Who Is Gulnara Karimova, the Princess of Uzbekistan?

Transcript

• [Johnny] I want to introduce you to a woman who will surprise you. (ominous music and typing) This woman is cunning, ruthless, brutal, easy to underestimate. And even though she's from a country that most of us can't place on a map, I think it's important we know her story. - Johnny, is she in prison still? - I don't know if there's a satisfying ... Read More

Key Insights

• Gulnara Karimova was the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's first autocratic president, and she was seen as a possible successor to her father as president of the country.
• Uzbekistan is double landlocked, meaning every country bordering it is also landlocked. Liechtenstein is the only other country in the world in that situation.
• Karimova was far more than a president's daughter: experts describe her as a part of the system, not a princess on the side of things.
• Her public résumé was broad: studies in New York and Harvard, UN representative, ambassador to Spain, jewelry designer, and a pop singer under the stage name GooGoosha.
• A leaked US diplomatic cable described a propaganda campaign praising her charity and business skill, while calling her a robber baron who used her father to crush business people.
• After her divorce, her ex-husband alleged she used bodyguards to beat him and used the courts to take over his family's Coca-Cola bottling joint venture stake.
• Experts say people feared her because she was the president's daughter, and one businessman bore visible torture marks after jail time tied to her wish to take over his business.
• A US Southern District of New York indictment charged Karimova and Bekhzod Akhmedov with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act over bribes from three telecommunications companies.

Questions & Answers

Q: Who is Gulnara Karimova?

Gulnara Karimova is the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's first autocratic president, Islam Karimov. She studied abroad, served as Uzbekistan's permanent representative to the United Nations and as ambassador to Spain, and ran a jewelry line and a pop career. Experts say she was part of the ruling system itself.

Q: Why is Uzbekistan called double landlocked?

Uzbekistan is double landlocked because it has no coast and every country that borders it is also landlocked. The video notes that only one other country in the world is in this situation: Liechtenstein, the micro state next to Switzerland. This geography is part of the context of the closed country.

Q: What was Gulnara Karimova's public image?

Her public image was glamorous and charming. She launched a jewelry line, appeared at fashion shows, recorded music as GooGoosha, wrote a screenplay and created NGOs and charitable work. She was photographed with powerful people and was even discussed as a possible successor to her father as Uzbekistan's leader.

Q: What did the US State Department cable say about her?

A leaked US diplomatic cable said a propaganda campaign in Uzbekistan praised her charity, business skill and possible presidency. The diplomat added that this likely irked business people crushed by her, and called her a robber baron and a greedy, power hungry individual who used her father to crush anyone in her way.

Q: How did Karimova allegedly take over businesses?

According to the accounts in the video, she used her father's power and the courts to take over businesses. Her ex-husband alleged she used bodyguards to beat him and cut up his family's Coca-Cola joint venture stake. One expert said she could write court decisions and hand them to judges who feared the consequences.

Q: What happened to the businessman who spoke of torture?

The narrator recalls meeting a businessman with visible signs of torture on his face from time spent in prison in Uzbekistan. He ran a successful business that Gulnara wanted to take over, and the ordeal ruined his life and led to multiple suicide attempts. The expert says this story was repeated again and again.

Q: What are the US charges against Karimova?

The indictment read in the video comes from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, United States of America versus Gulnara Karimova and Bekhzod Akhmedov. Count one is conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, alleging a bribery scheme in which she demanded hundreds of millions of dollars from three telecommunications companies.

Q: What is the human rights context of Uzbekistan in the video?

The video describes Uzbekistan as a very closed, secretive regime whose security services, the equivalent of the KGB, controlled much of the economy. Experts say the government shot protesters dead in the street, used torture systematically in detention, and allowed no free media, speech, association or assembly.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The video introduces Gulnara Karimova, eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's first autocratic president, and traces her education, her UN post and her ambassadorship to Spain. Experts describe her as driven, ambitious and ruthless, with talk that she might succeed her father as president.

• Johnny Harris sets out the context of Uzbekistan, a closed and secretive post-Soviet state where security services controlled much of the economy. He cites protesters shot in the street, systematic torture and no free media, and then turns back to Karimova's glamorous public image.

• The video contrasts her fashion, music and charity career with a leaked US cable calling her a robber baron. It covers alleged business seizures, including the Coca-Cola joint venture, and a US indictment alleging hundreds of millions of dollars in telecom bribes.