Tashkent Medical University students protest transfer to Russian city over safety fears

The video, which circulated on social media, alleges that students are being forced to go to Nizhny Novgorod – a region reportedly affected by recent drone strikes – under threat of academic leave if they refuse. The students claimed that the former rector had promised to relocate the program to Kazakhstan, but that the new rector, Shukhrat Boymurodov, reversed the decision. They said the deadline to transfer had passed, leaving them no alternative but to either go to Russia or take academic leave. The students are requesting permission to complete their fifth year of study within Uzbekistan.

In response, the university’s press service issued an official statement rejecting the allegations as “baseless and inaccurate.” According to the university, the students in question are enrolled in a joint degree program with Privolzhsky Research Medical University (PRMU) in Nizhny Novgorod. This program has been in place since 2021 and currently includes over 400 Uzbek students studying in Russia. The university emphasized that there is no forced assignment and denied claims that the region is a military zone.

“The majority of participants in the program have expressed their willingness to continue their studies at PRMU, and most are already preparing to depart. Only a few students have violated the terms of their contracts and are intentionally spreading false information to remain in Tashkent,” the statement reads.

The university added that individuals spreading what it describes as deliberately distorted facts are misleading the public and attempting to discredit the university’s leadership and community. Such actions, it warned, could lead to legal consequences under Uzbek law for disseminating false information.