Greeks in Uzbekistan

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Greeks in Uzbekistan
Total population
10,453[1] (1989, census)
Related ethnic groups
Greeks in Kazakhstan, Greeks in Kyrgyzstan
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Greeks
The first instance of the endonym "Hellenes" in Homer's Iliad, here in a Byzantine manuscript from 10th century AD.
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The Greeks in Uzbekistan number approximately 9,000. The community is made up of Greeks from Russia who were deported by force from that country to Uzbekistan in the 1940s, and political refugees from Greece. The biggest Greek community in the country is in the capital city of Tashkent where most of the Greek political refugees were relocated by the Soviet authorities.[2]

History

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
195920,047—    
197032,422+61.7%
197914,025−56.7%
198910,453−25.5%
Sources:[3][4][5][1]

In ancient times the south of modern day Uzbekistan was part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom, but the few Greek communities from that time assimilated into the general population over time.[6]

Mass population transfers in the Soviet Union led to the displacement of thousands of Pontic Greeks and Greek communists in the 1940s, creating a sizable Greek diaspora in Central Asia. Following the persecution and mass killing of the Greek Operation starting in the late 1930s, mass deportations of Soviet Greeks took place throughout the 1940s, forcing over 30,000 Greeks of Crimea and the larger Black Sea region into Central Asia, especially to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.[7]

After the defeat of the Democratic Army of Greece and the Communist Party of Greece in 1949, another wave of Greeks entered Central Asia, as the Soviet Union sent around 11,000 refugees of the Greek Civil War to Tashkent. Together with about 30,000 Greeks who lived in the country before World War II, the Greek community in Uzbekistan reached a high of some 40,000 in the 1960s.

In the early 1980s, with the decriminalisation of the Greek Communist Party, many returned to Greece, however, there is still a Greek community in Uzbekistan which survives to this day.[8][9]

Culture

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The most important organization representing ethnic Greeks is the Greek Cultural Association of Tashkent. The activities of this organization include Greek language instruction (19 classes with a total of 571 students, classes for adults) and the teaching of Greek dances and music.[10]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Узбекская ССР (1989)". Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ^ Greeks in Uzbekistan
  3. ^ "Узбекская ССР (1959)". Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Узбекская ССР (1970)". Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Узбекская ССР (1979)". Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Uzbekistan:MFA Alexander the Great". Archived from the original on 2010-03-13. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  7. ^ "The Soviet Massive Deportations - A Chronology". Sciences Po Violence de masse et Résistance (in French). 18 April 2019.
  8. ^ "The Proud Greeks of Tashkent, Uzbekistan". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  9. ^ Kallos, Dimitri (16 May 2024). "The Greeks of Tashkent are a defining example of Hellenism, says Costas Politis". NEOS KOSMOS. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Greece MFA:Greek community in Uzbekistan". Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2008-04-04.