Tajikistan is nestled between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to the north and west, China to the east, and Afghanistan to the south. Mountains cover 93 percent of Tajikistan's surface area. The two principal ranges, the Pamir Mountains and the Alay Mountains, give rise to many glacier-fed streams and rivers, which have been used to irrigate farmlands since ancient times. Central Asia's other major mountain range, the Tian Shan, skirts northern Tajikistan. Mountainous terrain separates Tajikistan's two population centers, which are in the lowlands of the southern and northern sections of the country. Especially in areas of intensive agricultural and industrial activity, the Soviet Union's natural resource utilization policies left independent Tajikistan with a legacy of environmental problems.
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in eastern Central Asia, lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the capital and largest city. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east and southeast. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's over 7 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians.
Fergana Valley is a valley in Central Asia, lying mostly in eastern Uzbekistan, extending into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia or Red Uzbekistan, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist Party, the legal political party, from 1925 until 1990. From 1990 to 1991, it was a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with its own legislation.
Andijan, also spelt Andijon and formerly romanized as Andizhan, is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is a district-level city with an area of 74 km2 (29 sq mi). Andijan is the most densely populated city with density of 10,000 people/km2 and it had 747,800 inhabitants in 2024. Andijan is located in a tense border region at the south-eastern edge of the Fergana Valley near Uzbekistan's border with Kyrgyzstan.
Fergana, or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of Andijan, and less than 20 km from the Kyrgyzstan border. The modern city was founded in 1876.
Osh is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country. It is often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country and has served as the administrative center of Osh Region since 1939. The city has an ethnically mixed population of 322,164 in 2021, comprising Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Koreans, and other smaller ethnic groups.
Osh Region is a region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded (clockwise) by Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, China (Xinjiang), Tajikistan, Batken Region, and Uzbekistan. Its total area is 28,934 km2 (11,171 sq mi). The resident population of the region was 1,391,649 as of January 2021. The region has a sizeable Uzbek minority.
Andijan Region is a region of Uzbekistan, located in the eastern part of the Fergana Valley in far eastern Uzbekistan. It borders with Kyrgyzstan, Fergana Region and Namangan Region. It covers an area of 4,300 km2. The population is estimated to be around 3,253,528 as of 2022, thus making Andijan Region the most densely populated region of Uzbekistan.
Namangan Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley in far eastern part of the country. It is on the right bank of Syr Darya River and borders with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tashkent Region, Fergana Region, and Andijan Region. It covers an area of 7,440 km2. The population is estimated to be 2,931,056 (2022), with 35% of the population living in rural areas. The great river Syrdarya, the main waterway in Central Asia, starts in the territory of Namangan. Syrdarya is formed from inflows of the rivers Naryn and Kara Darya. The Namangan region is very rich in various natural resources. In particular, the region extracts oil in Mingbulak District and big gold and diamond deposits have been discovered in Kosonsoy and Pop Districts. There are also large deposits of uranium, silver, aluminum, tungsten, iron, copper, granite, and marble, among others. There are two big mountain tunnels connecting the Fergana valley with the inner city area and other regions of the country, located in the territory of Namangan.
Fergana Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley in the far east of the country. It borders the Namangan and Andijan Regions of Uzbekistan, as well as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Its capital is the city of Fergana. It covers an area of 6,760 km2. The population is approximately 4,014,895 as of 2023, with 45% of the population living in rural areas.
Namangan is a district-level city in eastern Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Namangan Region. Namangan is located in the northern edge of the Fergana Valley, less than 30 km from the Kyrgyzstan border. The city is served by Namangan Airport.
Razzakov, formerly known as Isfana, is a small town in the extreme western end of Batken Region in southern Kyrgyzstan. The town is located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley, in a region surrounded on three sides by Tajikistan. It was renamed by President Sadyr Japarov in honour of Iskhak Razzakov on March 18, 2022.
Sughd Province, also referred to as the Sogdia Region, is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces that make up Tajikistan. Centered in the historical Sogdiana, it is located in the northwest of the country, with an area of some 25,400 square kilometers and a population of 2,707,300, up from 2,233,550 according to the 2010 census and 1,871,979 in 2000. The capital is Khujand. The Province's ethnic composition in 2010 was 84% Tajik, 14.8% Uzbek, 0.6% Kyrgyz, 0.4% Russian and 0.1% Tatar.
Soviet Central Asia was the part of Central Asia administered by the Russian SFSR and then the Soviet Union between 1918 and 1991, when the Central Asian republics declared independence. It is nearly synonymous with Russian Turkestan in the Russian Empire. Soviet Central Asia went through many territorial divisions before the current borders were created in the 1920s and 1930s.
Asaka is a city and the administrative center of Asaka District in eastern Uzbekistan, located in the southeastern edge of the Fergana Valley near Uzbekistan's border with Kyrgyzstan.
The Kara Darya is a major river in southern Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan. It is one of the two source rivers of the Syr Darya, the other source being the Naryn. The Kara Darya is formed by the confluence of the rivers Kara-Kulja and Tar. Its length is 177 kilometres (110 mi), and watershed area 30,100 square kilometres (11,600 sq mi).
The Great Fergana Canal is an irrigation canal located on the Fergana Valley between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in Central Asia. The project was constructed in 1939 by 160,000 Uzbek and Tajik collective farm workers from the former Soviet Union and was completed in forty-five days. The canal is 270 kilometers long with over 1,000 hydrotechnical plants located along the waterway, 50 of which are known to be significantly important.
Shohimardon is a village and a subdivision of Fergana District, Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. It is an exclave of Uzbekistan, surrounded by Kyrgyzstan, in a valley in the Pamir-Alay mountains. The name means ‘King of Men’ in Persian. The river Shohimardonsoy flows through the exclave. There are two villages: Shohimardon and Yordon.
Quva is the capital of Quva District in eastern Uzbekistan. Quva is about 450 km east of Tashkent, about 46 km west of Andijan, and less than 17 km from the Kyrgyzstan border. Its population is 46,400 (2016).
