Dying Art: Uzbekistan's Late President Lionized On Canvas
Updated
- By Amos Chapple
Two years after Islam Karimov’s death, his former presidential palace has reopened as a museum filled with fawning portraits of the autocratic leader who ruled Uzbekistan with an iron fist for a quarter of a century.
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The exhibition, which opened in February 2018, is on the grounds of Tashkent’s Ok Saroy Palace (pictured), where Karimov lived and worked until his death in 2016.
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Visitors inside the gallery. A worker at the museum told RFE/RL that most of the paintings were taken from Karimov’s own walls, while others were commissioned for the exhibition.
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A portrait of a young Islam Karimov titled “For the Memory of Student Years” at the entrance to the exhibition. Born in Samarkand, Karimov studied economics before making his way up the ranks of Soviet planners.
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Karimov ambling through an impressionist Uzbek cityscape. During the 25 years he ruled over independent Uzbekistan, the Soviet apparatchik-turned-president-for-life never faced free democratic elections and ran a police state that was accused of routine torture.
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A 2005 painting depicting Karimov praying with village elders. Karimov was also known for waging a brutal campaign against Islamic radicals and their suspected sympathizers.
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A giant painting depicting Karimov with tigers -- his “spirit animal” -- facing off against a horde of vultures, which a local guide described as representing "Islamic terrorism."
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A 1993 painting of Karimov holding a girl under bursting fireworks. One of the most infamous incidents of Karimov’s rule was the 2005 massacre of antigovernment protesters by Uzbek security forces in the eastern city of Andijon, in which hundreds of people were killed.
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Detail of A Fight With A Tiger.
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A 2017 painting titled Stare uses a famous motif from the madrasah on Samarkand’s Registan Square.
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Young visitors grab a selfie with a canvas Karimov.
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An oil painting of Karimov addressing the United Nations. The exhibition is named “The heart that embraced the universe.” Under Karimov's command economy, Uzbekistan initially struggled to emerge from decades of isolation and poverty, though the last decade of his reign saw steady economic growth.
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A detail of a 2017 painting depicting Uzbekistan’s future, as envisioned by a government-commissioned artist.
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Bronze busts and statues of Karimov are also on display. The exhibition is staffed full-time by a guide who offers free tours in English, Uzbek, or Russian.
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A portrait of a teenage Karimov.
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A scene from the Aral Sea disaster (bottom left) is woven into a largescale painting of a UN meeting.
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A bronze likeness on display in the exhibition hall. In October 2018, the main building of the Ok Saroy palace is scheduled to open to display Karimov’s former living and working quarters, though the future of the museum now appears somewhat uncertain.
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Karimov-themed plates on sale in Samarkand. Soon after this photo was taken on August 4, authorities reportedly swooped in to stop local vendors from selling such souvenirs. Meanwhile, state TV journalists say they have been given strict instructions not to mention the late president's name on air ahead of the second anniversary of his death, in an apparent attempt to shift public attention toward successor Shavkat Mirziyoev.
