Nukus Uzbek: Nukus / Нукус Karakalpak: No‘kis / Нөкис
The Savitsky Karakalpakstan Art Museum at Nukus
Nukus Location in Uzbekistan
Coordinates: 42°28′N 59°36′E / 42.467°N 59.6°E / 42.467; 59.6
Country	Uzbekistan
Province	Karakalpakstan
Population (2004 est.)
• Total	260,000

Nukus (Uzbek: Nukus / Нукус; Karakalpak: No‘kis / Нөкис; Russian: Нукус) is the sixth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic. It has a population of 260,000 (2004 estimate). The Amu Darya river passes west of the town.

The city is best known for its world-class Nukus Museum of Art.

History[link]

Nukus developed from a small settlement in 1932 into a large, modern Soviet city with broad avenues and big public buildings by the 1950s. The city's isolation made it host to the Red Army's Chemical Research Institute, a major research and testing center for Chemical Weapons.

Environmental concerns[link]

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the growing environmental disaster of the Aral Sea, the city's situation has deteriorated. Contamination of the region by wind-borne salt and pesticides from the dry Aral Sea bed have turned the surrounding area into a wasteland, with very high rates of respiratory disorders, cancer, birth defects and deformities.

Sights[link]

The panoramic view of Nukus

Nukus is host to the Nukus Museum of Art (also known as the State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, named after Igor V. Savitsky) and State Museum. The State Museum houses the usual collection of artifacts recovered from archaeological investigations, traditional jewelry, costumes and musical instruments, but more interestingly, displays of the area's now vanished or endangered flora and fauna, and on the Aral Sea issue. The Art Museum is noted for its collection of modern Russian and Uzbek art from 1918-1935. Stalin tried his best to eliminate all non Soviet art from this period, and sent most of the artists to the gulag. Both Savitsky himself and the collection at Nukus survived because of the city's remoteness. The documentary film The Desert of Forbidden Art is all about the collection and its history.

^[1]

Nukus is also home to the Progress Center, Central Asia's finest English-language institute. Housed in a former Komsomol meeting hall, the institute has received major funding from UNICEF.^[2]

Climate[link]

Nukus experiences a desert climate (Köppen BWk) with summers that are long, dry and very hot, and winters that are short, though quite cold.

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• Nukus Museum of Art
• Nukus Airport

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nukus

• Nukus Online
• Forum of Karakalpakstan
• WEB-resources about or from Nukus
• Pictures of Nukus

Coordinates: 42°28′N 59°36′E / 42.467°N 59.6°E / 42.467; 59.6

v t e Karakalpakstan Capital: Nukus Districts and seats Amudaryo District (Mang‘it) · Beruniy District (Beruniy) · Chimboy District (Chimboy) · Ellikqala District (Bo‘ston) · Kegeyli District (Kegeyli) · Mo‘ynoq District (Mo‘ynoq) · Nukus District (Oqmang‘it) · Qonliko‘l District (Qanliko‘l) · Qo‘ng‘irot District (Qo‘ng‘irot) · Qorao‘zak District (Qorao‘zak) · Shumanay District (Shumanay) · Taxtako‘pir District (Taxtako‘pir) · To‘rtko‘l District (To‘rtko‘l)  · Xo‘jayli District (Xo‘jayli)

v t e Cities of Uzbekistan Capital Tashkent Cities Andijan Angren Asaka Bekabad Beruniy Bukhara Chimboy Chirchiq Fergana Guliston G‘ijduvon G‘uzor Jizzakh Juma Kattaqo‘rg‘on Kogon Kosonsoy Margilan Mo‘ynoq Namangan Navoiy Nukus Nurota Olmaliq Qarshi Qorako‘l Qorasuv Qo‘ng‘irot Qo‘qon Rishton Samarkand Shahrisabz Shirin Sirdaryo Termez To‘rtko‘l To‘ytepa Uchquduq Urganch Urgut Vobkent Xiva Xo‘jayli Yangiabad Yangiyer Yangiyo‘l Zarafshon