Nationalism In Central Asia Research Articles

The Western Mongol World in the Early Eighteenth Century: Kalmyks and Oirats in Vasilis Vatatzēs’s Periēgētikon and His 1732 Map of Central Asia

Abstract The article revolves around the information on the Kalmyks and Oirats contained in Vasilis Vatatzēs’s Periēgētikon (Voyages). Vatatzēs, a Greek-Ottoman merchant who travelled in Central Asia in the first half of the eighteenth century, supplemented his text with a map (engraved and published in 1732 in London) and produced a biography of Shah Nader of Persia, the founder of the short-lived Afsharid dynasty. Vatatzēs travelled along the caravan routes connecting the cities of southern Siberia with the Khanates of Central Asia, as demonstrated by a reconstruction of his itineraries, reaching as far as Bukhara. Focusing on the nations of Central Asia, Vatatzēs’s accounts and map provide much information regarding western Mongolic nations, starting with the Kalmyks in the Volga region and reaching as far as the Oirats, to the NW of China.

Societal transitions, ethnolinguistic identities, and marital conservatism in Central Asia

AbstractObjectiveThe study deploys an ethnolinguistic conceptual framework to examine variations in different dimensions of marital conservatism in the Kyrgyz Republic, a post‐Soviet nation in Central Asia, focusing on enduring, yet evolving, Russian linguo‐cultural influence.BackgroundThe global transformation of family and marriage systems has produced diverse local normative patterns that are historically rooted but are also reflective of context‐specific contemporary socio‐cultural, political, and economic transitions. The study investigates these patterns in a multi‐ethnic setting where Soviet‐era legacies, culturally pivoted on the use of the Russian language, have combined with post‐Soviet exposure to both Western influences and rising neo‐traditionalism.MethodThe study uses data from two rounds of a nationally representative cross‐sectional household‐based survey, with each round including standardized interviews with over 2000 men and women aged 18–49. Multi‐level regression models are fitted to predict ethnolinguistic variations in attitudes toward premarital chastity, optimal marriage age, support for parental preeminence in marital decisions, support for ethnic endogamy, and opposition to divorce, while accounting for universal correlates of marital conservatism, such as education, religiosity, and urbanicity. For most outcomes, the analyses examine separately how these attitudes apply to women versus men.ResultsThe results demonstrate the persistent normative imprints of the Russian linguistic and cultural influence but also instructive variations in them across the specific outcomes. They also suggest an overall rise in some aspects of marital conservatism.ConclusionThe findings elucidate the unique multidimensional complexities of family and marital change in transitional Eurasia, yet also its similarities with other post‐colonial contexts.

Up-to-the-date practices of geodetic measurements for build-up area expansion: a case study from Uzbekistan

This paper seeks to contribute to continuing efforts to better understand and control the effects of urbanization on our environment and society by offering a thorough review of the most recent geodetic measuring techniques for build-up area growth. In this article, we give a case study from Uzbekistan that looks at current geodetic measuring techniques for expanding build-up areas. Uzbekistan is a fast urbanizing nation in Central Asia, and politicians and experts are both deeply concerned about the growth of the country's built-up regions. The case study, which offers a thorough investigation of the geodetic measuring methods and tools used to gauge and track the growth of the built environment, is focused on a particular metropolitan region in Uzbekistan. Therefore, this article gives a summary of current geodetic measurement methods, including remote sensing methods like LiDAR and satellite imaging as well as surveying methods like total station and GNSS. The case study also emphasizes some of the difficulties and restrictions related to these methods, such as the requirement for precise geodetic control points and the inadequacies of satellite imaging in regions with thick vegetation or cloud cover.

Халхын Түмэнхэн хөндлөн цөөхүр ноёны асуудалд (= Об изучении биографии халхаского Тумэнхэн Сайн-нойон-хана)

The article reveals the Khalkha history of the XVI–XVII centuries, describes the events where one of the prominent state and religious leaders Tumenkhen Sain-noyon (1558–1640) took an active part. It is noted that this was a historic period related to the third wave of the spread of Buddhism among Mongols. This also was the time of significant changes in the political history, economics and religious life of the countries and nations of Central Asia. During this period Tumenkhen Sain-noyon with his elder brother Avatai made great efforts to spread the teaching of Geluk, organize the building of Buddhist temples and translate sacred books.

Cultural Self-identification in Terms of Bilingualism by Chingiz Aitmatov

The article deals with a phenomenon of bilingualism of Soviet national writers, who created their works both in mother-tongue and Russian language, and exceptionally in Russian. The brightest example of such kind of an artist is Kyrgyz classical writer of the second part of the 20th century Chingiz Aitmatov. The aim of our research was to define Chingiz Aitmatov’s cultural self-identification in a situation of bilingualism in his native Kyrgyzstan during Soviet times. The function of Russian language and culture for Chingiz Aitmatov’s creative works and author’s reflection concerning such issue as Russian culture as a mediator in familiarizing of small nations of the USSR with the world cultural heritage were also studied. Aitmatov considered the Russian language to be a “no compromise one” for USSR nations and small peoples in common Soviet informational space, particularly literary, in a process of integration to the global political, economic, and cultural heritage. At the same time, he put Russian culture in one cohort with the leading world cultures. According to Aitmatov, Russian cultural space had a great influence on the development of Soviet nations of Central Asia and became a mediator in a process of integration of small nations into the global cultural space. The Russian language was a helpful tool for acquaintance with the ancestry of world cultures.

Stereotypes regarding Central Asian migrants’ perception as representatives of the single region culture

The relevance of the studies regarding all levels of cultural interactions between the nations of Central Asia and the Russians can be explained by a number of factors. The people from these countries used to belong to one territorial-political entity of the USSR; these countries used to be geographically closed to Russia. Today the Central Asian countries share similar economic and political interests, stick to the similar strategic priorities as does Russia. The Sverdlovsk region (the Russian Federation) annually receives large migration flows. Significant amount of migrants come from CIS countries, in particular, from Central Asia. In general, the majority of migrants from the CIS countries (The Commonwealth of Independent States) who are currently living in Russia (the data 2018) come from Central Asian countries (67,7 %). The migrants of foreign ethnicities from Central Asia not only fall into the ranks of labour and student migrants on annual basis, but also obtain Russian citizenship. Thus, the issue of perception of Central Asian migrants’ cultural characteristics by the Russians remains relevant. The results of the surveys of Ekaterinburg citizens (2016 and 2019) show that according to their perception they see the migrants from Central Asia as the representatives of the single cultural environment; there is no differentiation between ethnic groups in their views. This fact was confirmed by the content analysis of comments from Russian residents in the group “Science in the Urals”. It showed that the a percentage of Russians interested in this problem, first of all, shows a negative attitude towards migrants from Central Asian countries, stereotypically equating all ethnic groups of migrants from this region.

A Review of Nick Megoran, Nationalism in Central Asia: A Biography of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan Boundary.Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017, 348 pp.

The review considers Nick Megoran’s new interpretations of the history of nationalism in the former Soviet countries of Central Asia. Megoran, who examines modern nation-building, claims that nationalisms as political projects in different countries encounter the local residents’ moral maps, in which ethnicity does not have a leading role. However, the reviewer believes that Megoran’s narrative is guided by the logic of unavoidable nationalism, materialization of national borders, and ethnicization of local identities.

Кочевые народы Центральной Азии эпохи Средневековья в исторических исследованиях российских ученых второй половины XIX — начала XX в.

Статья посвящена рассмотрению основных тенденций изучения кочевых народов Центральной Азии преимущественно эпохи раннего Средневековья в отечественной исторической науке во второй половине XIX — начале XX в. В рассматриваемый период значительная работа была проделана по переводу на русский язык различных персидских, китайских, арабских и византийских источников, которые касались истории Центрально-Азиатского региона. Благодаря целенаправленным исследованиям в Монголии, на Алтае, в Туве, Хакасии были обнаружены десятки новых памятников рунической письменности, а также выявлены сотни погребальных и мемориальных объектов номадов. Более того, во второй половине XIX в. впервые удалось произвести дешифровку тюркской руники, что открыло принципиально новую страницу в истории отечественного и мирового кочевниковедения. В результате накопления широкой ис-точниковой базы с опорой на письменные, археологические и этнографические данные ученым удалось рассмотреть протекание культурно-исторических процессов в Центральной Азии в эпоху Средневековья, а также реконструировать особенности социально-политической организации и мировоззрения уйгуров, кыргызов, тюрок, кида-ней и других кочевых народов. Наибольший вклад в изучение истории кочевых народов Центрально-Азиатского региона внесли Н. Я. Бичурин, В. В. Радлов, П. М. Мелио-ранский, Н. Ф. Катанов, Г. Н. Потанин, Д. М. Позднеев, М. Н. Суворовцев, В. В. Бартольд, работы которых не потеряли свою значимость и до настоящего времени.

Zoroastrianism and the Search for Identity in Central Asia: The Spread of the Prophet’s Message and Politics down the Ages

Today, some nations of Central Asia, freed of the atheistic rule of the former Soviet Union, are harking back, nostalgically, to their pre-Islamic heritage. UNESCO declared 2003 to be the “3000th Anniversary of Zoroastrian Culture” and funded a “Zoroastrian Project” to compile the history and record Zoroastrian traditions. In nations like Tajikistan, old customs like Nowruz are promoted, links to Persian history emphasized, and Zoroastrian associations were formed, in a search for cultural identity. But others say that these were transparent attempts to counter resurgent Muslim fundamentalism in the region, prop up authoritarian regimes, and are tainted with the rough politics of the region.

Between the state and the artist: Representations of femininity and masculinity in the formation of ideas of the nation in Central Asia

After the Soviet collapse, the newly independent states of Central Asia found themselves in the process of forming their own national “imagined communities.” This was done to legitimize their existing territorial integrity, their rights to their titular ethnicities, and the position of political elites. This process expressed itself through the creation of particular symbols, myths, and rituals which distinguished the nation but were also used to legitimize the nation's right to exist. The symbolic and ideological construction was influenced by the former Soviet era. For example, symbolically the country was still called Rodina (motherland), but most of the symbols of power were represented by male images, for example, Amir Timur in Uzbekistan or Ablay Khan in Kazakhstan. The tradition of representing power through a male connotation had a long history in Soviet Central Asia. Interestingly, however, some contemporary artists took an alternative view and used feminine images as strong, central symbols of their interpretation of national identity, contesting the official view of nation-building. This paper seeks to trace the development of the feminine and masculine dichotomy of representation by comparing official iconography with works of famous female artists such as Umida Akhmedova from Uzbekistan and Saule Suleimenova and Almagul Menlibayeva from Kazakhstan.

Soviet Orientalism and Nationalism in Central Asia: Aleksandr Semenov's Vision of Tajik National Identity

Russian Orientalists participated—often in a close but precarious relationship with the state—in the transformation of Central Asia from a tsarist colony into part of what Francine Hirsch has called an “Empire of Nations.” One of them was the former tsarist colonial clerk Aleksandr Semenov (1873–1958), who together with such prominent representatives of the region's Persian-speaking elites as Sadriddin Ayni or Bobojon Ghafurov, and with the support of his academic mentors, such as Vasilii Bartol'd and Sergei Ol'denburg, effectively—albeit somewhat reluctantly—lobbied for the official recognition of the Persian/Tajik language and of Tajikistani statehood. The study of their cooperation shows how Central Asian cultural heritage was researched and preserved, but also how it was reinvented in national terms and codified; and how these processes were negotiated between local intellectuals, scholars and the state.

Understanding Iran's Television and Radio Programs Towards Central Asia

Here we show factors activating Iran's desire to strengthen information policy towards Central Asia. International television and radio broadcasting is one of main instruments of Iranian public diplomacy towards Central Asia. The special part in realization of information policy assigned to Uzbek service of Mashhad radio station which reflects purposes and strategy of Iran concerning Central Asia. On 2007 Iran started new English'speaking satellit e channel Press TV in hope of opposition to such channels as BBC, CNN and Fox News. Its programs attempt to present Iran as impartial and peaceful mode. Television channel Press TV being one of few tools of the soft power of Iran, allows extending ideological influence in Central Asian region, and its policy is aimed at neutralization of influence of western mass media. The television channel attracts audience of intellectual and politically active part of population of Uzbekistan presenting them an alternative view of major events in world connected with policy. It is expected that strengthening of information and psychological activity of Iran's mass media in Central Asia as public diplomacy. Iran's Information activity for next years is aimed at solution of long'term plans of nation in Central Asia and d emands carrying out purposeful actions in region in the.

Risk allocation in a public–private partnership: a case study of construction and operation of kindergartens in Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, a transitional nation in Central Asia, the development of public–private partnerships (PPPs) is at its early stage and increasingly of strategic importance. This case study investigates risk allocation in an ongoing project: the construction and operation of 11 kindergartens in the city of Karaganda in the concession form for 14 years. Drawing on a conceptual framework of effective risk allocation, the study identifies principal PPP risks, provides a critical assessment of how and in what way each partner bears a certain risk, highlights the reasons underpinning risk allocation decisions and delineates the lessons learned. The findings show that the government has effectively transferred most risks to the private sector partner, whilst both partners share the demand risk of childcare services and the project default risk. The strong elements of risk allocation include clear assignment of parties’ responsibilities, streamlined financing schemes and incentives to complete the main project phases on time. However, risk allocation has missed an opportunity to create incentives for service quality improvements and take advantage of economies of scale. The most controversial element of risk allocation, as the study finds, is a revenue stream that an operator is supposed to receive from the provision of services unrelated to childcare, as neither partner is able to mitigate this revenue risk. The article concludes that in the kindergartens’ PPP, the government has achieved almost complete transfer of risks to the private sector partner. However, the costs of transfer are extensive government financial outlays that seriously compromise the PPP value for money.

Redefining Religion: Uzbek Atheist Propaganda in Gorbachev-Era Uzbekistan

Much has been made in the social sciences of the ambiguity of nationalism in Central Asia, where not only the boundaries between republics but between nations, languages, and peoples were drawn by the Soviet state. The similar ambiguity of Central Asian religiosity, however, has remained largely ignored. Perhaps religiosity, unlike the more recent idea of nationalism, is considered too fixed a construct for the modern and artificially created states of Central Asia. The division of religions into specific sects, each with its own explicit doctrine and precepts, would seem to preclude definitional necessity. Yet in the 1980s it was religiosity, malleable and stubborn, which proved as essential to the decline of the Soviet Union as did nationalism. As a vital component of identity, religion can exist without any clergy, place of worship, or understanding of sacred text, much as a nation can exist without a state or a government. The illusory aspects of religion, the comforts and mystery of rite and ritual, are as difficult for a state to control as national sentiment, and often prove the impetus behind the latter.

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan. By Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone. Published in cooperation with the Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies, the George Washington University. (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. Pp. xiii, 325. $10.95.)

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan. By Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone. Published in cooperation with the Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies, the George Washington University. (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. Pp. xiii, 325. $10.95.) - Volume 65 Issue 4

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan. By Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone. Published in cooperation with the Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies, George Washington University. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. xiii, 325 pp. $10.95.

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan. By Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone. Published in cooperation with the Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies, George Washington University. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. xiii, 325 pp. $10.95.

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan.

Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan.

The Application of the Tibetan Sexagenary Cycle

Ch`ang-an cannot have seen any brighter days than Paris when M. Pelliot, a second Hilan Tsang, with his treasures of ancient books, manuscripts, scrolls and statues, returned from his journey in Central Asia which will ever be memorable in the annals of scientific exploration. His archweological material bearing on the languages, literature and history of almost all nations of Central Asia has naturally led him to transgress the boundary stones which were set up by the commonly accepted Monroe doctrine of sinology, and to take deep plunges into Turkish, Mongol, Tungusian, Tibetan, and kindred subjects. In studying the work of previous scholars in these fields, M. Pelliot encountered a great deal that could not pass muster before his scrutinizing eagle eye, and that he was able to enlighten considerably with the solid fund of his superior Chinese and historical knowledge. In the present investigation he turns his searchlight on the prevailing methods of computing the Tibetan years of the sexagenary cycle into our system of time-reckoning; he x-rays the father of this system, ALEXANDER CSOMA, who, in his famous Tibetan Grammar (Calcutta, 1834), expounded a calculation of Tibetan years which ever since has been a sanctified dogma of Tibetan philology (with two exceptions which escaped the atten39