Uzbekistan National Guard

[1] He succeeded Colonel General Bakhodir Tashmatov (former Chief of the Joint Staff) and Botir Tursunov (former deputy director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies).

Military units belonging to the internal troops rendered great assistance to the Red Army during the Russian Civil War and subsequently in the restoration of the national economy.

In August 2017, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev issued a presidential decree which effectively removed the National Guard as one of the military's branches of service and made it an independent institution.

[5] In July 2019, the government amended its criminal code, giving the UNG the expanded authority to conduct pretrial investigations and detain people and hold suspects at the local headquarters.

Some analysts have theorized that this expansion of authority may be an attempt to sideline the National Security Service (SNB), which was largely seen as being loyal to former president Islam Karimov.

[6] The main purpose of the National Guard is to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uzbekistan and the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens.

In its early years, it was effectively serving as the personal secret service to President Islam Karimov, often being seen along the road when he was driven from his residence to the Ok Saroy Presidential Palace.