Uzbek cotton scandal

The Uzbek cotton scandal, also known simply as the cotton scandal (Russian: хлопковое дело, Uzbek: paxta ishi) or the Uzbek scandal (Russian: Узбекское дело, Uzbek: oʻzbek ishi), was a widespread corruption scandal in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic beginning during the later years of the rule of Leonid Brezhnev and continuing until 1989. The criminal trials regarding involvement in the cotton scandal were widely publicised, in an effort to increase public faith in the government following the increased socio-economic imbalances caused by the Era of Stagnation. A total of 800 criminal cases were initiated, and more than 4,000 individuals were found guilty of various charges relating to the scandal.

Background Sharof Rashidov was appointed as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan on 15 March 1959. Under his rule, the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic became a primary source of cotton for the Soviet Union, along with the other Soviet Socialist Republics of Central Asia. By the early 1970s, almost all arable land in the Uzbek SSR had been transformed for usage in cotton farming. Despite an inability to further increase cotton production, the state planning committee, or Gosplan, demanded further increases to production in an effort to avoid importing cotton. The results were catastrophic; widespread usage of pesticides and toxic fertilisers and a rejection of crop rotation had catastrophic results on the environment. The situation was only worsened by the draining of the Aral Sea in an effort to improve the growth of cotton. Nonetheless, the level of cotton production failed to increase. Pripiski, or an artificial increase of the results of the five-year plans, resulted in millions of dollars being lost, and the unreliability of statistics prevented economic decisions from being made. Despite this, Rashidov maintained control of Uzbekistan, receiving a total of four billion rubles from the Soviet government for non-existent cotton production. Below Rashidov, widespread corruption existed, as well; the heads of the regional committees of the Uzbek SSR owned large mansions and frequently flaunted the law in their actions. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Uzbek SSR was intertwined with organised crime groups, and the 1970s and 1980s marked a peak in the crime rate of Uzbekistan, with murders, thefts, and attacks all being common. Attempts to investigate the government of Uzbekistan dated back to the mid-1970s. In 1975, efforts to bring perpetrators to justice saw a success as the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Uzbek SSR was imprisoned. An investigation was also launched into Yadgar Nasriddinova, chair of the Soviet of Nationalities, but this investigation failed to reach a conclusion due to Nasriddinova's significant influence on General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, with investigator Vladimir Kalinichenko being placed under the protection of Alpha Group in response to threats on his life.

Early investigations After Leonid Brezhnev died, he was succeeded as General Secretary by Yuri Andropov. Andropov, who was on poor terms with Rashidov, launched an anti-corruption campaign with the intention of restoring public trust in government institutions. The Ministry of Internal Affairs established the Central Scientific Research Laboratory for Identifying and Eliminating Causes and Conditions of Economic Crimes or TsNIL (Russian: ЦНИЛ). The TsNIL revealed the full extent of corruption occurring in Central Asia's republics, leading to Andropov to request Rashidov's resignation in January 1983. However, Rashidov refused to resign, and the Central Committee adopted a resolution a month later requesting the Procurator General of the Soviet Union investigate corruption in Uzbekistan. In April 1983, Telman Gdlyan and Nikolai Veniaminovich Ivanov were placed at the helm of a commission for investigating the cotton scandal by the Procurator General. The same month, two major arrests were made: the head of the OBKhSS in Bukhara Region, A. Muzarafov, was arrested by the KGB after being caught receiving a bribe in a sting operation, and Sh. Kudratov, head of the Bukhara city economic department, was also detained. Information was being collected on Rashidov; Madyar Khudaibergenov, First Secretary of the Xorazm Regional Committee, admitted under investigation to having paid Rashidov 1.5 million rubles to award him the title of Hero of Socialist Labour. Khudaibergenov was soon released, and reported that Xorazm Region had harvested 300,000 tonnes of cotton. When Rashidov met with Andropov, however, he did not receive the expected praise, instead being told that the Soviet government would look into the harvest.

Rashidov's death and continuing investigations

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