Uzbekistan: Northern supply route to Afghanistan opens (timeline)
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- March 2009. The first shipment of cargo reaches Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan) via the northern supply route through Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
- February 2009. President Karimov publicly pledges to allow transport of non-lethal NATO supplies through the Uzbek rail network and road system.
- December 2008. Insurgents destroy NATO trucks and supplies in attacks on depots in Peshawar province, Pakistan.
- November 2008. Uzbekistan leaves the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) in a move observers interpret as sign of a desire to move closer to the West.
- October 2008. EU foreign ministers lift a visa ban on senior officials of the Uzbek government, citing progress towards improving human rights. A ban on arms sales to Uzbekistan remains in place.
- September 2008. Uzbekistan and Russia agree an energy deal including the construction of a gas pipeline and a pricing formula for gas exports to Russia.
- April 2008. The EU renews the suspension of a visa ban on senior Uzbek officials.
- March 2008. A NATO official states that US forces have been using a base in the southern Uzbek city of Termez.
- Dec 2007. Islam Karimov is re-elected as president of Uzbekistan with over 88 per cent of the vote. International observers state that the poll does not meet accepted standards.
- October 2007. EU foreign ministers agree to suspend for six months the travel restrictions against senior Uzbek officials that had been imposed in response to the killing of demonstrators in the town of Andizhan in May 2005. The arms embargo imposed with the travel ban remains in place.
- November 2006. The EU agrees to extend travel bans on Uzbek officials by 12 months and the arms embargo against Uzbekistan by six months.
- March 2006. Opposition leader Sanjar Umarov is sentenced to 11 years in prison and an US$8.3 million fine for theft after criticising the government's handling of the Andizhan uprising in 2005. In a separate development, the Uzbek office of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is expelled from the country for opposing the forced return of Uzbek refugees.
- January 2006. The Uzbek government and the Russian energy company Gazprom sign a long-term deal to develop Uzbek oil and gas reserves.
- December 2005. Uzbek interior minister Zokirjon Almatov, who had been accused by the EU of responsibility for human rights abuses in the suppression of the Andizhan uprising, resigns citing health reasons. President Karimov marks his resignation by conferring an award on him for "great services".
- November 2005. US forces complete their withdrawal from the Karshi-Khanabad airbase. The Uzbek Supreme Court sentences 15 men to up to 20 years in prison for organising the Andizhan uprising. Many observers condemn the proceedings as a show trial.
- October 2005. In response to the Uzbek authorities' refusal to hold an enquiry into the brutal suppression of the Andizhan uprising, the EU imposes an arms embargo and travel bans for selected officials.
- August 2005. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs publishes a report on the Andizhan uprising based on the testimony of a senior police officer. The report puts the death toll at up to 4,500, far above the Uzbek government's official total of 187, and describes police being ordered to fire on crowds.
- July 2005. The Uzbek government announces that the death toll from the Andizhan uprising was 187 but witnesses and human rights groups contend that the total was much higher, possibly 750.
- July 2005. The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO), the predominantly Central Asian memberships of which included Uzbekistan, calls on the USA to set a deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan. In response the USA sought and received confirmation that Kyrgyzstan would not withdraw its loan of the strategically important Manas airbase.
- May 2005. A prison break-out and demonstration in Andizhan develops into a mass protest against the government of President Karimov. Troops are sent in to suppress the demonstration and 169 "militants" and soldiers are killed, according to government figures. A further uprising in nearby Kara-Su is prevented by a rapid influx of soldiers.
- March 2005. The toppling of the Kyrgyz government by popular protests sparked by compromised elections shocks the Central Asian region, including neighbouring Uzbekistan.
- February 2005. The People's Democratic party of Uzbekistan announces the formation of the first parliamentary opposition since 1991 in the Legislative Assembly (the lower house of the bicameral legislature).
- December 2004. Uzbekistan holds legislative elections. All opposition parties and independents are barred from standing.
- October 2004. The UK ambassador to Uzbekistan is dismissed after repeatedly criticising the Uzbek government's human rights record. He had alleged that the UK ignored abuses because of Uzbekistan's co-operation in the "war on terror" and strategic position on a supply route to Afghanistan.
- August 2004. The Supreme Court sentences 15 Islamist militants to up to 18 years in prison for a wave of bombings earlier in the year. Human rights groups claim that the suspects had been tortured to obtain confessions.
- July 2004. Suicide bombings of the US and Israeli embassies and the General Prosecutor's Office in Tashkent, the capital, leave two dead and nine injured. US intelligence sources blame an Uzbek Islamist group for the bombings. In a separate development the US cuts aid to Uzbekistan, including all military aid, due to the government's failure to improve its human rights record.
- March 2004. A wave of shootings and suicide bombings leaves 42 people dead. The government blames Islamists for the violence.
- May 2003. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) calls for Uzbekistan to improve its human rights record but President Karimov fails to condemn torture in order to secure funding from the bank. Observers suggested that Uzbekistan's alliance with the USA in the "war on terror" had allowed it to secure funds from other sources.
- March 2003. The UN Commission on Human Rights examines Uzbekistan's human rights record, particularly the use of torture and the harassment of journalists and activists.
- September 2002. Uzbekistan and the USA agree mutual exemption of their forces from prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
- January 2002. A proposal to increase President Karimov's term in office from five to seven years is passed with 91 per cent of the vote in a national referendum.
- December 2001. US Secretary of State Colin Powell visits the capital, Tashkent, to discuss economic and political co-operation. Powell announces that the Friendship bridge on the Uzbek-Afghan border will reopen shortly.
- November 2001. Uzbekistan closes its border with Afghanistan leading to severe delays in aid shipments. Observers question Uzbekistan's reliability as a coalition partner but US Secretary of State Powell states that co-operation with Uzbekistan may increase.
- October 2001. The USA and Uzbekistan sign an agreement allowing US use of Uzbekistan's airspace and an airbase for humanitarian purposes. In exchange the US agrees to support Uzbekistan's security.
- January 2000. President Karimov is re-elected for a five year term with 91.9 per cent of the vote in an election criticised by foreign observers.
- February 1999. A number of bomb attacks in Tashkent kill 15 people. Western media tentatively blame the attack on Islamist militants whom President Karimov had stated were active in the country.
- January 1999. Five Muslims are convicted of attempting to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state. An Uzbek human rights group criticises the charges as fabricated.
- August 1991. President Karimov declares Uzbekistan to be an independent republic with himself as leader. A rally by democratic movements is broken up by militia.
- March 1990. Islam Karimov is elected leader of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.
- December 1959. Large gas and oil deposits are discovered in the Uzbek SSR.
- September 1952. Increasing Uzbek nationalism is denounced by the Soviet press.
- September 1937. The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic's president and premier are removed in anti-Trotskyist purges.
- 1924. The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic is created.
