RUSSIAN BUSINESSMEN TAKE OVER GULNORA'S NIGHTCLUBS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 003414


DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, SA, and INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/15
TAGS: PGOV SOCI PREL RU UZ
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN BUSINESSMEN TAKE OVER GULNORA'S NIGHTCLUBS

CLASSIFIED BY AMB. JON R. PURNELL, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D).

REFS: A) TASHKENT 3082 B) TASHKENT 3019


1. (C) First Daughter Gulnora Karimova has recently spun off
management of her main Tashkent nightclub complex to a group
of Russian businessmen. The complex includes Basha Nightclub
(now renamed "Club"),Fashion Bar and Prestige Cinema.
Gulnora does not, however, seem to have given up control of
her Credit First Standard Bank, which is located in the same
building as the three clubs. The head of the group that has
taken over the clubs is Sergei Aliyev, an ethnic-Tatar from
Moscow. Most people only know him by his first name. His
partners include "Otabek" (manager of the Fashion Bar) and an
ethnic-Greek Russian. The wife of the ethnic-Greek
businessman told poloff that Gulnora has agreed to relinquish
management of the clubs for the next five years while
retaining ownership. She will remain in the background with
little involvement in the club's everyday affairs. The
businessman's wife also told poloff that Gulnora has moved
away from nightclubs in order to dedicate more time to serious
"political" pursuits.


2. (C) Several Moscow-based Russian singers and DJs have
already been invited to perform at the nightclub. An
increasing number of "new Russians" have been seen in
Tashkent's nightspots lately, especially at Gulnora's complex
and at Lola Karimova's "Katakomba" nightclub. Regular party-
goers at these clubs all know one another and are a fairly
small group, so the "new Russians" easily stand out. Most are
driving around in expensive cars with blue corporate/business
license plates. Gulnora, who is very fond of Russian music,
still visits the "Club" nightclub on Friday and Saturday
evenings, occasionally bringing her teenaged son.


3. (C) Comments: Coming so soon after the signing of the
Russian-Uzbek agreement in Moscow (ref A),the Russian
"takeover" of Gulnora's main nightspots prompted much gossip
in Tashkent's social circles. While it may have only been a
shrewd business decision to improve the management of the
nightclubs, it is also plausible that Gulnora now intends to
focus her time and energy on other pursuits. In addition to
her business activities, she has recently been intensively
traveling all around the country providing charitable grants
to the needy, no doubt in order to boost her public image (ref
B).

PURNELL