Sharaf Rashidov: biography, photo and family

Sharaf Rashidov headed the Communist Party of Uzbekistan for almost a quarter of a century. While he was in power, this Central Asian republic experienced a real flowering, its economy and culture were booming. But at the same time, an all-encompassing corrupt administrative and command system was created with a unique Uzbek flavor, led by Rashidov.

Origins and childhood

Where did Sharaf Rashidov begin his life? His biography began in 1917 in the city of Jizzakh. It is usually reported that he was born into a peasant family. But among the low-literate inhabitants of the town of Jizzakh, at that time more like a kishlak, the Rashidov family stood out for their education: all five of her children, including Sharaf, studied in the local seven-year school. But it was the middle of the 1920s, the Basmachi gangs walked around the country, the authority of Islam, the local mullah was indisputable. But apparently, it's not for nothing that the Bolsheviks were making their revolution, even if in such a dense wilderness people were drawn to knowledge.

Youth and years of study

After the end of seven-year period Sharaf Rashidov goes to pedagogical technical school. One and a half years of teaching the profession of a teacher, and at age 18 he becomes a teacher of secondary school. Teachers in rural areas are not enough, it would seem, teach for your own pleasure, get married and live like everyone else, but a tall handsome guy dreams about more. He leaves for Samarkand and enters the philological faculty of the State University.

In his student years, Sharaf Rashidov occasionally composes poems, writes short stories. They include them in the regional newspaper "The Leninist Way". After a while he was accepted into the staff of the main print edition of Samarkand. But journalistic activities have to be interrupted with the outbreak of war.

Participation in the Second World War

In November 1941, after an accelerated training course at the Frunze Infantry School, junior political instructor Sharaf Rashidov went to the Kalinin Front. He never talked about his military past. Today you can already understand why. After all, what is the Kalinin Front? First of all, these are battles for the liquidation of the Rzhevsky ridge, a two-year-old monstrous meat grinder, in which up to a million Soviet soldiers were killed, and the goal was never achieved.

Politruk Rashidov Sharaf Rashidovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, was wounded and in 1943 was commissioned as unfit for further service.

Party career

The 26-year-old retired political instructor returns to his native Samarkand newspaper. In the late 40s he was a journalist with a name that tried to find himself in literary creation, but his poems and stories were little known. They are beginning to push hard on the party line. First, he becomes chairman of the board of the Union of Writers of Uzbekistan. Of course, it was a nomenklatura post. Appointment to it meant having confidence in Rashidov in the circles of the Uzbek and Union leadership.

Soon the 33-year-old writer becomes chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Council of Uzbekistan. In the former USSR, no one at such an early age held such a high position in the power structures.

In March 1959, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan Sabir Kamalov was dismissed. By that time, Rashidov already knew Nikita Khrushchev and managed to please him. Therefore, on the recommendation from Moscow to the post of head of the republic, the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Uzbek Communist Party elects him exactly.

As head of Uzbekistan

Sharaf Rashidov, whose activities initially took place under the vigilant control of the union leadership and personally Nikita Khrushchev, was considered a humanist who was not connected with traditional Uzbek clans, who grew up from the leading layers of various sectors of the economy, trade and civil service. Rashidov really began to pursue a balanced personnel policy, did not surround himself, following the example of his predecessors, by relatives and countrymen, he tried to select people for leading work on business qualities. Despite the apparent simplicity and obviousness of these principles today, in Central Asia this was a novelty.

Rashidov as the face of the Soviet East

Young (he was barely 42 years old), an educated, outwardly attractive leader of the Soviet Muslim republic favorably differed from many of his colleagues - party bureaucrats. This is appreciated in Moscow. Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee Artem Mikoyan, whose task was to establish ties with the countries of the East, always invited Rashidov to his foreign trips to India, Iran, and Iraq. There Sharaf Rashidovich, who knew all the subtleties of the Oriental politez, was at home. In response, foreign state and public delegations became frequent in Tashkent.

In the autumn of 1965, a border conflict broke out between India and Pakistan, which quickly developed into a full-scale war, in which aviation and tanks were widely used. None of the Western states could sit the warring parties at the negotiating table. It was only Rashidov who managed to organize a meeting in Tashkent of the leaders of the two countries, which ended with the signing of the Tashkent Declaration that put an end to this war. Although formally in negotiations on behalf of the USSR participated A. Kosygin, it was clear to everyone that the main contribution to the organization of the meeting was made by the head of Uzbekistan.

Rashidov and Brezhnev

Sharaf Rashidovich with Leonid Brezhnev, who loved to come to Tashkent, did not forget the merits of his Uzbek colleague in the party with another award. Rashidov also tried not to hit the dirt in the face of the general secretary, because of the relationship Brezhnev depended on the amount of financing of many republican projects. And for the financing from the center among the Soviet republics there was a real struggle. The main competitor of Uzbekistan in this competition was Kazakhstan, whose leader Kunayev was friends with Brezhnev since the time of the virgin epic.

Rashidov was seeking money from Moscow to build new cities. During his leadership in the republic appeared Uchkuduk, Navoi, Zarafshan. Almost every year new plants and ore-dressing enterprises in Uzbekistan were launched.

Under Rashid, the republic became a gold mining. The world's largest Muruntau mine was built for the extraction of open-cast gold. And today Muruntau gold (more than 60 tons per year) is the basis for the financial stability of this country.

Rashidov Sharaf Rashidovich paid special attention to Tashkent. The capital of Uzbekistan, he sought to turn into one of the most beautiful cities in the East. In the center of the city, fountains were arranged every 10-15 meters, and the variety of green plantations amazed the imagination. Sharaf Rashidov was the one who used the means to create all this splendor. A photo of his period of the early 80's is shown below.

White gold

But of course, the basis of the economy of Uzbekistan in the Soviet period was cotton growing. The country in the 70s and early 80s needed a huge amount of supplies of this culture. Textile enterprises and defense plants were simply choking on its shortage, so cotton crops were constantly expanding, and the annual harvest campaign turned into a nationwide job.

The Union leadership constantly pressed on Rashidov, demanding an increase in the collection of cotton. At the same time, no objective circumstances like crop failures, bad weather, etc. were often taken into account. Under the constant threat of punishment for disrupting cotton supply plans and not wanting to lose power and influence, the Uzbek elite led by Rashidov developed a whole system of falsification and falsification of reporting. It allowed for any, even not very good harvest, to report to the center on the successful implementation of plans, receive appropriate incentives, awards and demand new funding for the republican projects.

The key moment of this system was the stage of delivery of raw cotton by producers to various wholesale bases supplying enterprises in the European part of the country. As soon as wagons with cotton began to arrive on them, delegations "decided" with them from Uzbekistan who were taking money for the directors of the bases, and they already agreed with the consumer enterprises that the latter would not make a noise if instead of raw materials of the first grade There came a second grade or outright waste of cotton.

Where did this money come from? In the USSR there was only one source - trading enterprises. All of them were levied tribute, and in return received scarce goods, which at that time in Uzbekistan was in abundance - their supplies were a reward to Rashidov for "fulfilling" cotton supply plans. So the vicious circle of deceit, bribes, corruption that permeated the entire structure of the then Uzbek society was closed.

Cotton business

Coming to power after the death of Brezhnev in 1982, Yuri Andropov decided to put an end to the "cotton mafia". In early 1983, an investigative brigade from Moscow was sent to Uzbekistan, which began arrests of heads of regional trade enterprises, undermining the source of financing for the entire corruption system. Huge values were seized.

Rashidov realized that this year it will not be possible to attribute the missing volumes of cotton. He feverishly rushed during the summer and autumn of 1983 throughout the republic, persuading local leaders to find reserves for supplies of white gold, but only 20% of the promised 3 million tons of material promised to Andropov at the beginning of the year could be collected. Realizing that only shameful resignation and prosecution awaits him, on October 31, 1983 Rashidov, as the former chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Council Ya. Nasriddinov says in his memoirs, shot himself.

Sharaf Rashidov: family, children

In the East, family values are honored, despite the social order and position. Sharaf Rashidov was not an exception to this rule. His family was friendly, national traditions were observed in it. His wife Khursant Gafurovna was a housewife, children - four daughters and a son - went to a regular Tashkent school. All of them still keep a bright memory of their father.