Namangan Oblast

part of the Uzbek SSR. Established on Dec. 18, 1967 (it existed previously from Mar. 6, 1941, to Jan. 25, 1960). Situated in the eastern part of the republic. Area, 7,800 sq km. Population, 932,000 (as of Jan. 1, 1973). The oblast has ten raions, four cities, and eight urban-type settlements. The center is the city of Namangan. Namangan Oblast was awarded the Order of Lenin on Feb. 1, 1973.

Natural features. Namangan Oblast occupies the northern Fergana Valley, mainly the right bank of the Syr Darya. The greater part of the oblast is a plain (elevation, approximately 400–750 m) dissected by river valleys; the plain rises toward the north and is framed here by a zone of adyry, or low foothills (elevation, to 1,000–1,200 m), which give way in the north and northwest to mountain chains (the Chatkal and Kurama ranges). The oblast has long hot summers, relatively mild short winters, considerable variations in temperature over a 24-hour period, and little precipitation. On the plain the average temperature is —3.5⁰ in January and 25C°C in July. The annual precipitation is 100–200 mm on the plain and in the foothills and as much as 600 mm in the mountains. The frost-free period is 229 days (in the east).

The largest river, the Syr Darya, is formed in the oblast by the confluence of the Naryn and Karadar’ia; the Patshaata, Kasansai, Gavasai, and other rivers that flow down the mountain slopes into the Syr Darya are used for irrigation.

Sierozem soils predominate—light sierozems at elevations to 700–850m and typical sierozems and dark sierozems at elevations from 850 to 1,200–1,500m; there are chestnut and chernozem-type soils at higher elevations.

The plain and the adyry zone have ephemeral vegetation, which gives way at higher elevations to wormwood steppes and then to wormwood and saltwort steppes, grass and wormwood steppes, and herbaceous and fescue steppes. There are forest complexes of English walnut (Juglans regia), cherry plum (Prunus divaricata), and apple trees; at elevations of 3,000m there are complexes of Central Asian juniper. Subalpine meadows above that elevation form a belt of summer pastures.

The fauna of the desert is represented by several species of reptiles and rodents, and by such birds as the brown-necked raven (Corvus ruficoilis) and larks. Among the animals found in the mountains are the mountain goat, roe deer, boar, bear, leopard, porcupine, and badger and such birds as the golden eagle, griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), snow pheasant (genus Tetraogal/us), and chukar partridge (Alectoris kakelik).

Population. Namangan Oblast is inhabited by Uzbeks (81.5 percent; 1970 census), Tadzhiks (8.5 percent), Russians (3.5 percent), Tatars (3 percent), Kirghiz, Koreans, and other nationalities. The average population density is 119.4 persons per sq km (as of Jan. 1, 1973). The areas where irrigated cultivation is practiced are the most densely populated (200 persons per sq km). In mountain regions the population is scattered in small groups in the valleys. Thirty-one percent of the population is urban. Cities are Namangan, Chust (founded in 1969), Uchkur-gan (1969), and Kasansai (1973).

Economy. Namangan Oblast is one of the largest cotton-growing regions of the republic, and cotton growing is the chief branch of the oblast’s economy. In addition, viticulture, sericulture, fruit, vegetable, and melon farming, and livestock breeding are developing. Industry is dominated by light industry, including cotton ginning, and by the food industry. Gold, gypsum, lime, granite, sand, and gravel are extracted. Machine building, metalworking, and the chemical industry are developing. Most of the enterprises are located in Namangan. Chust has cotton-ginning and leather-goods plants and a factory producing art objects, and Uchkurgan, cotton-ginning and vegetable-oil-extraction plants. The Uzbekkrovlia Plant, which produces roofing material, is located in Pap, as is a cotton-ginning plant. There is a wadded clothing factory in Chartak, and there are silk-weaving factories in Kasansai and Uichi. The Angren-Namangan high-voltage power line was built in 1970, and a gas pipeline has been constructed to Namangan.

As of 1972 there were 514,100 hectares (ha) of agricultural land, with arable lands accounting for 191,800 ha and hay fields and pastures for 288,800 ha. In late 1973 the oblast had 95 kolkhozes and 20 sovkhozes, including 12 cotton-growing sovkhozes and four fruit- and grape-growing sovkhozes. Irrigated lands are cultivated. During the years of Soviet power the Sever-naia Fergana, Chust, Akhunbabaev, and Chartak-Sai irrigation canals and the Kasansai reservoir have been built, and the old irrigation network has been reconstructed. In 1973 about 69 percent of the cultivated area (194,900ha) was planted with cotton, and 424,000 tons of raw cotton were harvested, which is 9percent of the republic’s total harvest. The yield of cotton is 31.7 quintals per hectare. There are 18,200 ha under grain crops, 35,700 ha under fodder crops, 7,400 ha under vegetables and melons, 23,400 ha under fruit and berry plantings, and 3,700 ha under grapes. Subtropical fruits (figs and pomegranates) are also grown, as are varieties of sweet table grapes. Most of the orchards and vineyards are located in the central part of the oblast and in the foothills along the river valleys, where sericulture is also concentrated. In 1973the cocoon yield totaled 2,179 tons, or 9.5 percent of the republic’s harvest.

Livestock breeding is mainly represented by cattle (186,600 head as of Jan. 1, 1974), fat-tailed sheep (310,600), and Angora goats (132,600). Cattle are raised in the low-lying regions of irrigation farming; sheep and goats are raised mainly in the piedmont regions on natural pastures. Part of the livestock is driven in the summer to the mountain pastures of Tashkent Oblast and the Kirghiz SSR.

The oblast had 138km of railroads in 1972. The Kokand-Namangan-Uchkurgan-Andizhan railroad line crosses Namangan Oblast, with a branch from Uchkurgan station to Tash-Kumyr in Kirghizia. There are 1,830km of roads, of which 1,768km are paved. The main roads connect Namangan with the raion centers. In the southwest the oblast is crossed by the Tashkent-Kokand highway, which connects the Fergana Valley through the Kamchik Pass with Tashkent Oblast. The Tashkent-Namangan-Andizhan air route passes over the oblast, and Namangan is linked by air with the city of Frunze.

Education, cultural affairs, and public health. In the 1972–73 academic year the oblast had 682general education schools of all types with 276,400 students. There were 6,300students in specialized secondary schools, and the pedagogical institute in Namangan had 4,400 students. In 1973 there were more than 32,000 children in preschool institutions. In early 1973 the oblast had 397 public libraries with about 2 million books and magazines, a museum of local lore, a drama and comedy theater in Namangan, 249 clubs, and 287 motion picture projectors.

The oblast newspapers are the Uzbek-language Namangan khakikati (Namangan Pravda, since 1918) and Namanganskaia pravda (since 1917). Radio and television programs are relayed from Tashkent and Moscow, and local radio programs are broadcast in Uzbek and Russian for one hour a day.

As of Jan. 1, 1973, Namangan Oblast had 97 hospitals with 8,300 beds, or 8.9 beds per 1,000 population, and 1,300 doctors, or one doctor per 712 inhabitants. The oblast has the Chartak balneological resort, sanatoriums, and houses of rest.