The State of the Media in Uzbekistan

More than four years after Uzbekistan charted its new course under President Mirziyoyev, the space for independent and new media has opened up in the country. But challenges remain. While the president has called on journalists “not to be afraid” when reporting the problems the country faces, government actions have contradicted this. Warnings by the government not to cover certain topics in a critical manner, the arrest of a Termez blogger in February 2021 and amendments to the criminal code to punish those criticizing the present with up to five years in jail, point to a backtracking on key reforms. To discuss these critical issues, the Oxus Society will hold a discussion with four leading Uzbek journalists:

Alisher Ruziohunov is an independent journalist and correspondent at Kun.uz.

Nikita Makarenko is a journalist and author of Makarenko’s Effect, the most popular blog in Russian in Uzbekistan.

Navbahor Imamova is a prominent Uzbek journalist at the Voice of America. She has covered Central Asia and the U.S. for nearly 20 years on TV, radio and online. Since 2018, she has also been reporting from inside Uzbekistan as the first-ever U.S.-based accredited correspondent in the country.

Parvina Ayubova has worked as a journalist at multiple media outlets in Uzbekistan. She is currently a news editor at Gazeta.uz.