Culture of Uzbekistan 2497396 217267365 2008-06-05T08:52:26Z Lradrama 3358912 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/68.204.209.207|68.204.209.207]] ([[User talk:68.204.209.207|talk]]) to last version by 91.104.21.202 [[Image:Termez, stallholders.JPG|thumb|Uzbek women]] [[Uzbekistan]] has a wide mix of ethnic groups and cultures, with the [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] being the majority group. In [[1995]] about 71% of Uzbekistan's population was Uzbek. The chief minority groups were [[Russia]]ns (8%), [[Tajiks]] (officially 5%, but believed to be much higher), [[Kazak]]s (4%), [[Tatar]]s (2.5%), and [[Karakalpak]]s (2%)and other minority groups include [[Armenians]] and [[Koryo-saram]]. It is said however that the number of non-indigenous people living in Uzbekistan is decreasing as Russians and other minority groups slowly leave and Uzbeks return from other parts of the former [[Soviet Union]]. When the Uzbekistan region was formed as part of the Soviet Union in [[1924]] the [[Soviet government]] paid little attention to which parts of the region had been settled by Uzbeks and which had not. As a result the modern country of Uzbekistan includes two main Tajik cultural centres at [[Bukhoro]] and [[Samarqand]], as well as parts of the [[Fergana Valley]] to which other ethnic groups could lay claim. When Uzbekistan gained independence in [[1991]] it was widely believed that [[Muslim fundamentalism]] would spread across the region. The expectation was that an [[Islam]]ic country long denied freedom of religious practice would undergo a very rapid increase in the expression of its dominant faith. As of [[1994]] about half of Uzbeks were said to belong to the Islam religion, though in an official survey few of that number had any real knowledge of the religion or knew how to practice it. However Islam is increasing in the region. Uzbekistan has a high [[literacy rate]] with about 88% of adults above the age of 15 being able to read and write. However with only 76% of the under 15 population currently enrolled in education this figure may drop in the future. Uzbekistan has encountered severe budgeting shortfalls in its education program. The education law of [[1992]] began the process of theoretical reform, but the physical base has deteriorated, and curriculum revision has been slow. ==Sport== Uzbekistan is home to former racing cyclist [[Djamolidine Abdoujaparov]]. Abdoujaparov has won the points contest in the [[Tour de France]] 3 times, each time winning the coveted green jersey. The green jersey is second only to the yellow jersey. Abdoujaparov was a specialist at winning stages in tours or one day races when the bunch or [[peloton]] would finish together. He would oftern 'sprint' in the final kilometer and had a reputation as being dangerous in these bunch sprints as he would weave side to side in a sprint. This reputation earned him the nick name 'The Terror of Tashkent'. Uzbekistan is also the home of the [[International Kurash Association]]. Kurash is an internationalized and modernized form of the traditional [[Uzbek]] fighting art of [[Kurash]]. == See also == * [[Islam in Uzbekistan]] * [[Music of Uzbekistan]] * [[Scout Association of Uzbekistan]] * [[Education in Uzbekistan]] : ''This article contains some text originally adapted from the public domain [[Library of Congress Country Study]] for Uzbekistan at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/uztoc.html'' {{Asia in topic|Culture of}} [[Category:Uzbekistani culture| ]] {{Uzbekistan-stub}} {{culture-stub}} [[es:Cultura de Uzbekistán]] [[pt:Cultura do Uzbequistão]]