Islam Karimov Museum

Tashkent is home to dozens of museums of varying quality, but one of the most obscure and downright bizarre is the Islam Karimov Museum. Established in 2017, it commemorates the life of an ultra-authoritarian ruler who passed away in 2016.

For context, Karimov served as the President of Uzbekistan for 25 years during its transition from being a Soviet state to an independent republic. He has been accused of being one of the worst dictators in modern history, with a litany of accusations including rigged elections, censorship, repression, torture, political incarceration, and even a massacre.

The main building, better known as the Ok Saroy Presidential Palace, is off-limits to tourists. However, the annex at the back of the grounds contains a couple of exhibitions and is free to enter.The exhibitions contain no mention of Karimov’s alleged crimes, instead documenting his life through photography and portraits. The photo exhibition is fairly mundane, featuring a collection of mainly black and white images of his life starting from childhood. Some of the notable photographs include meetings with figureheads such as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and King Charles (who was Prince of Wales at the time).

The art gallery, however, holds a collection of around 30 portraits, almost exclusively of the former president, with a couple featuring his wife. Walking into the room gives an overwhelming sense of his cult of personality, with multiple paintings of the strongman staring back at you. Some of the portraits are downright bizarre. Karimov donning a shirt and tie, sitting calmly beside two snarling tigers, against the backdrop of a solar eclipse is certainly one of them.

The whole gallery presents a striking juxtaposition, showcasing an idealized image of the leader that sharply contrasts his reputation as an authoritarian dictator. Uzbekistan has thankfully moved on from the days of Karimov, but even after his death, this small, eccentric museum seems designed to obscure his dark past.