Fergana

Fergana first appears in written records in the 5th-century. However, archeological evidence demonstrates that the city had been populated since the Chalcolithic period. Like many other parts of Central Asia in the sixth and seventh-centuries, Fergana was ruled by the Western Turkic Khaganate. Although it was still predominantly inhabited by eastern Iranians, many Turks had also started to settle there. The city of Fergana was refounded in 1876 as a garrison town and colonial appendage to Margilan (22 kilometres or 13+1⁄2 miles to the northwest) by the Russian Empire. Fergana Region is one of the centers of ancient culture in Uzbekistan. Photographs of Stone Age settlements and rocks found in the area show that stone tools have been used by people in the valley since ancient times. …

Fergana has a cool arid climate (Köppen BWk). Winters are cold and short, with a daily average low temperature of −2.6 °C (27.3 °F) and a daily average high of 4.8 °C (40.6 °F) in January; summers are hot, with an average low temperature of 20.6 °C (69.1 °F) and an average high of 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) in July. Annual precipitation is less than 188.1 millimetres or 7 inches, and most of this falls in winter and spring.

Fergana has a high proportion of Russians, Koreans and Tatars compared to other Fergana Valley cities. With its wide, tree-lined boulevards and Russian Empire-era buildings, and the Russian language spoken frequently on the streets, the city has a distinctly different feel from the rest of the region. Museum of Local Studies — with displays of natural history, photographs, and local handicrafts Regional Theatre — in 1877 the house of General Mikhail “Old Bloody Eyes” Skobelev Fergana State University — built in 1902

As of January 1, 2014, the city had a population of 264,900, making it the 3rd largest city in the Fergana Valley. The town was Russian for the first time after its foundation. In 1911 its population consisted of 11,892 people. Of them Russians were 7,534 (63%), Sarts were 2,590 (22%). According to the 1926 census, of the 14,275 inhabitants in the city, there were 7,942 Russians (55%), 667 were Ukrainians (4.6%), and 514 were Jews (3.6%), while there were only 3,011 Uzbeks (21.0%). As of 2013, Fergana is virtually mono-ethnic - of the city's 350,600 residents, 316,268 are Uzbek (90.0%). Of the remaining group, 12,084 Russians (3.4%), 3,114 Tajiks (1.1%), 2,028 Koreans (0.7%), and 626 Tatars (0.2%) also live in Fergana. There are also Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Jews, Germans and representatives of other nations.