ID | 138248 |
Title Proper | Bandits, warlords, national heroes |
Other Title Information | interpretations of the Basmachi movement in Tajikistan |
Language | ENG |
Author | Nourzhanov, Kirill |
Summary / Abstract (Note) | The history of the Basmachi movement has occupied a prominent place in the construction of a collective past in Soviet and post-Soviet Tajikistan. This article traces the evolution of its representations in the dominant narrative from the 1950s to the present day. It argues that official discourse in contemporary Tajikistan situates the Basmachis in the mould of a national struggle against Turkic oppression, rather than portraying them, in the manner of earlier prevalent models, as part of a class-based or anti-colonialist resistance. Among many public counter-narratives, the one focusing on the local appeal of the Basmachi leaders has the greatest potential to challenge the government-sponsored reading of Tajikistan’s past and thus the image of a unified nation it seeks to support. |
`In' analytical Note | Central Asian Survey Vol. 34, No.2; Jun 2015: p.177-189 |
Journal Source | Central Asian Survey Vol: 34 No 2 |
Key Words | Tajikistan ; Politics of Identity ; Social Memory ; The Basmachi Movement |