Hidden away
When the Tashkent Metro was built, photography was banned in its stations because of its ancillary role as a nuclear bomb shelter. During Soviet times, fears of spying and a tight control on information meant photography was largely distrusted, especially around sensitive military infrastructure, including bomb shelters.
After the fall of the USSR in 1991, Uzbekistan’s former Soviet party leader, Islam Karimov, took power and continued the policy. Karimov’s successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, however, began undertaking reforms, seeking to open up the country’s economy and attract investors and tourists. Perhaps realising the metro’s potential as a tourist draw, the government removed its classification as a military installation in mid-2018 and lifted this 41-year ban on photography. (Credit: Taylor Weidman)