Redefining national identity in Uzbekistan: Symbolic tensions in Tashkent's official public landscape

The official public landscape of Tashkent constitutes a strategic medium in the reconstitution of contemporary Uzbek national identity. In this regard , Tashkent resembles numerous capital cities across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. However, unlike in more democratized societies, the re inscription of Tashkent's public landscape has remained almost exclusively the provenance of ruling political elites. To date, the transformation of T ashkent's official public landscape has been measured and gradual. Politica l elites have hesitated to unravel the intricate iconography of Uzbek state - and nationhood designed by Soviet-era architects. This article focuses on the evolving relationship between Uzbekistan's political elite and Tashken t's symbolic landscape. The embeddedness of Soviet-era architectural icons illuminates the inertia that has defined contemporary efforts to reinscribe the narrative of Uzbek nationhood. The link between Tashkent's past and pr esent public landscapes also highlights the tension between public landscap es that reify state-cent-ed definitions of Uzbekness and those, such as the mosque, that manifest alternative visions of Uzbek identity.