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Islam and the Russian Empire Reform and Revolution in
Central Asia
, (London: I.B.Tauris-Co Ltd, 1966), 184.
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Uzbeks, Turkistan meant greater Uzbekistan and Pan-Turkism meant, in one respect,
controlling all Turkic groups under Uzbekistan. Therefore, the Soviets ended the
dreams of greater Uzbekistan while erasing the concept of Turkistan by creating a
Tajik state in Central Asia. The artificially created question increased after Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan took their independence in 1991. Although both of the two nations
were almost same inhabitants and lived together before the recreation of nations by
the Soviets in the 1930s, they were now the biggest enemies to each other. The
Uzbek national identity dated back to the historical and ancient Karakhanid dynasty
and Tajik national identity dated back to the historical and ancient Samanid dynasty
which had been collapsed by the Karakhanids is one of the reasons creating a
question between two nation states. In addition, the great amount of Uzbek minority
inside Tajikistan and similarly, the great Tajik population in Uzbekistan especially in
the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand cause problems between two states. Drawing of
the borders by leaving minorities to each state causes a minority question among
nation republics. This situation continues to constitute problems among republics of
Central Asia, even at present.
The Soviets pursued the policy of
“Korenizatsiya”
308
which allowed the
indigenous people of local states to pursue their cultural and national policies. It was
given importance to these local states’ encouragement of the local cultures, local
political freedoms and their local-native languages during the 1920s. However, after
Joseph Stalin came to power, the indigenization policy ended and it was replaced
with the great Russification policy all over the Soviet Union. Not only Central Asian
states but also Ukraine, Belorussia, and Transcaucasian states were imposed to the
308
It was the policy of the Soviets implemented in the 1920s which aimed to promote native and
indigenous peoples’ culture and local languages, and their local states’ semi-independent
administrative units and national politics. It was seen as a transition period policy in the Leninist era.
When Stalin came to power, the policy shifted to Russification and Sovietization in the late 1930s.
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Russification policies of the Soviets. With the concept of Russification, it meant the
Sovietization in the all regions of the USSR, because Russian culture and Russian
language were seen as the most prior, the most modern, the most probable improved
communication tool for being a common and an official language for the
communism and for all the nations compromising the Soviet Union. The national
local states and their nationalist governing cadres which attempted to oppose to these
policies were imposed to harsh sanctions. Even, the purging of national leaders and
nationalist local cadres were made by the Soviet authorities throughout the regions
under the Soviet rule. The governing cadres in local states promoting their local and
native languages were blamed for being bourgeoisie nationalists and suppressing the
Russian language which was accepted as the international language of communism
by the Soviets. For the policy of Sovietization, the Russian settlers in other local
states were given great importance because of their transformative and modernizing
characters. They were significant due to being able to spread the Russian culture and
Russian language throughout the Union. While the Soviet authorities were
implementing these policies, they did not aim to destroy all local and native cultures
and linguistics and assimilating the native nations. The local cultures, folks, local
languages used inside the local state, national state’s constitutional status and
national politicians unless they did not act against the Soviet rules and interests were
not imposed to any threat of destruction or any harsh sanction and implementation
by the Soviet authorities. The only matter was the penetration of Russian language
and culture as the superior phenomenon for all the nations of the USSR. Russians
were ascribed to the prominent and leading nation of the Union among others; and
Russian was emphasized as the common culture and language of communist
ideology inside the Union. Not only in realm of culture and linguistics, but also in
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realm of economic integration, were the similar policies pursued. For example, the
raw materials produced in different local states, for example cotton in Uzbekistan or
coal in Ukraine, were transported to the industrial centers of RSFSR and then
delivered to other parts of the Union. Thus, the economic and industrial
centralization, in other words the Sovietization, was consolidated in the USSR.
After the reorganization of Central Asia according to the rules and regulations
of the Soviet Nationalities Policy, the Soviets produced new policies and began
implementing them in the region. Especially, the Uzbek state was focused on in these
Sovietizing policies because of its historical roots and traditional bonds. It
necessitated more detailed policies for Uzbek SSR. Uzbekistan was the most
important state among others because Uzbekistan was formed as the nation state of
Uzbeks which were ruling ethnic groups of Bukharan Emirate and Khivan Khanate
and then Bukharan and Khwarazmian People’s Republics which were the last two
states that succeeded in standing until the early 1920s. For that reason, both in whole
Central Asia and Uzbekistan, the language policy was implemented as a tool of the
Sovietization policy. From 1924 to 1933, the Sovietizing policy took speed in
Central Asia. The Soviets pursued Russian language policy in Turkestan for
Russification of separated ethnic nations, because the Russian language was
encouraged as the common official language for both creating common literature and
encouraging common culture. The Russian language was declared as the semiofficial
and the second compulsory language in the other Socialist Republics of the Union in
1938. For spreading the Soviet regime’s influence more in the region, some slogans
were produced such as “
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