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Russia and Central Asia
Coexistence, Conquest, Convergence

Shoshana Keller (Author)

9781487594343

Paperback / softback, published 20 November 2019

360 pages, 40 b&w illustrations, 8 b&w maps, 6 b&w tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.48 kg

Russia and Central Asia provides an overview of the relationship between two dynamic regions, highlighting the ways in which Russia and Central Asia have influenced and been influenced by Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This readable synthesis, covering early coexistence in the seventeenth century to the present day, seeks to encourage new ways of thinking about how the modern world developed.

Shoshana Keller focuses on the five major "Stans": Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Cultural and social history are interwoven with the military narrative to provide a sense of the people, their religion, and their practices – all of which were severely tested under Stalin.

The text includes a glossary as well as images and maps that help to highlight 500 years of changes, bringing Central Asia into the general narrative of Russian and world history and introducing a fresh perspective on colonialism and modernity.

A Note on Spelling
Glossary
 

Introduction

1. Early Coexistence

Rus’ and the Steppe Peoples 
Turko-Mongol-Iranian Central Asia
Early Diplomatic and Trade Relations 
Summary and Notes

2. The Balance of Power Shifts

Internal Fragmentation, External Threats 
Nomadic Cultures: Kazakhs, Turkmen, Kyrgyz 
Beginnings of Russian Rule
Summary and Notes

3. Conquest

Settled Cultures: Uzbeks and Tajiks 
Russia Engulfs the Kazakhs 
Change in the Air
Military Conquest
Summary and Notes

4. Imperial Rule

Governance
Economic Development 
Education
Social Dynamics
Summary and Notes

5. Revolutions 

The Revolution of 1905 and its Effects
The Great War and the Great Unraveling
Marxism, Bolshevism, and Empire 
Central Asia Shattered
Summary and Notes 

6. Founding Soviet Central Asia

Authority and Credibility
The Creation of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
Building the Tools of Modernization
Summary and Notes

7. Breaking and Building: The Stalin Era 

The Great Break 
Collectivization and the Kazakh Tragedy
Contradictions of Stalinist Modernization
World War II and After
Summary and Notes

8. Stability and Growth

Changing Relations between Moscow and the Republics 
Cotton Monoculture, Cotton Monomania
 The Hungry Steppe
 Life on the Cotton Collectives
Mature Socialism 
Summary and Notes  

9. From Reform to Independence 

Water, Cotton, and Nationalism
Restructuring / Unraveling
Now What?

Bibliography

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