The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia

The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia

The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia Arne Haugen

Q Arne Haugen 2003 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2003 978-1-4039-1571-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2003 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. MacmillanT is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-51243-0 ISBN 978-0-230-50284-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230502840 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haugen, Arne, 1967- The establishment of national republics in Soviet Central Asia / Arne Haugen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Asia, Central Politics and government 20th century. 2. Nationalism Asia, Central History 20th century. 3. Asia, Central Ethnic relations. I. Title. DK859.H28 2003 958.4 0841 dc21 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 2003051968

In memory of Alf Grannes

Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Glossary ix x Introduction 1 1. Historiography 9 Marxism, socialism and the nation 9 Soviet nationalities policy: tactical concessions or instrument of modernization? 14 Soviet and Western accounts of the delimitation 18 The national delimitation and the New Economic Policy 26 2. Traditional Identities 30 Uzbeks, Tajiks or Sarts? 30 Islamic and local identities 35 Tribal conglomerates and descent groups 41 3. Changing Identities 47 Central Asia under Tsarism 48 Muslim reform and the Jadids 52 The Jadids, nation and politics 59 Nationalism and the tribal conglomerates 70 4. Splitting Up or Joining Together? 75 An omnipotent regime? 77 The Basmachi uprising 81 Central Asian unity? 90 Intra-ethnic divisions 97 5. Nation and Politics 109 National identities institutionalized 111 The nationalization of political discourse 115 Language, indigenization and politicization of nationality 126 6. Continuity and Change in Group Identities 138 Nomads and settled; nations and sub-groups 139 From Sart to Uzbek: changing identities or new labels? 145 Uzbeks and Tajiks the absence of Tajik voices 149 vii

viii Contents From Uzbek to Tajik: the emergence of Tajik nationalism 153 Turkification and separation 159 7. We Have Rights Too! The Dynamics of Division 165 The three main nationalities 166 The Kyrgyz republic 167 The Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast 172 8. Drawing Borders 180 Decisions, censuses and statistics 182 The Turkmen republic 185 Splitting up the Ferghana Valley 188 The struggle over Tashkent City 194 Tashkent and Mirzachul uezds 201 Uzbeks as a favored group? 206 9. Historical Implications 211 National identities in Central Asia? 211 Nation, politics and the Soviet demise 215 Post-Soviet Central Asia 225 Conclusion 233 Notes 239 Bibliography 260 Index 270

Acknowledgments Central Asian studies in Norway represent a most limited area. It was therefore far from self-evident that my application for scholarship in this field would be granted. I am all the more grateful that the Faculty of Arts at the University of Bergen gave me the chance to pursue the study of Central Asia to doctoral level. First and foremost, however, this book is the result of the late Professor Alf Grannes eagerness to promote the study of Central Asia and the Caucasus at the University of Bergen. Being a Slavicist himself, Grannes began a fruitful and productive joint tutorship together with Professor Odd-Bjørn Fure of the Department of History. Their combined expertise and enthusiasm produced a stimulating environment, from which a number of students could profit throughout the 1990s. The result was a number of interesting studies of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Without Professor Grannes initiative, this book could not have been written. It was therefore a great loss when Grannes was gradually incapacitated from incurable illness and died in April 2000. Without Professor Fure s keen interest in this project and his insistent encouragements in difficult moments, this work might never have been completed. Finally, I am very grateful for the generosity and hospitality of Dr. John Shoeberlein, who introduced me to Central Asian studies at the Harvard University and who was willing to share with me his unique scholarly expertise in this field. Any shortcomings of the work remain, however, the responsibility of the author alone. ix

Abbreviations and Glossary AO ASSR BCP CAB CC CEC CP CPSU CPT Ispolburo KhCP krai maktab MPF NEP oblast okrug Orgburo Politburo RCP RSFSR RTsKhIDNI Sovnarkom SSR TASSR uezd volost Autonomous Oblast Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Bukharan Communist Party Central Asian Bureau Central Committee Central Executive Committee Communist Party Communist Party of the Soviet Union Communist Party of Turkestan Executive Committee Khorezm Communist Party A large territorial and administrative subdivision found only in the Russian Republic Traditional primary school run by the clergy, mostly held in mosques Moldavian Popular Front New Economic Policy Province, administrative unit in the Soviet republics Region (smaller than uezd) Organizational Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party Russian Communist Party Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Recent Historical Documents Council of People s Commissars, the highest body in the Soviet government Soviet Socialist Republic, the 15 union republics Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Region, smallest administrative unit in Tsarist Russia Local level administrative unit x