The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group; the largest Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan but are also found as a minority group in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia and China. Uzbek diaspora communities also exist in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
“Uzbeks! Don’t give them money or matches.”
“Uzbeks! The weak link in the chain of socialism.”
Now...I was deployed to Uzbekistan in 2003-04. More Uzbeks working on our base during daylight than Americans. They seemed OK; secular when it came to Islam, liked their vodka, and the women dressed as they pleased especially when it was 110 F. out. Many spoke English but learn some Russian & you could talk to all of them. Uzbeks I met seemed to like Americans.
I also learned that many Russians regard Uzbeks as subhuman. But two Uzbek schoolteachers who taught a Russian night class later became Christians while I was there.