Just a week ago at a cabinet meeting, Uzbek leader Islam Karimov hailed the achievements of the Uzbek economic model, which is basically a retrofitted command system. But Karimov clearly hasn’t gotten out of the capital much lately. For many citizens in Central Asian most populous state, electricity cuts and gas shortages have become a defining feature of this winter.
The recent sentencing of a executive connected with a troubled British gold mining venture in Uzbekistan offers fresh evidence that Tashkent has foreign investors in its cross-hairs. Some observers suspect a behind-the-scenes power struggle is responsible for a string of incidents involving foreign-operated companies in Uzbekistan.
In early 2011, when Uzbekistan’s authorities pledged to implement programs and policies to support small and medium businesses, Naimjan Akhmedov operated a travel agency with two employees in Tashkent. This month, after the initiatives went into effect, Akhmedov, found himself faced with a much higher tax bill and wrestling with numerous bureaucratic hassles. So, he decided to close up shop.
