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Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси
← ← ← 1924 — 1991 →
Flag Coat of arms
State motto: Uzbek: Бутун дунё пролетарлари, бирлашингиз! Translation: Workers of the world, unite!
Capital	Tashkent
Official language	Uzbek and Russian
Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until	October 27, 1924 May 13, 1925 September 1, 1991
Area  - Total  - Water (%)	Ranked 5th in the USSR 447,400 km² 4.9%
Population  - Total   - Density	Ranked 3rd in the USSR 19,906,000 (1989) 44.5/km²
Currency	rouble (Сўм)
Time zone	UTC +5/+6 Samarkand UTC +6/+7 Tashkent
Anthem	Anthem of Uzbek SSR
Medals	{{{medals}}}

The Uzbek SSR or Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. Today it is the independent state of Uzbekistan in Central Asia.

In 1924, the borders of political units in Central Asia were changed along ethnic lines determined by Lenin’s Commissar for Nationalities, Joseph Stalin. The Turkestan ASSR, the Bukharan People's Republic, and the Khorezm People's Republic were abolished and their territories were divided into eventually five separate Soviet Socialist Republics, one of which was the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). The next year the Uzbek SSR became one of the republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union).

The Uzbek SSR included the Tajik ASSR until 1929, when the Tajik ASSR was upgraded to an equal status. In 1930, the Uzbek SSR capital was relocated from Samarkand to Tashkent. In 1936, the Uzbek SSR was enlarged with the addition of the Karakalpak ASSR taken from the Kazakh SSR in the last stages of the national delimitation in the Soviet Union. Further bits and pieces of territory were transferred several times between the Kazakh SSR and the Uzbek SSR after World War II.

In 1928, the collectivization of land into state farms was initiated, which lasted until the late 1930s.

In 1937-38, during the "Great Purge", a number of alleged nationalists were executed, including Faizullah Khojaev, the first prime minister.

World War II poster commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Uzbek SSR

During World War II, many industries were relocated to the Uzbek SSR from vulnerable locations in western regions of the USSR to keep them safe. Large numbers of Russians, Ukrainians and other nationalities accompanied the factories, altering the demographics of the republic. The demographics situation was further aggravated by Stalin’s relocation of some ethnic groups suspected of collaboration with the Axis powers from other parts of the USSR to the Uzbek SSR. This included large numbers of ethnic Koreans, Crimean Tatars, and Chechens.

During the Soviet period, Islam became a focal point for the antireligious drives of Communist authorities. The government closed most mosques, and religious schools became antireligious museums. On the positive side was the virtual elimination of illiteracy, even in rural areas. Only a small percentage of the population was literate before 1917; this percentage increased to nearly 100 percent under the Soviets.

Another major development, one with future catastrophic impact, was the drive initiated in the early 1960s to substantially increase cotton production in the republic. This drive led to overzealous irrigation withdrawals of irrigation water from the Amu Darya and the subsequent Aral Sea ecological disaster.

The Communist Party was the only legal party in the Uzbek SSR until 1990. The first secretary, or head, of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan was consistently an Uzbek. Long-time leader of the Uzbek SSR was Sharof Rashidov, head of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan from 1959 to 1983. Islom Karimov, leader of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan since 1989 and subsequently head of that party's reincarnation, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), became president of the Uzbek SSR in 1990.

On 1 September 1991, the Uzbek SSR was renamed into Republic of Uzbekistan, formally remaining a part of the Soviet Union until December 26, 1991. With the final collapse of the Soviet Union , the Uzbek SSR became the independent nation of Uzbekistan. Karimov has been its President ever since.

v • d • e Republics of the Soviet Union
Eastern Europe	Byelorussian SSR  ·  Moldavian SSR  ·  Russian SFSR  ·  Ukrainian SSR
Central Asia	Kazakh SSR  ·  Kyrgyz SSR  ·  Tajik SSR  ·  Turkmen SSR  ·  Uzbek SSR
Transcaucasia	Armenian SSR  ·  Azerbaijan SSR  ·  Georgian SSR
The Baltics	Estonian SSR  ·  Latvian SSR  ·  Lithuanian SSR
Short-lived Soviet Republics	Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic (1918)  · Odessa Soviet Republic (1918)  · Alsace Soviet Republic (1918)  · Bavarian Soviet Republic (1919)  · Slovak Soviet Republic (1919)  · Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)  · Galician SSR (1920)  · Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (1920-1921)  · Abkhazian SSR (1921-1931)  ·  Transcaucasian SFSR (1922-1936)  · Karelo-Finnish SSR (1940-1956)