In 1991 Uzbekistan emerged as a sovereign country after more than a century of Russian rule - first as part of the Russian empire and then as a component of the Soviet Union.
Positioned on the ancient Great Silk Road between Europe and Asia, majestic cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand, famed for their architectural opulence, once flourished as trade and cultural centres.
Uzbekistan is the most populous Central Asian country and has the largest armed forces. There is no real internal opposition and the media is tightly controlled by the state. A UN report has described the use of torture as "systematic".
AT-A-GLANCE
Uzbekistan is one of the world's biggest producers of cotton and is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas and gold. However, rigid political control is mirrored in the tightly centralised planning of the economy. Economic reform has been painfully slow and poverty and unemployment are widespread.
The World Bank announced in early 2006 that it would make no new loans to Uzbekistan for the foreseeable future. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced in 2004 that it was slashing aid to Uzbekistan because of the country's failure to reform and its poor human rights record.
Following the 11 September attacks on the US, Uzbekistan won favour with Washington by allowing its forces a base in Uzbekistan, affording ready access across the Afghan border. US aid increased for a time. But human rights observers said the international community was failing to respond adequately to the many reported cases of abuse and torture.
The country has faced sporadic bombings and shootings in recent years. The authorities have been quick to blame Islamic extremists for the dozens of deaths caused.
The most recent violence came in the eastern city of Andijan in May 2005 when troops opened fire on protesters against the jailing of people charged with Islamic extremism. Witnesses reported a bloodbath with several hundred civilian deaths. The Uzbek authorities put the overall toll at less than 190.
The EU imposed sanctions when the authorities rejected calls for an international inquiry and the US threatened to withold aid. Soon afterwards parliament voted to demand that US forces leave their base in the south of the country.
Opponents of President Karimov blamed the authorities' brutal determination to crush all dissent. The president blamed fundamentalists seeking the overthrow of constitutional order and the establishment of a Muslim caliphate in Central Asia.
At what many outside observers described as a show trial, 15 people were later convicted of organising the unrest and jailed for between 14 and 20 years. Dozens of others were also jailed for lengthy terms.
The president's uncompromising policies have at times created friction between Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries and Uzbekistan has been wary of moves towards closer political integration.
President Karimov describes Russia as Tashkent's "most reliable partner and ally". In November 2005 the two countries signed an agreement paving the way for much closer military co-operation.
President: Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov
President Karimov keeps a tight grip on the country Profile: Islam Karimov
Islam Karimov has dominated the leadership since 1989 when he rose to be Communist Party leader in then Soviet Uzbekistan. The following year he became Uzbek president and continued in the post after independence.
A referendum held in 1995 extended his term until 2000 when he won the presidential elections unopposed. A further referendum in 2002 extended the presidential term from five to seven years, but the expiry of his term in January 2007 went largely unnoticed. He gained another term following elections in December 2007 which opponents dismissed as a sham.
Mr Karimov takes a ruthlessly authoritarian approach to all forms of opposition. The few Western observers who monitored parliamentary elections in 2004 condemned them as having failed to meet international standards and pointed out that all the candidates supported the president.
Mr Karimov has been accused of using the perceived threat of Islamic militancy to justify his style of leadership. Observers say the combination of ruthless repression and poor living standards provides fertile breeding ground for violent resistance in a volatile region.
Mr Karimov was born in 1938 in the central town of Samarkand and is an economist by profession. He held various senior posts in Soviet Uzbekistan, including finance minister and first secretary of the Uzbek Communist Party Central Committee.
The state maintains tight control of the media. Despite a constitutional ban on censorship and guarantees of press freedom, media rights body Reporters Without Borders said in 2007 that "arrests, internment and blocked websites" were routine for journalists.
In the aftermath of deadly unrest in the eastern city of Andijan in 2005, reporters were expelled from the area and foreign TV news broadcasts were blocked. The BBC's coverage of the uprising led to the closure of the corporation's bureau in Tashkent some months later.
Pre-publication censorship of the press by the state was abolished in 2002, but self-censorship is widespread. A 2007 law holds media bodies responsible for the objectivity of their output.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists says many Uzbeks rely on foreign sources - including Russian TV, the BBC and other broadcasters - as a counterpoint to the stifled domestic news media. The government controls much of the printing and distribution infrastructure.
Private TV and radio stations operate alongside state-run broadcasters. Foreign channels are carried via cable TV, which is widely available.
Uzbekistan had around 2.2 million internet users by 2008, according to officials. Reporters Without Borders says the government blocks access to most of the independent websites that deal with Uzbek affairs.
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