Central Asia 130 Years Of Russian Dominance

**** BCL3 lists the predecessor version carrying the subtitle A century of Russian rule (1967). A needed revision of the classic. Deals with the people, their intellectual lives, the land, history, nationalism, agriculture, industry, modernization. A cloth edition is reported at $57.50; we've not seen it. **** The first edition, titled Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule (1967), is cited in BCL3. The present edition is a revision of Central Asia: 120 Years of Russian Rule (1989). This new, augmented edition preserves the previous 17 chapters intact. Besides writing a new final chapter that focuses mainly on the eventful period 1989-93, the editor has also revised the preface and notes about contributors, and has enlarged and updated the bibliography of English-language sources and readings. Paper edition (unseen), $26.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

**** BCL3 lists the predecessor version carrying the subtitle A century of Russian rule (1967). A needed revision of the classic. Deals with the people, their intellectual lives, the land, history, nationalism, agriculture, industry, modernization. A cloth edition is reported at $57.50; we've not seen it. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This introduction to Central Asia and its relationship with Russia helps restore Central Asia to the general narrative of Russian and world history.

Historical study of ethnography and cultural change in Central Asia under USSR rule - describes geographical aspects of the region, the life of the indigenous peoples and of tribal peoples, the Russian influence on traditions and on the language, etc., and includes the social implications of communist takeover.

"Recently there was a wave of celebration of the 20th anniversary of independence in all Central Asian states, yet their nation building process is not complete and the perception of the national identity is still distorted. By its nature national identity should bring people together and unite them around common values and goals, in Central Asian states, however; national identity, conceived on ethnic basis, is a divisive force fragmenting people along the lines of ethnicity, religion, language, birth place, and social status. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asian republics--Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzsta--faced the difficult task of state- and nation-building. Although every Central Asian nation had its own challenges determined by its geography, ethnic and cultural composition, availability of natural resources and other factors, all of them faced same complexity that hindered the attaining of unity in those countries. As a result of abrupt dissolution of the Soviet Union, politically unstable, economically weak and interdependent, institutionally unprepared, and socially disorientated Central Asian states were in a serious crisis. In order to forge a new national identity, the political elites in all five Central Asian states decided to implement a nation building policy based on ethnicity. Ethnic nationalism was convenient and promising strategy capable of providing a sense of stability by uniting majority groups around the common and powerful link of ethnicity. In order to increase people's attachment to these new national identities, attractive myths regarding ethnic identities were created. In all of the Central Asian countries, the strategy of creating a national myth was similar. It consisted of rewriting history in order to show a strong attachment of the majority group to the present geographical location of the country as well as of choosing a historical figure that boosted the national pride of the dominant ethnic group. Consequently, Uzbeks have been putting emphasis on being successors of the famous conqueror Tamerlane who established Timurid Empire, Kyrgyz have been promoting the image of the mythical hero Manas, and Tajiks have been rediscovering their history that was linked to the Samanid Empire ruled by Ismail Samani, Kazakhs have been promoting nomadic culture and traditions, and Turkmens have been focusing on the Turkmen spiritual leader Magtymguly Pyragy. However, an important barrier to the nation building process around single ethnicity is the fact that most Central Asian states are multiethnic and multicultural societies. Thus, while ethnic nationalism provides the majority group a sense of belonging to the nation, minority ethnic groups in Central Asia do not easily embrace this new national identity and feel excluded from the nation building process. Moreover, majority ethnic groups also realize their dominance and often treat minorities unjustly. This creates tension and conflicts among the different ethnic groups. This paper addresses the question of how Central Asian societies can move away from divisive to inclusive form of nationalism"--Summary.