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Uzbekistan
National Security
As it declared independence, Uzbekistan found itself in a much
better national security position than did many other Soviet republics.
In 1992 Uzbekistan took over much of the command structure and
armaments of the Turkestan Military District, which was headquartered
in Tashkent as the defense organization of the region of Central
Asia under the Soviet system. With the abolition of that district
the same year and a subsequent reduction and localization of military
forces, Uzbekistan quickly built its own military establishment,
which featured a gradually decreasing Slavic contingent in its
officer corps. That inheritance from the Soviet era has enabled
post-Soviet Uzbekistan to assume a role as an important military
player in Central Asia and as the successor to Russia as the chief
security force in the region. Following independence, Uzbekistan
accepted all of the relevant arms control obligations that had
been assumed by the former Soviet Union, and it has acceded to
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as a nonnuclear state.
Data as of March 1996
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