10 Susanne Bauer and Tanja Penter
In Central Asia, the memory of the great armed uprising of the Muslim
population in 1916, which was sparked by the planned conscription of
Muslims for military service and quickly expanded into an anti-colonial
uprising, dominates the memory of the revolution. Several hundred thousand people, mostly Central Asians, had died during and after the uprising. 33
In Tajikistan, the 100th anniversary of the revolution in 2017 received no
attention at all and simply passed by without a sound, whereas the end of
World War I was mentioned in the government press and a government
delegation traveled to Paris especially for the celebrations. 34 Tajikistan’s
post-Soviet historiography has reinterpreted the historical narratives of the
Soviet era, in which postcolonial interpretations of the Russian imperial and
Soviet history of Central Asia have recently gained in importance. 35 New
spaces of memory have emerged, which shed light on the Russian imperial
conquest of the Central Asian steppes. Especially the Ferghana valley and its
agricultural history and cotton plants are a case in point to ask for the limits
of the proclaimed decolonization during the early Soviet period. 36
In the post-Soviet era, governments drew on pre-Soviet colonial histories
in order to shape nationally anchored historical narratives. When the newly
independent states of Central Asia rebuilt their national historiographies,
they rejected some but kept large parts of Soviet historiography – for instance
in the memory of World War II, which continues to be a uniting moment.
Moreover, Soviet Central Asia had built on local elites as well as institutions
and the leaders of the new independent republics (except for Kyrgyzstan)
continued to mainly come from these local party elites established during the
Soviet era. 37 The modes of nation-building and geopolitics of the new independent states differed substantially across Central Asia. To varying extents,
the 1990s gave rise to a revived traditionalism that also drew on various
Islamic traditions in Central Asia. 38 Kazakhstan was the only Central Asian
country to build on a pre-Soviet national movement – the Alash Orda that
was in government before the 1917 revolution. 39 These different strategies of
renewal also included the management of nuclear legacies – both in national
regulatory policies as well as in their international relations. 40 Institutional
continuities in terms of administrations in post-Soviet governments persisted,
but also as for nuclear weapons testing in Kazakhstan, international and UN
bodies were called to assist with dealing with legacies and creating a nuclear
weapons-free zone in Central Asia. 41 Here, the end of nuclear weapons testing
in Kazakhstan’s north-east was aligned with the new nation-building. At the
same time, however, the government began to embark on massive uranium
mining projects in southern Kazakhstan.
Since the 1990s, some of the successor states of the Soviet Union have made
great efforts in the field of “transitional justice” to document not only the
crimes of Stalinism but also those of the National Socialist occupation and
to give recognition and support to the numerous victims. 42 The end of the
Soviet Union was accompanied by the extensive uncovering and documentation of the crimes of the past hand in hand with an erosion of old Soviet
In Central Asia, the memory of the great armed uprising of the Muslim
population in 1916, which was sparked by the planned conscription of
Muslims for military service and quickly expanded into an anti-colonial
uprising, dominates the memory of the revolution. Several hundred thousand people, mostly Central Asians, had died during and after the uprising. 33
In Tajikistan, the 100th anniversary of the revolution in 2017 received no
attention at all and simply passed by without a sound, whereas the end of
World War I was mentioned in the government press and a government
delegation traveled to Paris especially for the celebrations. 34 Tajikistan’s
post-Soviet historiography has reinterpreted the historical narratives of the
Soviet era, in which postcolonial interpretations of the Russian imperial and
Soviet history of Central Asia have recently gained in importance. 35 New
spaces of memory have emerged, which shed light on the Russian imperial
conquest of the Central Asian steppes. Especially the Ferghana valley and its
agricultural history and cotton plants are a case in point to ask for the limits
of the proclaimed decolonization during the early Soviet period. 36
In the post-Soviet era, governments drew on pre-Soviet colonial histories
in order to shape nationally anchored historical narratives. When the newly
independent states of Central Asia rebuilt their national historiographies,
they rejected some but kept large parts of Soviet historiography – for instance
in the memory of World War II, which continues to be a uniting moment.
Moreover, Soviet Central Asia had built on local elites as well as institutions
and the leaders of the new independent republics (except for Kyrgyzstan)
continued to mainly come from these local party elites established during the
Soviet era. 37 The modes of nation-building and geopolitics of the new independent states differed substantially across Central Asia. To varying extents,
the 1990s gave rise to a revived traditionalism that also drew on various
Islamic traditions in Central Asia. 38 Kazakhstan was the only Central Asian
country to build on a pre-Soviet national movement – the Alash Orda that
was in government before the 1917 revolution. 39 These different strategies of
renewal also included the management of nuclear legacies – both in national
regulatory policies as well as in their international relations. 40 Institutional
continuities in terms of administrations in post-Soviet governments persisted,
but also as for nuclear weapons testing in Kazakhstan, international and UN
bodies were called to assist with dealing with legacies and creating a nuclear
weapons-free zone in Central Asia. 41 Here, the end of nuclear weapons testing
in Kazakhstan’s north-east was aligned with the new nation-building. At the
same time, however, the government began to embark on massive uranium
mining projects in southern Kazakhstan.
Since the 1990s, some of the successor states of the Soviet Union have made
great efforts in the field of “transitional justice” to document not only the
crimes of Stalinism but also those of the National Socialist occupation and
to give recognition and support to the numerous victims. 42 The end of the
Soviet Union was accompanied by the extensive uncovering and documentation of the crimes of the past hand in hand with an erosion of old Soviet