of Polish punk rock group Big Cyc's album "Don't Trust Electricians" with a picture of Wałęsa

Throughout the 80s the government did their best to bring the union down, through repression and martial law. On the second anniversary of the agreement on August 31, 1982 anti-government demonstrations turned violent and three were killed in the town of Lubin. But ultimately, the government was nothing without the workers and they were forced to negotiate with the union, opening the way to semi-free elections in 1989 and Wałęsa as president. 

To celebrate the freedom and rights of workers everywhere, we decided to go with one of my favorite Polish dishes--pierogies. Since our son is allergic to eggs we found a vegan recipe for the dough (found here). It worked out very well, my only advice is to help firmly seal the pierogi when you close them, you might want to lightly coat the edges with oil. For the filling we mashed up a potato with sautéed onions and boiled cabbage. We then added some soy-based cream cheese for some and shredded cheese to the others.

Our Pierogies

After boiling the dumplings till they floated to the top we did our best to fry them. It didn't work out too well at first, but we eventually got the hang of it. I think we were using too little oil and it wasn't hot enough. Once we added more oil and got it good and hot everything worked out perfectly. We had it with some turkey kielbasa and peas on the side. I suppose it tasted like freedom, albeit greasy high-calorie freedom.

We're Back!

Summer break is over and we're back home with our own kitchen. Check out this week for the following posts:

Tuesday - We'll be making pierogies using a vegan recipe for the dough to celebrate Poland's Day of Solidarity and Freedom

Wednesday - We'll be making the rice and lamb dish plov for Uzbekistan's Independence Day

Friday - We'll celebrate micro state San Marino's birthday by making a simple dish of pasta and chickpeas for the Feast of San Marino and the Republic.

Keep an eye out for these and all future posts that I find the time and energy to write!