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Contribution abstract:

At present, there is a growing interest among researchers in regional studies, and local history, which investigates the spatial dimensions of social, economic, political, and behavioral phenomena. The picture of history would be incomplete without the assessments and interpretations of certain events by their participants and eyewitnesses.

The comprehension of the historical process, based on the memories of the average citizen, on the one hand, and a thorough analysis of written sources, on the other, will make it possible to detail the events, while expanding the global picture of the period under study.

In the report, the author will present his experience of studying local history on the example of the unique region of Central Asia, the Fergana Valley, which is home to more than 10 million people.

Why this region? This is due to political, economic, and social factors. The geopolitical location, besides the neighboring republics (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan), has a border with China. On the one hand, it is an economically developed region, which is due to its favorable geographical location, rich water resources, and fertile land, as well as the presence of Russian capital since tsarist times and the special attention of the Soviet authorities to the region as a major supplier of cotton. On the other hand, due to the densely populated area, there is a high percentage of unemployment in politically active with a high level of religious (Islamic) consciousness and the presence of radical groups, which leads to social tensions.

In this connection, studying and analyzing the state of society and people's perception of historical events on the eve and first years of independence of Uzbekistan through the method of oral history play a special role in writing an objective regional history.