Russian Colonial Society in Tashkent, 1865a 1923

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 is an excellent book, rich in detail and anecdote from archival sources, local newspapers, memoirs and other publications... Sahadeo's book is likely to be a standard work on the colonial period for many years to come." --Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 88.4, October 2010 Indiana University Press

"[T]his book deserves a broad readership, both of Russianists and of 'imperialists' specializing in various national histories." --Kritika, 10, 4 (Fall 2009) Indiana University Press

"Gives the reader an intriguing portrait of the city during some of its key historical moments." --Transitions Online

"This excellent book... provide[s] a vivid picture of a new, brash but insecure colonial capital existing alongside and often in conflict with an ancient Muslim culture." --Steppe

"Sahadeo gives a vivid and reliable account of European--'Sart' interaction in colonial Tashkent... a groundbreaking study in this field." --Central Asian Survey, Vol. 29, No. 1, March 2010

"A very rich, very intelligent study." --Journal of Modern History Indiana University Press

"A powerful picture of the cultural impact of empire on Russia's periphery.... Highly recommended." --Choice

"A welcome and important contribution to historical scholarship.... Sahadeo's book illuminates issues of identity and rule that remain relevant today." --Far Eastern Economic Review

Jeff Sahadeo is Associate Professor of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa. He is editor (with Russell Zanca) of Everyday Life in Central Asia (IUP, 2007).

Acknowledgments

Note on Transliteration

Introduction

Prologue: Tashkent before the Russians and the Dynamics of Conquest

1. Ceremonies, Construction, and Commemoration

2. Educated Society, Identity, and Nationality

3. Unstable Boundaries: The Colonial Relationship and the 1892 "Cholera Riot"

4. Migration, Class, and Colonialism

5. The Predicaments of "Progress," 19051914

6. War, Empire, and Society, 19141916

7. Exploiters or Exploited? Russian Workers and Colonial Rule, 19171918

8. "Under a Soviet Roof": City, Country, and Center, 19181923

Conclusion

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index