Soviet-era administrative history
The Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast, formed in 1925, was elevated to Karakalpak ASSR status on 20 July 1932, the only ASSR in Soviet Central Asia; on 5 December 1936, it was transferred from Russian/Kazakh jurisdiction to the Uzbek SSR.[1]
· Other
Karakalpak ASSR elevation and transfer to Uzbek SSR, 1932-1936
Karakalpakstan became the only autonomous Soviet republic in Central Asia before being placed under Uzbek jurisdiction.
The 1993 constitution
In 1993, Karakalpakstan adopted its own constitution declaring itself a "sovereign" republic within Uzbekistan, with a right to secede from Uzbekistan by referendum.[2]
· Constitutional change
Karakalpakstan 1993 constitution
Post-Soviet Karakalpakstan adopted a constitution declaring itself sovereign with a right to secede from Uzbekistan by referendum.
The 2022 constitutional crisis
In June 2022, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's constitutional commission proposed removing Karakalpakstan's "sovereign" status and its constitutional right to secede by referendum, as part of a broader package of around 170 amendments.[3]
Protests began in Nukus on 1 July 2022; on 2 July 2022, Mirziyoyev withdrew the proposed changes, but the government imposed an internet blockade and a state of emergency lasting until 21 July 2022. According to Uzbek government figures, 21 people died, 243 were reported injured, and 516 were detained.[4]
Uzbekistan's revised constitution retained Karakalpakstan's secession right.[5] Two years later, Human Rights Watch reported minimal accountability for the crackdown alongside extensive activist prosecutions, including a 16-year sentence for Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov and the 2024 banning of the Alga Karakalpakstan movement.[6]
· Other
2022 Karakalpak protests
Proposed removal of Karakalpakstan's sovereignty and secession rights triggered deadly protests, forcing a presidential reversal.
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: The Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast, formed in 1925, was elevated to Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) status on 20 July 1932, the only ASSR in Soviet Central Asia; on 5 December 1936, it was transferred from Russian/Kazakh jurisdiction to the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, within which it has remained (as the Republic of Karakalpakstan since Uzbekistan's independence) ever since.
- Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Wikipedia) link, Formation, ASSR elevation and 1936 transfer sections. Source record
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2.
Claim: In 1993, Karakalpakstan adopted its own constitution declaring itself a "sovereign" republic within Uzbekistan, with Article 1 of that constitution and Article 74 of Uzbekistan's national constitution together providing Karakalpakstan a right to secede from Uzbekistan by referendum, framed in some accounts as available after a 20-year period.
- Karakalpakstan's Sovereignty in Mirziyoyev's Uzbekistan (The Diplomat) link, Constitutional status section. Source record
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3.
Claim: In June 2022, as part of a broader package of around 170 proposed constitutional amendments, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's constitutional commission proposed removing the word "sovereign" from Karakalpakstan's constitutional description and removing its constitutional right to secede by referendum.
- 2022 Karakalpak protests (Wikipedia) link, Proposed amendments section. Source record
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4.
Claim: Protests began in Nukus, Karakalpakstan's capital, on 1 July 2022, following the proposed removal of Karakalpakstan's sovereignty and secession-referendum provisions and the arrest of blogger and lawyer Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov; on 2 July 2022, President Mirziyoyev withdrew the proposed changes to Karakalpakstan's status, but the government imposed an internet blockade and declared a state of emergency the same day, lasting until 21 July 2022. According to Uzbek government figures, 21 people died (18 initially reported on 4 July, plus 3 further hospital deaths announced 18 July), 243 people were reported injured (with Karakalpakstan's health minister separately claiming "thousands" were hospitalized), and 516 people were detained on 1-2 July; these figures are officially reported and not independently verified by this bundle.
- 2022 Karakalpak protests (Wikipedia) link, Timeline and casualty-figures sections. Source record
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5.
Claim: Following the withdrawal of the proposed amendments, Uzbekistan's revised constitution retained Karakalpakstan's constitutional right to secede from Uzbekistan by referendum.
- 2022 Karakalpak protests (Wikipedia) link, Outcome section. Source record
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6.
Claim: Two years after the 2022 crackdown, Human Rights Watch reported that only three police officers had faced prosecution for related "illegal actions" (two sentenced to seven years for torture, one to three years for perjury and abandonment of duty), with investigations the Prosecutor General's Office announced in December 2022 into two deaths and weapons use producing no further public information; meanwhile, over 500 people were arrested after the protests, with 61 prosecuted in two major trials, including activist and lawyer Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, sentenced to 16 years, and five diaspora activists sentenced in absentia in September 2023 to terms of 3 to over 10 years; in February 2024, Uzbekistan's Supreme Court designated the Alga Karakalpakstan movement as "extremist."
- Uzbekistan: 2 Years on, No Justice in Autonomous Republic (Human Rights Watch) link, Accountability and prosecutions sections. Advocacy organisation perspective Source record
Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/karakalpakstan/history · last substantive update 24 September 2026.