| Sokh District | |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Official Name: | Sokh District |
| Native Name: | Сўх тумани (Uzbek) • Ноҳияи Сӯх (Tajik) • Сохский район (Russian) |
| Mapsize: | 220px |
| Mapsize1: | 150px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Uzbekistan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Fergana Region |
| Subdivision Type2: | Capital |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ravon |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1942 |
| Area Total Km2: | 220 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Total: | 80,600 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | UZT |
| Utc Offset: | +5 |
Sokh District (Uzbek: Сўх тумани|translit=Soʻx tumani,, Russian: Сохский район|Sokhsky rayon) is a district of Uzbekistan's Fergana Region. It consists of two exclaves of Uzbekistan, surrounded by Kyrgyzstan. Despite being part of Uzbekistan, its population is almost entirely ethnic Tajiks, and the southern part of the district is closer to the border with Tajikistan than with the rest of Uzbekistan. Its capital is the town of Ravon.[1] It has an area of [2] and it has 80,600 inhabitants .[3] The district consists of seven urban-type settlements (Ravon, Qalʻa, Sarikanda, Soʻx, Tul, Hushyor, Tarovatli) and four rural communities (Sohibkor, Ravon, Soʻx, Hushyor).[1] Another village in the district is Limbur.
The territory of Sokh is divided into two parts, separated by Kyrgyzstan:
The exclave's name comes from the river Sokh, 124abbr=onNaNabbr=on long, which crosses the territory and waters its fertile valley. The exclave is surrounded by the Kyrgyz Batken Region. Sokh's border is 135abbr=onNaNabbr=on long, with nine border posts guarded by Kyrgyzstan.
, the population is 80,600.[3] Despite being a part of Uzbekistani territory and being surrounded by Kyrgyzstan, its population is mostly Tajik.[4]
Together with Kokand, Sokh was one of the centres of the Basmachi uprising from 1918 to 1924. At that time, Sokh was still directly connected with Uzbekistan.[5]
Sokh was created in 1955. Local legend holds that “the territory was lost by a Kyrgyz Communist Party official in a card game with his Uzbek counterpart.” Others say it made sense to assign the area to Uzbekistan because the roads running along the Sokh river connected to Uzbekistan to the north rather than going through the rugged Kyrgyz territory to the east and west of the area in question.
In 1999, Uzbekistan claimed that militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) were using Sokh as their base to attack Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Earlier that year, Tashkent had been rocked by a series of car bombings attributed to the IMU. Uzbekistan began mining the borders around Sokh, angering the Kyrgyz who claim Uzbekistan placed mines on its territory.[6]
The economy of Sokh is mainly based on agriculture (potatoes and fruits). The fields are supplied by the river Sokh so that agriculture is only possible in the valley plain. The Sokh valley forms a river oasis in the surrounding, barren grassland. The seasonal migration of the male labour force to Russia is also important. The exclave contains twenty-eight schools, two colleges, three clinics, twelve dispensaries and ten village health centres.