Since returning to Sweden I noticed groups of people on the metro in Stockholm who are speaking in languages that I don't recognise, and suddenly switch to accented Russian, or take phone calls in Russian. They don't look Russian.

Now I just read an article saying that these people for the most part are from Uzbekistan and that they are "political refugees. "
Does anyone know anything about the situation in Uzbekistan?


  • Is it a terrible dictatorship where normal people have reason to fear persecution?
  • Are Uzbeks generally honest and hardworking? Somebody commented to the article I read that they are "like gypsies", I would not know.