A comprehensive diplomatic and military history of the Russian conquest of Central Asia, spanning the whole of the nineteenth century.

The Russian Conquest of Central Asia

This book examines the Russian conquest of the ancient Central Asian khanates of Bukhara and Khiva in the 1860s and 1870s, and the relationship between Russia and the territories until their extinction as political entities in 1924. It shows how Russia's approach developed from one of non-intervention, with the primary aim of preventing British expansion from India into the region, to one of increasing intervention as trade and Russian settlement grew. It goes on to discuss the role of Bukhara and Khiva in the First World War and the Russian Revolution, and how the region was fundamentally changed following the Bolshevik conquest in 1919-20. The book is a re-issue of a highly regarded classic originally published in 1968 and out of print for some years. The new version includes a new introduction, some corrections of errors, and a survey of new work undertaken since first publication.

Russia's Protectorates in Central Asia

From the romantic conflicts of the Victorian Great Game to the war-torn history of the region in recent decades, Tournament of Shadows traces the struggle for control of Central Asia and Tibet from the 1830s to the present. The original Great Game, the clandestine struggle between Russia and Britain for mastery of Central Asia, has long been regarded as one of the greatest geopolitical conflicts in history. Many believed that control of the vast Eurasian heartland was the key to world dominion. The original Great Game ended with the Russian Revolution, but the geopolitical struggles in Central Asia continue to the present day. In this updated edition, the authors reflect on Central Asia's history since the end of the Russo-Afghan war, and particularly in the wake of 9/11.

Tournament of Shadows

The 1916 Revolt was a key event in the history of Central Asia, and of the Russian Empire in the First World War. This volume is the first comprehensive re-assessment of its causes, course and consequences in English for over sixty years. It draws together a new generation of leading historians from North America, Japan, Europe, Russia and Central Asia, working with Russian archival sources, oral narratives, poetry and song in Kazakh and Kyrgyz. These illuminate in unprecedented detail the origins and causes of the revolt, and the immense human suffering which it entailed. They also situate the revolt in a global perspective as part of a chain of rebellions and disturbances that shook the world’s empires, as they crumbled under the pressures of total war.

The Central Asian Revolt of 1916

This introduction to Central Asia and its relationship with Russia helps restore Central Asia to the general narrative of Russian and world history.

Russia and Central Asia

This study covers four episodes that provide useful perspectives on the nature of unconventional warfare, the adaptability of modern military institutions, the character of cross-cultural conflict, and the dilemmas inherent in the creation and maintenance of an empire. The Soviet Union's agonizing decade-long struggle against a fiercely determined Mujahideen resistance in Afghanistan offers.a compelling illustration of the perils which can await a modern power that commits conventional forces against an unconventional foe in an undeveloped theater. That the Soviets embarked on such a rash course in 1979 is especially striking in light of the American experience in Vietnam just a few years earlier and Russia's long historical involvement fighting Muslim tribesmen in the Caucasus and Central Asia. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Imperial Russia attempted to impose its authority on the Caucasus only to become embroiled in a protracted and brutal war against the mountain tribes of Dagestan. A charismatic leader, Shamil, emerged to harness the power of a formidable resistance that nearly foiled the Russian plan of conquest, which was fulfilled only after decades of destructive and costly campaigning. Following the collapse of opposition in Dagestan in 1859, the Russians concentrated on the conquest of Central Asia as far as the Afghan and Persian frontiers. Here, vast steppes and deserts-formidable obstacles standing between Russia and the remote khanates-eventually yielded to the determination and methodical preparation of key Russian commanders. Established by a series of major campaigns from the 1850s to the 1880s, Russian rule in Central Asia remained stable until the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917. With the collapse of imperial power, however, the empire dissolved. Efforts to impose Red rule over the former imperial possessions in Central Asia sparked popular resistance among the Muslim tribes and required massive intervention by the Red Army. The four episodes considered in this study provide useful perspectives on the nature of unconventional warfare, the adaptability of modern military institutions, the character of cross-cultural conflict, and the dilemmas inherent in the creation and maintenance of an empire.

Russian-Soviet Unconventional Wars in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan

**** BCL3 lists the predecessor version carrying the subtitle A century of Russian rule (1967). A needed revision of the classic. Deals with the people, their intellectual lives, the land, history, nationalism, agriculture, industry, modernization. A cloth edition is reported at $57.50; we've not seen it. **** The first edition, titled Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule (1967), is cited in BCL3. The present edition is a revision of Central Asia: 120 Years of Russian Rule (1989). This new, augmented edition preserves the previous 17 chapters intact. Besides writing a new final chapter that focuses mainly on the eventful period 1989-93, the editor has also revised the preface and notes about contributors, and has enlarged and updated the bibliography of English-language sources and readings. Paper edition (unseen), $26.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Central Asia, 130 Years of Russian Dominance

This intensively researched urban study dissects Russian Imperial and early Soviet rule in Islamic Central Asia from the diverse viewpoints of tsarist functionaries, Soviet bureaucrats, Russian workers, and lower-class women as well as Muslim notables and Central Asian traders. Jeff Sahadeo's stimulating analysis reveals how political, social, cultural, and demographic shifts altered the nature of this colonial community from the tsarist conquest of 1865 to 1923, when Bolshevik authorities subjected the region to strict Soviet rule. In addition to placing the building of empire in Tashkent within a broader European context, Sahadeo's account makes an important contribution to understanding the cultural impact of empire on Russia's periphery.

Russian Colonial Society in Tashkent, 1865--1923

Russian Rule in Samarkand examines the structures, personnel, and ideologies of Russian imperialism in Turkestan, taking Samarkand and the surrounding region as a case-study. The creation of a colonial administration in Central Asia presented Russia with similar problems to those faced by the British in India, but different approaches to governance meant that the two regimes often stood in stark contrast to one another. While the Russian administration was characterised by corruption and inefficiency, British rule in India was often more violent, and its subjects much more heavily taxed. Opening with the background to the political situation in Central Asia and a narrative of the Russian conquest itself, the book moves on to analyse official attitudes to Islam and to pre-colonial elites, and the earliest attempts to establish a functioning system of revenue collection. Uncovering the religious and ethnic composition of the military bureaucracy, and the social background, education and training of its personnel, Alexander Morrison assesses the competence of these officers vis-à-vis their Anglo-Indian counterparts. Subsequent chapters look at the role of the so-called 'native administration' in governing the countryside and collecting taxes, the attempt to administer the complex systems of irrigation leading from the Zarafshan and Syr-Darya rivers, and the nature and functions of the Islamic judiciary under colonial rule. Based on extensive archival research in Russia, India, and Uzbekistan, and containing much rare source material translated from the original Russian, Russian Rule in Samarkand will be of interest to all those interested in the history of the Russian Empire and European Imperialism more generally.

Russian Rule in Samarkand 1868-1910

Russian Rule in Central Asia, 1867-1917

Russian Central Asia is the vast area, half as large as the United States, extending from the Caspian Sea to China, from Siberia to northern Iran. Ever since its conquest by Russia in the nineteenth century this region has been both an asset and a problem--because of its strategic and economic importance and because of its several million Moslem inhabitants, to this day unassimilated and unreconciled to Russian control. This book describes events under Imperial Russian rule, treating the period in the light of the conflict between nineteenth-century concepts "the white man's burden" and the awakening aspirations of colonial peoples, and as part of the contest between Western imperialism and the Islamic world. It shows the enduring geographic, political, and cultural factors that must be faced by an regime in Central Asia, provides a basis for comparison between the methods and motives of the Imperial Russian colonizers and those of the Soviet regime, and refutes misconceptions regarding Russian colonizing techniques.

Russian Central Asia, 1867-1917

The Economic Background of the Russian Conquest of Central Asia in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

Russian Conquest in Central Asia

The Russian conquest of Central Asia in the 19th century marked a pivotal moment in history, as it witnessed the expansion of the Russian Empire into the heart of Asia. This expansion was driven by a complex interplay of geopolitical, economic, and imperialistic motives. Russian forces gradually subjugated and annexed the vast and diverse region, bringing with them a profound transformation that included political consolidation, cultural exchange, and the spread of Russian influence. This conquest had enduring consequences, shaping the geopolitical landscape of Central Asia and laying the groundwork for the modern nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, while also leaving a legacy of both cooperation and tension between Russia and its Central Asian neighbors in the 21st century.

Russian conquest of Central Asia

HistoryMap available: