122
Moscow Institute of Political Geography conducted a survey in 1992 and recorded
180 border and territorial disputes among new neighbours (Halbach 1992 , p. 5). A
few cases illustrate the range of conditions and demands in Central Asia: irredentist
movements in Turkmenistan expect Uzbekistan to “return” the territory of the
Khanates of Khiva and Khorezm. The long-standing demand of Tajik nationalists
has been reiterated that Samarkand and Bukhara as the centres of Tajik culture must
be “returned”. The divide of Fergana into three sections is questioned, and the
present- day economic and commercial centre of Southern Kyrgyzstan – Osh
Oblast’ – is claimed by Uzbekistan. A multitude of legal documents about boundary
decisions taken in the 1920s concerning territorial issues in Central Asia are archived
in Tashkent. The Uzbekistan government blocks access to researchers from neighbouring countries wanting to consult the archival material.
The Fergana and Alai Valleys alone contain seven enclaves and exclaves through
which major traffi c routes lead and which are valuable resource-rich areas (Fig. 9.6 ).
Regularly, the freedom of travel is affected, especially when diplomatic relations
worsen. The inhabitants of these enclaves have become pawns in bilateral negotiations. Some of the border closures have been justifi ed in the aftermath of attacks
from Afghanistan-trained rebels, which plundered Tajik and Kyrgyz villages on
their way to the Fergana Valley in 1999 and 2000. Territorial rescaling has been one
of the major challenges for post-Soviet societies far beyond the unsolved issues of
commanding a compact state territory, mutually accepted international boundaries
and respective sovereignty.
5
5 The Central Asian republics are facing challenges that are well known from other irrigation networks that had to be divided such as the Indus waters between India and Pakistan in the process of
decolonisation (Kreutzmann 2011 ).
Fig. 9.6 Enclaves and exclaves in the borderlands of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan after
independence (Source: modifi ed after Kreutzmann 2013a , p. 18)
H. Kreutzmann
Moscow Institute of Political Geography conducted a survey in 1992 and recorded
180 border and territorial disputes among new neighbours (Halbach 1992 , p. 5). A
few cases illustrate the range of conditions and demands in Central Asia: irredentist
movements in Turkmenistan expect Uzbekistan to “return” the territory of the
Khanates of Khiva and Khorezm. The long-standing demand of Tajik nationalists
has been reiterated that Samarkand and Bukhara as the centres of Tajik culture must
be “returned”. The divide of Fergana into three sections is questioned, and the
present- day economic and commercial centre of Southern Kyrgyzstan – Osh
Oblast’ – is claimed by Uzbekistan. A multitude of legal documents about boundary
decisions taken in the 1920s concerning territorial issues in Central Asia are archived
in Tashkent. The Uzbekistan government blocks access to researchers from neighbouring countries wanting to consult the archival material.
The Fergana and Alai Valleys alone contain seven enclaves and exclaves through
which major traffi c routes lead and which are valuable resource-rich areas (Fig. 9.6 ).
Regularly, the freedom of travel is affected, especially when diplomatic relations
worsen. The inhabitants of these enclaves have become pawns in bilateral negotiations. Some of the border closures have been justifi ed in the aftermath of attacks
from Afghanistan-trained rebels, which plundered Tajik and Kyrgyz villages on
their way to the Fergana Valley in 1999 and 2000. Territorial rescaling has been one
of the major challenges for post-Soviet societies far beyond the unsolved issues of
commanding a compact state territory, mutually accepted international boundaries
and respective sovereignty.
5
5 The Central Asian republics are facing challenges that are well known from other irrigation networks that had to be divided such as the Indus waters between India and Pakistan in the process of
decolonisation (Kreutzmann 2011 ).
Fig. 9.6 Enclaves and exclaves in the borderlands of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan after
independence (Source: modifi ed after Kreutzmann 2013a , p. 18)
H. Kreutzmann