Economics, Politics & Business

The average salary of an average Uzbek is all of $100-250 per month, depending on whom you believe.  For westerners, the country must rank as one of the most inexpensive on the planet.  But the people are struggling.  We met engineers and know of scientists who can make a better living as tourist guides or taxi drivers.  $25 per night will buy a good B&B, guides charge $5 per hour and one night, a great meal for three ran us $8.  

Politically, the country appears to be a benevolent dictatorship, as open, economically as China with a growing market economy but less repressive although it’s hardly a democracy.  The media is very tightly controlled and there have been reports that Islamic fundamentalism is dealt with ruthlessly.  Current western newspapers are almost non-existent and only the western hotels receive CNN or BB World.  The Soviet-trained bureaucrat who ran the country under the old Communist regime is still in place, now a reformed capitalist who supports Western-style tennis tournaments (the national sports craze).  Corruption is rife and every businessperson we met spoke of how difficult it is to get things done.  But, the economy is slowly changing from a Soviet-style command-driven system based on cotton and gold production to a more diverse market system fueled by joint ventures with international companies. 

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