Twenty-five years after gaining its political independence, Uzbekistan has become “railway independent,” with its residents now able to travel between one part of their Central Asian republic to another, by rail, without crossing into another country—in this case, Tajikistan. On April 15, a new 123.1-kilometer line, including a 19.1-kilometer tunnel, will open, connecting the country’s capital of Tashkent with Namagan in the east (Periskop.livejournal.com, February 26).
For many, this may seem like a small story; but it is emblematic of something that almost all the countries of the post-Soviet space have had to deal with. Moreover, Uzbekistan’s transit developments are certain …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation