Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan Border
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The Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border is long and runs from the
tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...
with
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
to the tripoint with
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
. It is Uzbekistan's longest external boundary. The Uzbek capital
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
is situated just from this border.


Description

The border begins in the west at the tripoint with Turkmenistan; it then follows the 56th meridian east for about up to the
45th parallel north The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the ...
. There a straight line of goes north-east, followed by another straight line section of . This latter section cuts through the
Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...
and the former Vozrozhdeniya Island (now part of the mainland) which straddle the boundary; the sea was formerly much larger but was severely depleted by Soviet-era irrigation schemes. The central section of the boundary consists of a series of short straight line segments going roughly eastwards through the Kyzylkum Desert, down to the vicinity of Kazakhstan's Shardara Dam. The border then follows a u-shape at Kazakhstan's Maktaaral District before proceeding in a roughly north-eastwards direction past Tashkent and then along the
Ugam Range Ugam Range (; ) is a mountain range in South Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan and Tashkent Region in Uzbekistan. It is part of the Western Tian Shan mountains. The range runs from northeast to southwest; in the northeast, it joins the Talas Alat ...
to the Kyrgyz tripoint. The western two-thirds of the border are sparsely populated and traverse largely desert areas, in stark contrast to the eastern third which is densely populated, containing some of the largest towns in Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan. The easternmost section is mountainous and contains a series of national parks ( Sayram-Ugam National Park and Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve in Kazakhstan and Ugam-Chatkal National Park in Uzbekistan). Uzbekistan's Jizzakh to Sirdaryo railway crosses through Kazakhstan briefly, a legacy of the Soviet era where infrastructure was built without regard to what were then internal boundaries.


History

The
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
had conquered
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
in the 19th century, by annexing the formerly independent Khanates of Kokand and
Khiva Khiva ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva, Хива, ; other names) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data, the city was established around 2,500 years ago. In 1997, Khiva celebr ...
and the
Emirate of Bukhara The Emirate of Bukhara (, ) was a Muslims, Muslim-Uzbeks, Uzbek polity in Central Asia that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rive ...
. After the Communists took power in 1917 and created the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
it was decided to divide Central Asia into ethnically-based republics in a process known as National Territorial Delimitation (or NTD). This was in line with Communist theory that nationalism was a necessary step on the path towards an eventually communist society, and
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
’s definition of a nation as being ''"a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture"''. The NTD is commonly portrayed as being nothing more than a cynical exercise in
divide and rule The term divide and conquer in politics refers to an entity gaining and maintaining political power by using divisive measures. This includes the exploitation of existing divisions within a political group by its political opponents, and also ...
, a deliberately Machiavellian attempt by Stalin to maintain Soviet hegemony over the region by artificially dividing its inhabitants into separate nations and with borders deliberately drawn so as to leave minorities within each state. Though indeed the Soviets were concerned at the possible threat of pan-Turkic nationalism, as expressed for example with the
Basmachi movement The Basmachi movement (, derived from ) was an uprising against Imperial Russian and Soviet rule in Central Asia by rebel groups inspired by Islamic beliefs. It has been called "probably the most important movement of opposition to Soviet rul ...
of the 1920s, closer analysis informed by the primary sources paints a much more nuanced picture than is commonly presented. The Soviets aimed to create ethnically homogeneous republics, however many areas were ethnically-mixed (e.g. the
Ferghana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Soviet republics, the valley is ethnically diverse and relation ...
) and it often proved difficult to assign a ‘correct’ ethnic label to some peoples (e.g. the mixed Tajik-Uzbek
Sart Sart is a name for the settled inhabitants of Central Asia which has had shifting meanings over the centuries. According to Great Soviet Encyclopedia, before the October Revolution of 1917, the name “Sart” was used in ...
, or the various Turkmen/Uzbek tribes along the Amu Darya).Bergne, Paul (2007) ''The Birth of Tajikistan: National Identity and the Origins of the Republic'', IB Taurus & Co Ltd, pg. 44-5 Local national elites strongly argued (and in many cases overstated) their case and the Soviets were often forced to adjudicate between them, further hindered by a lack of expert knowledge and the paucity of accurate or up-to-date ethnographic data on the region. Furthermore, NTD also aimed to create ‘viable’ entities, with economic, geographical, agricultural and infrastructural matters also to be taken into account and frequently trumping those of ethnicity. The attempt to balance these contradictory aims within an overall nationalist framework proved exceedingly difficult and often impossible, resulting in the drawing of often tortuously convoluted borders, multiple enclaves and the unavoidable creation of large minorities who ended up living in the ‘wrong’ republic. Additionally the Soviets never intended for these borders to become international frontiers as they are today. NTD of the area along ethnic lines had been proposed as early as 1920. At this time Central Asia consisted of two Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSRs) within the
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
: the Turkestan ASSR, created in April 1918 and covering large parts of what are now southern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as Turkmenistan, and the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz ASSR, Kirgizistan ASSR on the map), which was created on 26 August 1920 in the territory roughly coinciding with the northern part of today's Kazakhstan (at this time Kazakhs were referred to as ‘Kyrgyz’ and what are now the Kyrgyz were deemed a sub-group of the Kazakhs and referred to as ‘Kara-Kyrgyz’ i.e. mountain-dwelling ‘black-Kyrgyz’). There were also the two separate successor ‘republics’ of the
Emirate of Bukhara The Emirate of Bukhara (, ) was a Muslims, Muslim-Uzbeks, Uzbek polity in Central Asia that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rive ...
and the
Khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva (, , uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva xonligi, Хива хонлиги, , ) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarazm, Khorezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Afsharid Iran, Afsharid occupat ...
, which were transformed into the
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
and Khorezm People's Soviet Republics following the takeover by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
in 1920. On 25 February 1924 the
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
and Central Committee of the Soviet Union announced that it would proceed with NTD in Central Asia. The process was to be overseen by a Special Committee of the Central Asian Bureau, with three sub-committees for each of what were deemed to be the main nationalities of the region (Kazakhs, Turkmen and Uzbeks), with work then exceedingly rapidly. There were initial plans to possibly keep the Khorezm and Bukhara PSRs, however it was eventually decided to partition them in April 1924, over the often vocal opposition of their Communist Parties (the Khorezm Communists in particular were reluctant to destroy their PSR and had to be strong-armed into voting for their own dissolution in July of that year). The creation of the Kazakh-Uzbek border proved particularly difficult in the Syr-Darya Oblast, a densely settled area where populations were mixed. Both Uzbeks and Kazakhs claimed the cities of Turkistan, Chinaz and
Shymkent Shymkent (, ; ) is a city in southern Kazakhstan, located near the border with Uzbekistan. It holds the status of a city of republican significance, one of only three cities in Kazakhstan with this distinction, alongside Almaty and Astana. As of ...
;
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
– a predominantly Uzbek city surrounded by Kazakh areas – proved particularly troublesome, with the Central Asian Bureau eventually being forced to decide on the matter, awarding the city to Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan however gained the large city of Shymkent. A further complication were the
Karakalpaks The Karakalpaks or Qaraqalpaqs (; ), are a Kipchak languages, Kipchak-Nogai Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Karakalpakstan in Northwestern Uzbekistan. During the 18th century, they settled in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya a ...
; the Soviets were unsure if they were Uzbeks, Kazakhs or a separate nationality altogether. Given the at-best weak sense of Karakalpak nationality, and their perceived closer links to the Kazakhs, they were given their own Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast within the Kazakh ASSR. This oblast was larger than the modern autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan and extended considerably further eastwards, thereby cutting the Uzbek SSR in two, with a small exclave around
Khiva Khiva ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva, Хива, ; other names) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data, the city was established around 2,500 years ago. In 1997, Khiva celebr ...
. Poor economic performance in the oblast convinced Soviet leaders that Karakalpakstan should be included directly the Russian SSR, a move formalised in 1930; it was upgraded to ASSR status in 1932. In 1936 the area was transferred to the Uzbek SSR. It appears that there were various small changes to the border in the following decades. Many older maps show a slightly different boundary in the Kara-Kum desert, with a large triangular protrusion of Uzbek territory into what is now Kazakhstan's
Kyzylorda Region Qyzylorda Region (, ; ), formerly known as Kyzyl-Orda Region until 1991, is a region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is the city of Qyzylorda, with a population of 234,736. The region itself has a population of 823,251. Other notable settlements incl ...
(''see maps right''). According to the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 13, 1956, Mirzachoʻl desert and Boʻstonliq District was separated from Kazakh SSR ( South Kazakhstan Region) and added to
Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...
along its northeastern frontiers. In 1963, in accordance with the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, an additional 36,600 square kilometers of territory was transferred from South Kazakhstan and
Kyzylorda Kyzylorda ( , formerly known as Kzyl-Orda (), Ak-Mechet (Ак-Мечеть), Perovsk (Перовск), and Fort-Perovsky (Форт-Перовский), is a city in south-central Kazakhstan, capital of Kyzylorda Region and former capital of the ...
regions of Kazakh SSR. The boundary became an international frontier in 1991 following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
and the independence of its constituent republics. There were various tensions around the border – especially in the Tashkent area - in the late 1990s-early 2000s, with Kazakhstan accusing Uzbekistan of unilaterally demarcating and militarising the border; eventually in 2001 the two governments agreed to begin a full delimitation of the border. The process of delimiting the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border took place from 2000 to 2002 and presented challenges due to 200 km of densely populated border areas, such as the Saryagash and Maktaaral Districts in South Kazakhstan Region and the Tashkent and Jizzakh regions in Uzbekistan. Specific difficulties arose in defining the borderline, as previous agreements had placed the boundary along the Keles River. Seasonal flooding altered the river’s path, leading both countries to agree on marking the border along its current course. Other complexities included sections around the Shardara Reservoir, where lands had been temporarily ceded to Uzbekistan. One of the most challenging issues was the division of the villages of Bagys and Turkestanets, which sat directly on the border. A review of historical maps revealed inconsistencies: Bagys, which was not listed on maps from the 1940s and 1960s despite being inhabited, lay across the boundary. Residents of Bagys and Turkestanets expressed a preference to remain in Kazakhstan. While Uzbekistan made no claims to Bagys, it noted that Turkestanets had been under the jurisdiction of its Ministry of Defense since the collapse of the USSR. Ultimately, Bagys was integrated into Kazakhstan, and residents of Turkestanets who wished to stay in Kazakhstan relocated. An exchange of 517 hectares of mountainous pastures in the Bagys area for semi-desert lands near the villages of Nysan-1, Nysan-2, and Baimurat in the Kyzylorda Region helped finalize the agreement. A similar approach resolved other disputes, including those near the Arnasay Dam. On November 16, 2001, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed the Treaty on the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan State Border, defining 96% of the border. This was followed by the Treaty on Specific Border Sections, signed on September 9, 2002, which fully delineated the shared border. Both agreements took effect on September 5, 2003. Full demarcation is currently ongoing. On March 28, 2023, both countries finally ratified the border demarcation treaties.


Border crossings

* Qaraqalpaqstan (UZB) – Beyneu (KAZ) (road and rail) * Yalama (UZB) - Konysbayeva (KAZ) (road) * Saryagash (UZB) – Kaplanbek (KAZ) (rail and road) * Gʻishtkoʻprik (UZB) – Jibek Joly (KAZ) (road) * Serke (UZB) – Turkistan Region (KAZ) (road)


Settlements near the border


Kazakhstan

* Chabankazgan * Shardara * Zhetisay * Myrzakent * Atakent * Saryagash


Uzbekistan

* Qaraqalpaqstan * Gagarin * Guliston * Baxt * Sirdaryo * Chinoz * Yangiyoʻl *
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
* Keles * Chirchiq * Gʻazalkent


See also

*
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
* Turkmenistan–Uzbekistan border


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
Border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
International borders Internal borders of the Soviet Union