Uzbek President Islam Karimov has been taken to hospital, the Uzbek government said on August 28. According to the statement, he was undergoing a full examination and treatment would “take a certain period of time.” No further details have been provided.
Meanwhile, rumours are circulating that Karimov is seriously ill or even had suffered a stroke.
Mr Karimov, 78, has been the president of Uzbekistan since before independence in 1991.
Many experts believe that Karimov’s person in the only reason of the current stability of Uzbekistan. Over 30 million of people currently live in the republic. An average income of person in the country is about $40-50. Uzbekistan is also widely known as a place of expansion of ideas of the radical Islam.
Without Karimov, the situation in Uzbekistan could be easily destabilized, setting a foothold for rise of militancy and terror.