• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

From Conquest to Communism: Central Asia under the Russian and Soviet Empires, 1730-1945

Module description

An area known as the crossroads of civilisations, Central Asia over the last two decades or so has become synonymous with Islamic extremism, eccentric dictators, squabbles over natural resources, and Borat. However, the history of the region has also been the focus of some of the most dynamic and pioneering research taking place in Slavic and Eurasian studies. This module will allow you to engage with this recent scholarship and examine some of the key debates surrounding the experience of Central Asia – what we think of today as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan – under Russian and then Soviet rule. What was the relationship between Moscow and its Islamic territories during the Imperial period? How did the Bolshevik seizure of power impact upon the region? Did the Stalinist Revolution really revolutionise life in this part of the Soviet Union? And at what cost did this attempted transformation come?

Module aims - intentions of the module

This course aims to:

• Introduce you to the rich and fascinating history of this oft-overlooked part of the world
• Explore political, social and cultural developments from the mid-eighteenth century until the end of the Second World War, examining both the view from Moscow and the realities of life in Central Asia
• Engage with the debates present in the secondary scholarship, you will utilise a wide range of primary source material, to include decrees, law codes, diaries, letters, memoirs and cultural sources such as film, art and literature, which will allow you to reach independent conclusions about the issues under examination
• Allow you to follow your own interests throughout the module and for you to develop your research skills in the process
• Provide you with an opportunity to explore an area of history in more depth
• Develop the depth of understanding you will require to study more specialised areas of history
• Develop the effective communication and analytical skills, oral and written, which you will need to complete many of your modules and in a job after you graduate
• Allow you to develop your skills in researching, interpreting, and analysing both primary and secondary material, and in reporting on your work

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the key developments in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union, particularly in relation to Central Asia
• 2. Summarise and evaluate different historical perspectives relating to Central Asia history from the mid-eighteenth to mid-twentieth century
• 3. Critically evaluate the key social, cultural, political, and economic trends relating to Central Asian history under Russian and Soviet rule

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Analyse the key developments in a complex historical environment
• 5. Demonstrate an ability to handle profoundly different approaches to history in a deeply contested area
• 6. Demonstrate an ability to understand and deploy complex historical terminology in a comprehensible manner

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Select, organise and analyse material for written work and oral presentations of different prescribed lengths and formats.
• 8. Present complex arguments orally.
• 9. Present an argument in a written form in a clear and organised manner, with appropriate use of correct English
• 10. Through essay development process, demonstrate ability to reflect critically on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on this basis

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The Heritage of the Silk Road
• The Russian Empire in the Eighteenth Century
• Islam and Enlightened Absolutism
• Russia’s Civilising Mission: Conceptualising Colonial Rule in Central Asia
• The Exotic Other: Central Asia in Russian Culture
• Islamic Identity Under Late Imperial Rule
• Storm Over Asia: Revolution and Civil War in the East
• National in Content, Socialist in Form: Making Central Asia Soviet
• Creating a Surrogate Proletariat? Soviet Gender Politics in Central Asian Society
• A New Way of Life: The Stalinist Revolution in Central Asia
• On the Tashkent Front: Deportation, Evacuation, and War in Central Asia
• Lecture Programme:
• Islam and toleration during the Enlightenment
• Ethnography and travel
• The Great Game
• Russian identity in the nineteenth century
• The Russian Revolution and Civil War
• Soviet nationality policy and Central Asia
• Collectivisation and famine in Central Asia
• Central Asia during the Second World War

A number of the lectures will also be used as skills workshops and will deal with critical reading, academic writing, and preparing group presentations. We will also watch and discuss a film at some point in the term.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 3000-word written assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the group presentation with an individual presentation equivalent to an individual’s contribution, to be recorded and submitted with all supporting materials as for the original assessment; failing this, students should submit a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation (750 words) along with all supporting materials as for the original assessment.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Abazov, R., Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of Central Asia (Basingstoke, 2008).
• Allworth, E. (ed.), Central Asia: 130 Years of Russian Dominance, A Historical Overview (Durham, 1994).
• Breyfogle et al. (eds.), Peopling the Russian Periphery: Borderland Colonization in Eurasian History (London, 2008).
• Brower and Lazzerini (eds.), Russia's Orient: Imperial Borderlands and Peoples, 1700—1917 (Bloomington, 1997).
• Carrère d'Encausse, H., Islam and the Russian Empire: Reform and Revolution in Central Asia (London, 1988).
• Crews, R., For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia (Cambridge, MA., 2006).
• Edgar, A., Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan (Princeton, 2004).
• Fitzpatrick, S., Everyday Stalinism. Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times. Soviet Russia in the 1930s (New Haven, 1999).
• Igmen, A., Speaking Soviet with an Accent: Culture and Power in Kyrgyzstan (Pittsburgh, 2012).
• Kamp, M., The New Woman in Uzbekistan: Islam, Modernity, and Unveiling under Communism (Seattle, 2008).
• Keller, S., To Moscow, Not Mecca: The Soviet Campaign against Islam in Central Asia, 1917-1941 (London, 2001).
• Khalid, A., Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia (Berkeley, 2007).
• Northrop, D., Veiled Empire: Gender & Power in Stalinist Central Asia (Ithaca, 2004).
• Sahadeo and Zanca (eds.) Everyday Life in Central Asia (Bloomington, 2006).
• Wade, R. (ed.), Revolutionary Russia: New Approaches (New York, 2004).
• Wirtschafter, E., Social Identity in Imperial Russia (Dekalb, 1997).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11966
• Early Central Asian Photography Archive: http://www.anahitaphotoarchive.com/19th-and-early-20th-c-pre-revolutionary-photography
• Icons and Images of Culture http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=all&col_id=194
• Marxist Internet Archive – www.marxists.org
• Museum of the Russian Poster: http://eng.plakaty.ru/posters
• Soviet History Online – www.soviethistory.org
• The Prokudin-Gorskii Photo Archive: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/
• The Virtual Gulag Museum: http://www.gulagmuseum.org/index_eng.htm

Key words search

Russia, Soviet, Central Asia, Islam, Stalin, Revolution, Nationalism, Empire, Imperialism, Communism