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ON SOCIAL ADAPTATION OF THE POPULATION TO THE NEWLY
DEVELOPED STEPPE ZONES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE NUROTA
OASIS)
Jumaev Jurabek Bobokul ugli
Independent researcher at the
Jizzakh State Pedagogical University
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15472313
Annotation.
This article presents the author's views on the processes of
social adaptation of the population relocated from the Nurota oasis to the newly
developed lands.
Keywords:
Uzbek SSR, Communist Party of Uzbekistan, Nurota oasis,
Jizzakh, Syrdarya, Mirzachul, resettlement, population demography, migration,
cotton, "Golodnostepstroy", steppe zone, mentality, state farm, settlement.
In the 50s-80s of the 20th century, much work was done in the Uzbek SSR
to increase cotton fields and improve water management. This process could not
but have an impact on the demographic and migration processes in the Jizzakh
and Syrdarya regions. The ethno-psychological lifestyle of the displaced Nurota
oasis population, their inner spiritual experiences, were not taken into account
when developing new lands. The traditions of collectivism, tribalism, the
continued existence of feelings of solidarity and solidarity inherent in the Islamic
religion, formed among the oasis population, as well as the values of animal
husbandry, shifting cultivation and semi-nomadic lifestyle in farming, were also
ignored.
Nevertheless, not only the Nurota oasis, but also the displaced population
from various regions of Uzbekistan and the Union republics, worked shoulder to
shoulder in the desert and jointly carried out great creative work. The resettled
population not only opened up new lands, but also made a worthy contribution
to the development of agriculture, especially cotton growing, on state farms in
the steppe [6:114-116]. As a result of the increase in the labor force, the
productivity of the land increased.
In Mirzachul, cotton was sown on 181,000 hectares in 1962, and 12
centners of cotton were harvested from each hectare. A significant part of the
harvested crop was supplied by farms affiliated with Golodnostepstroy.
However, chronic disruptions in the supply and demand for everyday products
made it difficult for the newly arrived population to adapt. In 1956–1969,
42,000 families were resettled in Mirzachul for permanent residence, and in
1969, 25,000 of them settled there. 17 thousand families, that is, 40.5% of all
immigrants, were forced to return to their original places of residence [7:199].
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Thus, until the 1970s, the resettlement of the displaced population in new lands
was of a “temporary” nature.
After the 1970s, the resettlement of the population from the Nurota oasis to
the desert zones was quite stable. In 1970–1973, the highest rate of resettlement
(11,214 people) was observed from the Farish district of the oasis [8:87,88]. The
population was resettled in such districts as Mirzachul, Pakhtakor and Arnasay,
which were being redeveloped and where there was a high demand for labor.
The specific traditions and customs of the population, religious beliefs, and the
cultural and household conditions that were being created also had an impact on
social adaptation.
The displaced population was forced to overcome problems associated with
changes in their professional skills and economic and cultural qualifications in
the new natural and social environment [1:19-21]. The improvement of living
conditions created the basis for the formation of new habits in the life of the
population. However, in many cases, the displaced population did not leave the
ethnopsychology inherent in our mentality, the idea that “I will return to my
homeland anyway” prevailed. As a result of the active development of the
steppe, the population growth rate in 1959–1970 was -155.7% in the Jizzakh
region, and -139.4% in the Syrdarya region. In 1970–1977, the growth reached
124.3% in Jizzakh region and 124.2% in Syrdarya region. The resettlement
policy had a positive impact on population demographics [3:129].
Construction work on newly developed lands was carried out in the social
sphere - schools, kindergartens, nurseries, outpatient clinics, cultural centers,
clubs, libraries, health centers, communications - telephone, television, post,
radio; utilities - drinking water, heating systems, gasification, electricity;
transport communications - highways, passenger transportation, freight
transportation. According to the resolution of the Executive Committee of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan dated March 31, 1969
No. 5-164, the construction of housing, schools, kindergartens, communication
centers, a department store, a bus station, a bank, a citizens' meeting house and
cultural institutions in the Ilyich, Pakhtakor and Mirzachul districts of the
Syrdarya region was envisaged [11:197,209]. Special attention was also paid to
improving the provision of medical services to the population. The resolution of
the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
Uzbekistan dated March 31, 1969 No. 5-164 stipulated the sending of 92 doctors
with higher education and secondary specialized education to the Mirzachul
region of the Syrdarya region in 1969 and 115 in 1970 [11:197,209]. Such new
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decisions served to a certain extent to improve the living standards of the
population.
In the 60s and 70s of the 20th century, the pace of development of the
steppe increased, and new settlements were built. In 1967, Mirzachul district
was established on the basis of state farms No. 17, 18 and 19 in the Syrdarya
region. By 1970, more than 14 thousand people of different nationalities lived in
the modern city. In 1970, Dostlik district was established on the basis of
Mirzachul district, and in 1971, the "Aq Oltin" district [17]. If only 3 state farms
were established when Mirzachul district was established, then 13 new state
farms were built over the next seven years, and magnificent modern settlements
arose in the heart of the steppe.
In the new districts, state farms such as “Party XXIV Congress”, “Soviet
Russia”, “Uzbekistan”, and 5th Horticultural and Viticultural were established. In
1972, the cultivated area in the Mirzachul district was 14 thousand, and by 1975
this figure had reached 30 thousand hectares. 212 thousand square meters of
residential buildings and many cultural and household facilities were put into
operation. The provision of cultural and household and trade services to the
population improved every year.
In 1978, more than 9 thousand various production, housing and cultural
and household service facilities were built and put into operation in the
collective farms and state farms of Uzbekistan by order of the village soviets. The
total area of more than 5 thousand houses reached half a million square meters.
5,000 families of rural workers acquired new and comfortable homes. 365 newly
built schools accommodated 152 thousand students, 343 kindergartens
accommodated 32 thousand children, 68 clubs with 27 thousand places and
hospitals with 3800 beds began operating in new buildings, hundreds of
kilometers of water supply networks were built, and roads were improved
[13:18].
By the mid-1970s, more than 300 large enterprises providing household
services, 674 household service complexes, and household service houses with
929 reception points were operating in the republic [12:6]. Dozens of ateliers,
household service houses, workshops, and factories united on a cooperative
basis were launched in rural areas. For this, more than 90 million soums were
spent throughout the republic during 1976–1979 [15:49]. However, the
construction of preschool educational institutions and the attraction of children
from young families to kindergartens have not been satisfactorily implemented.
Such shortcomings are explained not only by the capacity of kindergartens, but
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also by the fact that they are not equipped with the necessary equipment,
educational materials, kitchen equipment, and the sewage and heating systems
of the institution building are not provided at the required level [4:22].
In 1974, 2,644 residential buildings, 84 bathhouses, 325 hospitals and
medical centers, 925 field sheds, 64.2 kilometers of water supply networks were
overhauled by inter-collective farm and municipal service combines in the
republic, and a total of 3,476 thousand soums of village improvement work was
carried out [14:24]. According to the newspaper "Jizzakh Haqiqati", the
administration of "Dzhizakstepstroy" concluded a business agreement with the
Semashko Research Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy in Tashkent to
protect the health of steppe dwellers and ensure the productive work of rural
residents [18]. Until the 1980s, a medical examination commission consisting of
doctor T. Tolkocheva, a doctor who served in the Uzbek SSR, and scientific
workers U. Otamurodova, G. Akramkhodjaev, F. Bakaev, A. Nurmuhammedov,
and A. Azimova examined the health of desert dwellers [18]. Scientists studied
the climatic conditions and hydromineral resources of the reserve oblast and
registered healing water sources in 24 recreation areas. The number of healing
water treatment hospitals increased from 3 to 11 [18].
The government also paid attention to school and educational work in
desert areas. In 1968, the number of students in the oblast's districts reached
167,832. 38,363 students studied in city schools (Guliston, Jizzakh, Yangiyer).
Boarding schools were built only in the cities of Jizzakh and Yangiyer [10:198].
The schools were mainly of the 1950s style, and the introduction of new
teaching methods and the quality of lessons were not up to the mark. However,
the opening of the Jizzakh State Pedagogical Institute in 1974 played a
significant role in directing the population living in the steppe to science.
During this period, students of universities and technical schools, as well as
senior students of rural schools, were mainly involved in the long-term cotton
harvest in the steppe zones. The younger generation, who did not have sufficient
conditions, was forced to pick cotton while sleeping in the existing state farms in
the steppe zones, in barns, and in buildings adapted for accommodating tractors.
From 1965, 7th grade students, and in the 1970s, 5th grade students were also
involved in picking cotton. According to the Commission for the Control of
Children's Health, 10% of boys and 68% of girls aged 12-17 in schools had
impaired natural growth processes and functional deficiencies were observed in
them [5:41].
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In the mid-1970s, the development of the agricultural sector in Uzbekistan
also did not give the expected results. The socio-economic life of the nomadic
population was affected by the development of cotton cultivation and its
harvesting. The schoolchildren of the steppe state farms were gradually formed
a sense of responsibility for the cultivation and harvesting of cotton. The
widespread involvement of schoolchildren in agricultural work, such as cocoon
picking, primary processing of cotton, ginning and winnowing of cotton, and
cotton picking, could not but affect their future development.
Although pediatrics developed in the republic in the 1980s, environmental
degradation led to an increase in child mortality in cotton-growing regions. For
example, in Syrdarya region, child mortality in 1985 was 33.1, but by 1986 this
figure had reached 44.0. The increase in child mortality by district was as
follows: in "Oqoltin" - from 37 to 42, in Gulistan - from 32 to 53, in "Komsomol" -
from 32 to 58, in Khovos - from 22 to 51, in Boyovut - from 27 to 37, in
"Voroshilov" - from 45 to 450 [5:54]. The situation was especially difficult in
newly developed areas like Mirzachul. The Ministry of Higher Education, in its
order No. 537 dated July 23, 1985, decided not to involve students in
agricultural work for more than a month and not to involve young people who
worked in construction teams in the summer in field work [9:87,133]. However,
all of them remained on paper. Repeated statements in newspapers and other
media in support of these decisions and orders, as well as repeated warnings to
the public, did not produce the expected results [19].
At that time, more than 5 million tons of cotton were grown in Uzbekistan.
For this, almost 30 thousand cotton-picking and winnowing machines, more
than 100 thousand mechanizers, and almost 2 million. pickers were mobilized
from 1,200 collective and state farms [9:87,133]. While it was possible to grow
other crops than cotton in our republic and get more profitable, the Center
focused all its attention on cotton cultivation.
The rapid development of new lands has caused damage to many vital
components of the republic. The ever-expanding cotton fields have begun to
crowd out other plants one after another. The violation of scientifically based
crop rotation has dried up the topsoil of the land, worsened its reclamation
condition, and caused salinization [2:19]. As a result of the unprecedented
development of the Fergana Valley, Mirzachul, and Karshi deserts, the waters of
the Syrdarya and Amu Darya rivers have not been used rationally. All these
problems have accumulated and caused the Aral Sea tragedy [16].
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In conclusion, the development of new lands has led to serious negative
consequences, including the construction of new settlements, employment, and
the resolution of some demographic problems. In order to strengthen the
monopoly of cotton in Uzbekistan, a number of desert regions were actively
developed. After the 1970s, the development of the deserts of the Syrdarya,
Jizzakh and Kashkadarya regions was especially active. During this period, a
large number of people were resettled from the Nurot oasis to the territories of
the Syrdarya and Jizzakh regions, who gradually became the local population of
this country.
List of used literature and sources:
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Тошкент: Фан, 2007. – 226 б.
4. Максакова Л.Л. Мигрaция населения проблемы и регулирования.–
Ташкент, 2001.
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болалар тиббиёти тарихи (1950-2020 йиллар). Монография – Тошкент:
EFFECT-D, 2022. – 192 б.
6. Эгамбердиев Р., Раззоқов А. Ўзбекистонда қўриқ ерларни суғориш,
ўзлаштириш ва мелиорaция тарихи: Мирзачўл мисолида. – Тошкент:
“Фан”, 1984.
7. Эгамбердиев А. Воспроизводство трудовых ресурсов сельской местности
Узбекистана. – Ташкент, 1972.
8. Jizzakh Regional State Archive, 13-fund, 1-inventory, 80-case, lists 87, 88.
9. National archive of Uzbekistan, 2806-fund, 1-inventory, 67-case, lists 87,133.
10. Syrdarya Regional State Archive, 91-fund, 1-inventory, 528-case, list 198.
11. Syrdarya Regional State Archive, 91-fund, 1-inventory, 797-case, lists 197,
209.
12. “Ўзбекистон қишлоқ хўжалиги” journal. – №. 11. – Tashkent, 1974.
13. “Ўзбекистон қишлоқ хўжалиги” journal. – №. 11. – Tashkent, 1978.
14. “Ўзбекистон қишлоқ хўжалиги” journal. – №. 1. – Tashkent, 1976.
15. “Ўзбекистон қишлоқ хўжалиги” journal. – №. 9. – Tashkent, 1980.
16. “Ўзбекистон коммунисти” journal. – №. 10. – Tashkent, 1989.
17. “Жиззах ҳақиқати” newspaper. January 29, 1976.
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18. “Жиззах ҳақиқати” newspaper. January 25, 1981.
19. “Комсомолская правда” newspaper. September 10, 11, 1985.
