Both belong to Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, why do they have so much bitterness and hatred?

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have a close relationship. Both countries belong to Central Asia. And they all joined the Soviet Union.

In the early Soviet constitution, the member states of the Soviet Federation could independently exercise state power. However, since the sovereign status of each Soviet Union was not actually realized, they were actually two administrative regions of the Soviet Union. Due to the influence of the planned economy of the Soviet Union at that time, there were frequent contacts between them.

In 1924, a major event affected their relationship. That is to say, we need to divide the realm. Before dividing the realm, their difference mainly lies in their lifestyle. The Uzbeks settled mainly in the Fagana basin and other oases, and the Kyrgyz were nomadic in the mountains. They know more about their own tribe and have weak national concepts. As the borders were drawn, national consciousness began to grow on both sides. At the same time, border demarcation has brought about border disputes and the creation of "enclaves".

The reason is that there was no detailed preparation for demarcating the boundaries at that time. As a result, the borders and traditional settlement areas between the two sides are inconsistent, leaving disputed areas. In the Soviet era, they were just two administrative regions, so the border issue was not a big issue to argue about. Because the Soviet Union designed Central Asia as a whole, many infrastructure constructions did not consider border issues. For example, trains from Kyrgyzstan pass through Uzbekistan. Of course, the relationship was very close at that time. For example, Kyrgyz people are sent to work in factories in Uzbekistan by bus every day.

However, this is a foreshadowing of future border issues between the two sides. After the independence of the two countries, relations between the two countries developed smoothly from 1991 to 1999. Until the end of 1998, most people in both countries did not think that the other country was a "foreign country." Kyrgyzstan has defaulted on gas payments to Uzbekistan, which has closed its borders to protect its economy. Three days later, an explosion occurred in Tashkent, killing 16 people. Uzbekistan has deployed armed personnel at the border and set up border posts. In August 1999, the two sides clashed, which eventually led to fewer and fewer exchanges between people on both sides of the border, and Central Asia began to fragment.

From 2000 to 2010, the two countries overcame the border crisis, which had an impact on their relations, but the overall distance between the two countries became increasingly distant. Border issues, water resources issues, cross-border ethnic issues and the different development models of the two countries, coupled with the games played by the United States and Russia in Central Asia, have made the relationship between the two countries increasingly tense.

From 2010 to now. The conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in southern Kyrgyzstan has intensified the ethnic opposition in Kyrgyzstan and stimulated nationalist sentiments in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.