General Information about Nukus
Country name, international abbreviation: Uzbekistan, UZ, NCU (Nukus Airport)
Settled: 1932 (Modern city, built near ancient Shurcha settlements)
Type: Capital of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan
Area: ~200 km² (77 sq mi)
Population: ~335,000
Time zone: UTC +5
Area code: 61
Average temperature/year: 12.1 °C (53.8 °F)
Nukus – the capital of Karakalpakstan – is a new, modern city that was officially established as an administrative center in 1932. It is located near the Aral Sea, surrounded by three deserts – the Karakum (Black sand), the Kyzylkum (Red sand), and the rocky desert – the Ustyurt plateau- and the fourth desert, Aralkum or Akkum (White sand, as a result of the drying up salty Aral), joined them.
The history of Nukus begins not from obtaining the status of the capital of Karakalpakstan, but from the origin of the human settlement on the occupied territory. The settlement did not disappear, but then it developed as an urban-type settlement. The time and circumstances of the origin of such an urban-type settlement are of significant interest as the first page of the city's history. Nukus passed through such a “pre-urban” stage of its history.
There are no historical and architectural monuments in it, and the main place of interest is the Karakalpak State Art Museum named after I.Savitsky. The fame of this "museum in the desert," as it was named by the leading art critics and experts of the world, went beyond the bounds of Uzbekistan, its collection is so unique and original.
The founder and the first director of the Museum, Igor Vitalevich Savitsky, was studying at the Moscow Art Institute named after V. Surikov when he was evacuated to Central Asia during World War II. The acquaintance with the amazing history and ancient culture of the Karakalpak became the incitement to ethnography and archeology, and Karakalpakstan became his second home.
The museum was founded in 1966, and originally its collection was cooped up in seven small rooms, and in twenty years a special building was constructed. The museum exposition consists of three sections. They are: ancient and medieval art devoted to the culture of old Khorezm, on the lands of which Karakalpakstan is situated; folk art and decorative and applied arts; and fine art.
There are archeological finds in the expositions, telling about the history of old Khorezm – motherland of “Avesta”; trade relations of the Khorezms with the ancient world; unique terra-cotta statuettes of the Zoroastrian goddess of fertility – Anahita; vessels for keeping remains of fire worshippers’ dead ancestors; ceramic and bronze products.
There is also the State Museum in Nukus, in which archeological finds and endangered species of flora and fauna of the Aral Sea are presented. Both museums demonstrate the rich past of the city.
