Tashkent, Uzbekistan

A Nice Apartment

The front entrance looked like a poorly maintained apartment in the projects. “Most of the windows are barred up. Is there a lot of crime here?” I asked Kamilla. “No, not at all, this is a nice neighborhood with a good location. People just like to be careful. People who live here are mostly doctors and lawyers. Their apartments are typically 70 square meters and consist of a bedroom, kitchen, sitting room, and bathroom — sufficient for a family of three, maybe four. The apartments have a dishwasher and a wash machine, but no driers. They cost around $40,000 — to rent, around $500. Since the average salary is around $200 per month, only the better off can rent or own a place like this. But people here are very happy with their lives. We don’t have the turmoil they have in Kzrgyzstan. A lot of this is due to president, Islam Karimov, whom everybody likes. We understand him and his policies. Young people even call him grandfather. He’s been our president since our independence from Soviet rule in 1991. He doesn’t have any opposition. My mother though says life was even better under the Soviet Union. Everybody worked together and was happy then. I don’t know if that’s true. I just know that I’m happy with my situation now. The fact that I’m Russian Orthodox and the Government’s official religion is Islam hasn’t had any affect on me. I don’t feel my civil rights have in anyway been violated.