The last chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities
His name 'Rafiq' means 'comrade' in Arabic. When Gorbachev elevated him to chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities, Ukrainian Komsomol leader Valeriy Tsybukh dubbed him 'Gorbachev's personal Rafiq.'
Born the son of a farm laborer, he rose through the Tashkent city party and the republic foreign ministry to become First Secretary of the Uzbek Communist Party in 1988. Tasked with stabilizing the republic after the Rashidov cotton scandal, he earned Gorbachev's confidence and was elevated the following year to chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities. An Uzbek who reached the highest federal tier, he presided over the multinational Union's final parliament as the state itself dissolved around him.
Career Timeline
- 1950s–1970sRises through Uzbek republic diplomatic and party administration
- 1986–1988First Secretary of the Uzbek Communist Party after Rashidov, managing the post-scandal republic
- 1989–1991Chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities, the last representative line during the Union’s collapse
- 1991His office disappears amid the August coup and dissolution of the Union
- 1991 이후Lives in Russia after 1991 as a late-Soviet republic elite figure
Fifteen Years Abroad as a Soviet Diplomat
In 1970 Nishonov transitioned into diplomacy, serving as USSR ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives (1970–1978). Among the junior diplomats who worked under him at the embassy in Colombo was Sergey Lavrov, the future Russian foreign minister. From 1978 to 1985 he served as ambassador to Jordan, gaining firsthand experience of Middle Eastern diplomacy. In 1985 he returned home to become foreign minister of the Uzbek SSR, a post that launched his rapid ascent into the republic's top leadership. It was rare in the Soviet system for someone who had spent fifteen years abroad as a diplomat to rise to first secretary of a union republic. This international background later helped earn Gorbachev's confidence and paved the way for his appointment to manage nationality affairs at the all-Union level.