Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov was born in Samarkand on 30th January 1938. He was sent to an orphanage in 1941, brought back in 1942, and then returned to the orphanage in 1945. In 1955, he graduated from A. S. Pushkin Middle School No. 21 in Samarkand. In 1960, he graduated from the Central Asian Polytechnic Institute where he specialised in mechanical engineering. Karimov married his first wife, Natalya Petrovna Kuchmi, in 1964 and they had a son together, Petr, before divorcing.Karimov's wife, Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova, whom he married in 1967, is of Tatar origin. She is an economist.They had two daughters and five grandchildren.