In the last decade, almost all Central Asian countries have been closely monitored by the European public. States, especially those located in close proximity to Afghanistan, attract attention because they are a potential hotbed for the development of extremist organizations. The need to strictly protect their borders and to prevent any possibility of the emergence of radical attitudes leads to the fact that in these countries a strict despotic political regime is being established. In such situations, almost all the main vectors of the further development of the state are decided by the president, which is why there is always an increased interest in the heads of such countries, as well as in their families and their close circle of friends.
Members of the most powerful family in the country
One of these Asian countries is Uzbekistan. Gulnara Karimova became a woman who, for many, is associated with direct power in this country, since she is not just a member of the ruling family. She is the eldest daughter and the main heiress of the president.
For a long time, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova was considered by the press and political analysts as the most likely successor to the presidency after her father. But in 2013, everything changed dramatically. The year before, in 2012, information was broadcast on Swedish television according to which the eldest daughter of the president of Uzbekistan and her close circle were found to be involved in corruption schemes.
Public attitudes towards Gulnara changed dramatically after that. Together with her daughter, she was taken under house arrest. Many people whom she trusted and who were in her immediate circle were arrested, and some of them are still missing today.
Gulnara’s father Islam Karimov publicly denied his daughter, does not enter into any negotiations with her and avoids personal meetings in every possible way. It is unlikely that the President of Uzbekistan could have predicted such a turn of events back in 1972, when he and his wife had a long-awaited first child.
Youth and education
The eldest daughter of Karimov - Gulnara - was born on July 8 in the Uzbek city of Fergana. This future socialite, politician and diplomat spent all her childhood in Tashkent. Before becoming president of the country, her father, since 1980, successfully moved up the political career ladder. He held high posts in the Council of Ministers of the then Uzbek SSR. Islam Karimov later became the first secretary in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan.
Gulnara’s mother Tatyana Karimova was also always considered an example of a highly educated person. By profession, she was an economist and for a long time worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Economics of the ANU. Gulnara Karimova today in many interviews recalls that in their family there was always a cult of study and education. Studying the biography of this intelligent, diversified and educated woman, there is no reason to doubt this.
Live and learn
Until 1988, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova studied at the Tashkent Mathematical Academy. The year after her graduation, the girl entered the Tashkent State Institute. According to one of the available sources, she studied at the Faculty of Sociology. But there is also wide access to information that states that Gulnara received her first higher education in the specified institution at the Faculty of Philosophy and Economics.
Later, she studied at NUU at the Faculty of International Economics. After graduating from Tashkent State University in 1994, Karimova received a bachelor's degree in international relations. In September, Gulnara continued her studies, enrolling in a master's program at the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which she successfully completed in 2 years, in 1996.
In 1998, this young woman began her studies at Harvard, enrolling in the school of natural sciences and humanities. After her graduation, she became a Master of Arts in Regional Studies. In parallel with her studies at the art school, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova studied at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy. In 2001, she successfully graduated from this educational institution, receiving a doctorate in political sciences.
In 2003, the president’s daughter, who was never limited in either communications, capabilities, or material resources, decides to master a new field and enters to study at Tashkent University of Information Technologies. Three years later, she successfully graduates from it and receives a bachelor's degree in modern telecommunications. In 2009, Karimova became a professor in economics and diplomacy.
In several interviews, Gulnara talked about how she always felt like a creative person, but chose economic professions, since in the 80-90s hobbies such as design seemed completely frivolous. Despite this stereotype and her constant employment, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova found time for her hobbies, in 1992 in New York at the Institute of Fashionable Technologies she took a training course in the design of jewelry.
Gulnara's early work experience
The official biography of this bright woman says that, while still a student, in 1987, she began working in the office at the Main Department of Statistics of the country. Also as a student, in 1994, Gulnara worked as a trainee teacher at the Department of Political Science. A year later, in 1995, the president’s daughter began to prepare analytical reports that were intended for the presidential apparatus and the Security Council. She performed similar tasks while working in the department of political analysis and forecasting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Swift political career
Karimova’s career took off rapidly in June 1996, after she took up the position of Advisor to the Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After 2 years, she was appointed to the post of adviser to the representation of Uzbekistan at the UN. The following posts at the time of the still very young girl are really impressive:
- In 2003, she was sent to work at the Uzbek Embassy in Russia. There she holds the post of adviser-envoy.
- In 2005, she returned to Uzbekistan and began working again at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this time holding the position of adviser to the already new minister - Eleer Ganiev.
- Since the beginning of winter 2008, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova became deputy (for humanitarian and cultural cooperation) Vladimir Norov, the next foreign minister.
- In September 2008, the president’s daughter is appointed as ambassador extraordinary and permanent representative of Uzbekistan to the UN.
- In 2010, she was appointed to the same position as ambassador and representative of Uzbekistan at the Spanish Embassy.
At first glance, it might seem that an ordinary person who is building such a brilliant political career has absolutely no time for his own hobbies and hobbies. But this assumption has nothing to do with Gulnara.
The story of the first husband
Mansur Maksudi, an American businessman of Uzbek origin, became the first official elect of Karimova. They signed in 1992. After this, Mansur’s business quickly went up. He became the main shareholder of the local branch of Coca-Cola. The press periodically wrote that Maksudi had power over the most profitable sectors of the Uzbek economy (cotton, petroleum products, sugar).
The couple scandalously broke up after almost 10 years of marriage. The divorce was accompanied by lawsuits by which the former spouse tried to take away the children from Karimova, but this attempt was unsuccessful. But Gulnara more than avenged his wife - after the divorce, his business was rapidly declining. He lost all of his property in Uzbekistan and was charged with tax evasion.
Sensational civil marriage
The second civil spouse of Gulnara was Rustam Madumarov, a singer who does not have a very good reputation for gigolo. As in the case of Maksudi, after the beginning of relations with Gulnara, Madumarov’s business began to flourish sharply. He became the owner of a recording studio, controlled all major shopping centers and printing houses. After one day Rustam wanted to leave Karimova and expressed dissatisfaction with his common-law wife, he was threatened to repeat the fate of Maksudi. His business came under severe pressure from government agencies, and after a little reflection, he returned to Gulnara.
Creative career and career of the singer
The daughter of Islam Karimov often stated that she always felt like a creative person, and, starting in the 2000s, she began to realize the dream of becoming a singer (she took on the creative pseudonym GooGoosha - Gugusha). Gulnara Karimova’s songs and videos began to appear on the Uzbek television almost around the clock. People close to her belonged to such TV channels and radio stations as TV Markaz, A'lo FM, Forum TV, Zamin FM, NTT, SoftS, and Terra FM. It was they who non-stop broadcasting Gulnara’s work.
Gugusha began to fulfill her old childhood dreams related to the scene: she shot a video with the legendary Gerard Depardieu and sang a duet with stars such as Enrique Iglesias and Montserrat Caballe.
It is clear that in order to engage in creative work on such a scale and produce their own songs, considerable funds are required. And Gulnara had them, because in Uzbekistan this woman oversaw all the most profitable industries.
The charge of monopoly
At one time, Karimova was educated in the field of information technology, and she was well versed in all the intricacies of the work of mobile operators. At some point, Gulnara Karimova (whose husband, Rustam Madumarov, also took part in many multi-million dollar frauds) became the owner of Uzdunorbit, the first mobile operator in Uzbekistan. A few years later, she successfully sold it for a considerable amount to MTS. But in 2012, using her power, she illegally tries to regain the company, first depriving MTS of her license, and then fined $ 600 million.
Then Gulnara liked an American operator called SkyTel, from which law enforcement agencies of Uzbekistan took frequencies. In the same year (2012), another scandal surfaced - information became public that Telia Sonera, a Swedish mobile operator, was forced to pay Karimova a bribe of $ 300 million in order to be allowed to enter the mobile technology market of Uzbekistan. The notorious company Vimpelcom cost a little less. For permission to enter the Uzbek market, she paid Gulnara Karimova only $ 150 million.
There is also unofficial information that all the time Tashkent public catering paid Gulnara unofficial shares of its profits.
Participation in corruption and high-profile arrest
The president’s first serious problems began back in 2010. The Swiss company Zeromax, with which, thanks to direct protestation of Karimova, contracts were signed for the construction of the Palace of Forums in Tashkent, announced its ruin. The crash was caused by the theft of $ 1 billion. A few years later, another scandal surfaced: the famous Swedish mobile operator accused Gulnara's assistant of money laundering. Sweden began serious proceedings regarding Karimova, and all of her offshore accounts were frozen.
No one knows at what price Islam Karimov was given the decision to order the arrest of his own daughter, but this fact happened. A photo and video circled the Internet, showing how Gulnara Karimova was taken by law enforcement authorities under house arrest. Almost two years, while an investigation is underway on corruption of the brightest woman in Uzbekistan, she and her daughter are in prison at home. At the same time, Karimov himself completely stopped communicating with both his daughter and her children.
Children of Gulnara Karimova
While still officially married, Gulnara became the mother of two children - a daughter named Iman and the son of Islam. After Karimova broke up with her husband and left New Jersey to take home the children with them, their father Mansur tried to bring them back through court and even accused Gulnara of kidnapping. But these attempts did not lead to anything, and the children remained to live with their mother.
After a scandalous arrest, Iman was imprisoned at home with his mother, and Islam conducts all kinds of information struggles: he speaks on various television channels, gives constant interviews in which he says that someone specifically sets up President Karimov against his own daughter. According to his son, his mother only became a victim of intricate intrigues and she has nothing to do with corruption schemes.
