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Abstract

During the Cold War era, Radio Liberty emerged as a pivotal initiative by the United States, providing a platform for Soviet émigrés and diaspora groups to disseminate anti-Soviet narratives and advocate for the independence of their respective homelands. Notably, the Turkestanian diaspora utilized Radio Liberty as a conduit for political expression and cultural broadcasting. This paper contends that Radio Liberty played a significant role in preserving Turkestanian identity within the diaspora and facilitating the transmission of national discourse and cultural heritage across borders. Through its Turkestanian Service and affiliated subsections, Radio Liberty not only served as a strategic tool in Cold War geopolitics but also inadvertently became a bastion for cultural revitalization among Turkestanian émigrés, fostering the intergenerational transmission of national historical knowledge and strengthening their collective identity. By empowering Turkestanian emigres to contribute to knowledge production through various resources and networks, and by facilitating the preservation of their intellectual works, Radio Liberty acted as a repository for knowledge that had been suppressed under Soviet rule, thus safeguarding cultural, religious, and political heritage that might otherwise have been lost. Consequently, Radio Liberty transcended its role as a mere broadcaster, evolving into a multifaceted institution that served as a center for education, research, and archiving for the Turkestanian diaspora. Its existence laid the foundation for the resurgence of Turkestanian identity amidst the intricate geopolitical dynamics of the Cold War. By delving into the multifaceted relationships between American strategic interests and the aspirations of emigres, as well as examining how Radio Liberty influenced the national discourse of the Turkestanian diaspora, this study seeks to delineate the unique role of the radio station in shaping the contours of identity formation within this community. Elucidating the intricate interplay between identity construction/preservation and the operations of Radio Liberty, this paper aims to make contributions to the realms of Cold War politics and diaspora studies with a special emphasis on identity formation and nationalism.

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The Nevada-Semipalatinsk Movement (NSM) formed on February 28th, 1989, and called for the end of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan and abroad. In their campaign to end the production and testing of nuclear arms, the NSM forged connections with anti-nuclear activists in the United States of America. American and Kazakh activists frequently visited each other’s countries as the Cold War thawed. In doing so, they joined broader efforts between American and Soviet citizens to improve the relationship between the USSR and America. These “citizen diplomacy” exchanges began in the mid-1980s and continued until the Soviet collapse in 1991. This paper will analyze two citizen diplomacy events carried out by the NSM and their American counterparts in 1990. Specifically, it will examine the Stop Nuclear Weapons Testing Tour in the United States and the International Citizens Congress for a Nuclear Test Ban held in Alma-Ata. Drawing on material from American and Kazakh archives, this paper argues that anti-nuclear activists played a small, yet significant role in shaping the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. It will explore the various strategies that Kazakh and American activists employed in their bid to end nuclear testing. At lectures during these events, activists informed the public about the biological and ecological effects of nuclear testing. Kazakh and American indigenous activists showcased their culture and heritage, breaking barriers between East and West. By analyzing the relationship between Kazakh and American anti-nuclear activists, my paper illuminates the important role played by citizen activists at the end of the Cold War.

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Nokhchi people declared the country’s independence in 1991 after the Soviet government’s unsuccessful attempt to appease local nationalists by granting partial sovereignty to the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia. The newly formed state claimed the name of Nokhchi-Chuo for domestic engagement and Ichkeria for international affairs. It also initiated rapid restoration of the local toponymy, rituals, traditions, and language after surviving-resisting Russian colonial expansion for almost two hundred years.

Collective rehabilitation and self-determination processes were interrupted by the Russian military invasion ‘‘to restore constitutional order” in 1994, which fundamentally meant reoccupation. After its defeat in 1996 and signing the ‘peace treaty’ with Nokhchi president Maskhadov in 1997, Russia made another attempt to reconquer Chechnya in 1999 under the disguise of “the counter-terrorist operation”. Unlike previous interventions such as genocidal deportation of the entire Nokhchi nation in 1944 or two recent above-mentioned Russo-Chechen wars, in 2000 the Russian Federation established a Chechen-led colonial administration to implement Moscow’s agenda. Today, the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, forces the Nokhchi people to be a part of the Russian Federation. They celebrate Russian holidays, vocally support Russian President Vladimir Putin, and contribute to protecting Russian political interests and military actions abroad, promoting the imperial frame of collective memory, advanced by Russia.

This paper explores opportunities to situate Nokhchi experiences of the historical oppression, political alertness, cultural sensitivity, and very physical survival-resistance in current studies of subalternity, postcoloniality, and decoloniality. I explore the (re)colonization Nokhchi region through the policies implemented by Kadyrov’s apparatus, willingness of Russian people to resettle in the country, and Russian-centric discourses/imaginary on ‘Chechens’ and their perpetual reproduction in scholarship, literature, and media. I also attempt to argue on the ‘de-imperializing-Russia’ ideas of Nokhchi leadership speeches from the 1990s.