Editing Lebap Region (section)

== History ==
[[File:Dinosaur-plateau.jpg|thumb|Dinosaur Plateau in Koytendag District]]
{{See also|Amu Darya#History}}
The region of present-day Lebap once occupied a spot along the [[Silk Road]]. The 9th-10th century [[Caravanserai|caravansaray]] of [[Dayahatyn]] is located within Lebap.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2015-06-04|title=Ambassador Mustard Travels to Lebap Province|url=https://tm.usembassy.gov/ambassador-mustard-travels-lebap-province/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101214128/https://tm.usembassy.gov/ambassador-mustard-travels-lebap-province/|archive-date=2021-01-01|access-date=2021-01-01|website=U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan|publisher=[[United States Department of State]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Bukhara and Khiva khanates===
Prior to the [[Russian Revolution]], much of today's Lebap Region was part of either the [[Khanate of Bukhara]]<ref name=tstanbook>{{cite book|title=Туркменистан |first=P. |last=Skosyrev |date=1948 |publisher=Molodaya Gvardiya |place=Moscow |page=192 |language=ru}}</ref> or the [[Khanate of Khiva]].<ref name=tstanbook5>{{cite book|title=Туркменистан |first=P. |last=Skosyrev |date=1948 |publisher=Molodaya Gvardiya |place=Moscow |page=194 |language=ru}}</ref> The last khan of Bukhara, [[Sayyid Mir Muhammad Alim Khan]],  nominally submitted to Soviet authority, but in reality joined the [[Basmachi movement]] and rebelled against the [[Bolsheviks]]. He fled in 1920, and the area was declared a people's republic until [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] power was firmly established in 1924.  In that same year, the settlements at Çärjew and Kerki were formally assigned to the [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic]], along with the western parts of the Khiva khanate along the Amu Darya.<ref name=tstanbook5 />

===Recent history===
On April 27, 2020, the region was hit by a severe windstorm.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=30 April 2020|title=Turkmen Province 'In Chaos' After Deadly Windstorms|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-province-in-chaos-after-deadly-windstorms/30585718.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101211619/https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-province-in-chaos-after-deadly-windstorms/30585718.html|archive-date=2021-01-01|access-date=2021-01-01|website=[[RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty]]|publisher=[[U.S. Agency for Global Media]]|language=en}}</ref> [[RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty]] alleged that the storm disrupted much of the region's electrical grid, public water supplies, natural gas connections, cell service, and internet connection.<ref name=":0" /> A local human rights website, Turkmen.news, reported that many people were admitted to the regional hospital in [[Türkmenabat]] after suffering injuries.<ref name=":0" /> They also alleged that there was sporadic looting in the storm's aftermath and that food prices in the region rose as a result of the storm.<ref name=":0" /> Local Turkmen media reported 10 deaths resulting from the storm, while Turkmen.news suggested that the true death toll was likely in the dozens, and dozens remained unaccounted for in the storm's aftermath.<ref name=":0" /> The rights group [[Human Rights Watch]] condemned what it perceived as "censorship" by local officials following the storm, noting that one group alleged that local police were watching out for people filming the storm's damage, and another group reported that dozens of people were detained for allegedly sending videos "abroad".<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-05-04|title=Turkmenistan Government's Deafening Silence After Hurricane|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/04/turkmenistan-governments-deafening-silence-after-hurricane|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924091946/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/04/turkmenistan-governments-deafening-silence-after-hurricane|archive-date=2020-09-24|access-date=2021-01-01|website=[[Human Rights Watch]]|language=en}}</ref>

In December 2020, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty reported that regional officials threatened to cut off the region's population from subsidized food if they were not up to date on their utility bills.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Najibullah|first=Farangis|date=2020-12-25|title=Grim Choice: Turkmen Warned Of Food Cutoffs Over Unpaid Utility Bills|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-food-subsidies-cut-unpaid-utility-bills/31019079.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101213157/https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-food-subsidies-cut-unpaid-utility-bills/31019079.html|archive-date=2021-01-01|access-date=2021-01-01|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|language=en}}</ref> The agency reported that many in the region received seasonal income from farming, and often did not earn money in the winter, and such matters were complicated by a decrease in [[Remittance|remittances]] to the region as a result of the [[Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic|economic fallout from COVID-19]].<ref name=":1" />