Fergana

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Fergana or Ferghana (both: fyĕrgənä´), city (1989 pop. 200,373), capital of Fergana region, E Uzbekistan, in the Fergana Valley. The marketing center of a large oasis area, it has silk, cotton, and artificial fiber industries. Oil, coal, and uranium ore lie in the area. Founded in 1876 by the Russians as Novy Margelan, the city was renamed (1907) Skobelev and later (1924) Fergana.