Minister who once told Karimov “You are Stalin” passes away

Uzbekistan’s first Minister of Defense, Colonel General Rustam Akhmedov, has passed away at the age of 82. The Ministry of Defense’s press service reported the news.

Rustam Akhmedov was born on November 10, 1943, in the Bagdad district of Fergana region. In 1965, he graduated from the Tashkent Higher Tank Command School with a specialization in “tactical command of tank troops,” and in 1985, from the Armored Forces Military Academy with a specialization in “operational-tactical command and staff.”

From 1966 to 1972, he served in the Baltic Military District’s 11th Army tank regiment, progressing from tank platoon commander to deputy commander for political affairs of a tank battalion in the Northern Military District’s tank division.

Between 1972 and 1986, Akhmedov served at the Tashkent Higher Tank Command School and the Samarkand Higher Military Automobile Command and Engineering School as deputy commander for educational affairs and as a battalion commander.

From 1986 to 1991, he worked as deputy commander and chief of staff of the Civil Defense of Tashkent region.

Between 1991 and 1992, Akhmedov simultaneously held the positions of Minister for Defense Affairs of Uzbekistan and Commander of the National Guard of the Republic of Uzbekistan. From 1992 to 1997, he served as the Minister of Defense of Uzbekistan.

He went down in history as the first Minister of Defense of independent Uzbekistan.

The late general also served as Minister of Emergency Situations from September 1997 to September 1998.

He retired in 1998. From 2018 to 2020, Akhmedov worked as an advisor to the Minister of Defense, actively contributing to reforms in key areas of the defense sector. He was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1993 and the Order of “Shon-Sharaf” (2nd degree) in 1995.

In 2018, for his significant contribution to the development of Uzbekistan’s national army, he was awarded the Order of “Dostlik” (Friendship).

In a 2024 interview with the “AlterEgo” project, Rustam Akhmedov recalled telling the First President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, “You are Stalin.” According to him, Karimov became angry and asked why he said that. Akhmedov replied, “God forbid, if you weren’t like that, we would now have a war like in Tajikistan,” which eased the tension.