Paper short abstract:

This paper offers an ecocritical reading of works by two writers from Central Asia: Chingiz Aitmatov and Andrei Volos. Both authors use animals to examine the dynamics of power engendered by de-Sovietization in Central Asia. This article illustrate authors' willingness to think beyond the human.

Paper long abstract:

Contemporary Russian fiction represents Central Asia as a hybrid, multicultural region, characterized by a plurality of ethnicities and traditions. In this paper we analyze texts by two authors from that space: Chingiz Aitmatov (1928-2008), from Kyrgyzstan, and Andrei Volos (b. 1955), born and raised in Tajikistan in an ethnically Russian family. All of these writers are both Soviet and post-Soviet, all are connected to the diasporic community of Central Asia. Each text illustrates a unique multifaceted relationship with the region that blends heterogeneous cultural layers (Kyrgyz, Tadjik, Russian) and temporal-spatial dimensions (from Soviet to post-Soviet, from Central Asia to Russia and Europe). Our paper investigates the different ways and perspectives in which these texts address the issues arising from the denaturalized post-Soviet environment of Central Asia.

Kogda padajut gory (Aitmatov, 2007) and Palang (Volos, 2008), each explore a profound crisis of the Central Asian region. Following the lead of environmental or "ecocriticism", our reading brings to light a peculiar feature that these authors share, namely an emphasis on the profound interconnectedness of human and animals, of humans and their environment, and the entanglement of species and landscape, of organic and inorganic. We argue that each of these texts overturns the hierarchical and anthropocentric perspective that is more familiar to Western tradition, through the use of "other-than-human" or "more-than-human" characters. These Others - called into being by the specifics of Central Asian space and history - allow our two authors to criticize the abuse and exploitation of Others, perpetrated by a dominant authority. More generally, anthropomorphism, or the adoption of a point of view of an "other-than-human" character is a technique very close to ostranenie that enables these writers to address moral and philosophical questions linked to the overarching narrative of post-Soviet trauma. The response of these authors to the pressures of different discourses of dominance, including reckless modernization, the production of weapons, and the waging of war, creates a common thread running through their works.

Paper short abstract:

Mirzo Sirojiddin is a prominent Tajik educator and writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His name is on a par with outstanding educators such as Ahmad Danish, Sadriddin Aini . He proposed to radically transform the education system according to the type of European universities.

Paper long abstract:

Mirzo Sirojiddin Hakim (1877 - 1914) is a prominent Tajik educator, writer and publicist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He made a great contribution to the development of science and education in Central Asia. His name is on a par with outstanding educators and intellectuals of the era, such as Ahmad Danish, Fitrat, Sadriddin Aini, Behbudi, Ajzi, and others. The main source of information about his educational activities is his essay “Offering to the Bukhara people” (Safarnoma) (Tӯҳafi aҳli Bukhoro), published in 1328/1910. In it he describes his journey through the countries of Europe and the Middle East. Mirzo Sirojiddin visits such cities as Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, Paris and London.

In his book the scientist describes not only his impressions and admiration for the economic and cultural development of European cities, the progress of science and technology, but also compares it with his homeland - Bukhara. He bitterly notes the backwardness of Asia from Europe. Walking around Paris, he recalled his homeland, beggarly life, ignorance and the general illiteracy his people, its backwardness from the civilized world. He saw the main cause of backwardness and poverty in the backward political regime, in the methods of education and training, as well as in laziness and lack of education of young people.

Mirzo Siroj spoke on several eastern and western languages. In addition to his native Farsi-Tajik language, he was fluent in Arabic, Uzbek, Russian, Turkey, and French.

To correct and reform the education system, Mirzo Sirojiddin proposes, instead of old schools to open new secular schools and study new modern sciences. For example, he refers to the experience of Germany, where function such institutes as the institute of military affairs, diplomacy, medicine, industry etc. Thanks to these sciences, Europeans have reached a high level of development in the field of science and technology, while his compatriots are still they do not even know and have not heard the names of these sciences and institutions. He is not limited to enumerating the academic disciplines taught in European schools, but also proposes to radically change his country's curriculum on model of the University of Berlin.

Thus, in his educational activities, he proposed to radically transform the education system according to the type of European universities.

Paper short abstract:

In the report, through the private letters of V.L. Vyatkin to V.V. Barthold, there will be reflected the process of searching, acquiring and studying oriental manuscript sources, reflecting a particular period in the history of Central Asia.

Paper long abstract:

V.L.Vyatkin and V.V.Bartold played a huge role in the study of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the peoples of Central Asia, including the history of Uzbekistan. Their so-called scientific tandem contributed to the clarification and solution of issues related to the study of written sources, historical topography, numismatics, archeology of the Turkestan region, and there were also an exchange of views on new editions.

Through the prism of studying the private correspondence of V.L.Vyatkin and V.V.Barthold, It is possible to reveal the details of their contribution to studying the history of this vast region, which gave a huge impetus to further research.

For V.L.Vyatkin private correspondence with V.V.Barthold helped: to obtain valuable advices for further research; assisted in obtaining financial resources for archaeological research in saving and preserving the historical monuments of Samarkand.

For V. Bartold, this correspondence created an opportunity to obtain information about new written sources on the history of Central Asia, including Samarkand; clarification of the topographical names of certain places; and also V.L.Vyatkin shared with his new interests and difficulties in the implementation of certain requests of V.V.Barthold.

Thus, in this paper, there will be recounted that V.L.Vyatkin and V.V.Bartold applied an integrated approach in studying Central Asian history. They shared the view, that initially you should study the written sources, and then proceed to archaeological research.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the experiences of German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in Turkestan through the lens of international relief efforts in order to contribute to a fuller picture of displacement in Central Asia during and in the immediate aftermath of the First World War.

Paper long abstract:

During the First World War, hundreds of thousands of refugees and prisoners of war arrived in Turkestan, creating a direct connection between remote regions of the Empire and Russia’s European front (Sahadeo, 2007). The revolts that broke out across Central Asia in the summer of 1916 forced 250’000 Kyrgyz and Kazakh nomads to flee across the border to China, attempting to escape the widespread violence. However, despite the significant implications the presence of large numbers of displaced persons had for the region, their role remains underexplored (Chokobaeva, Drieu and Morrison, 2020). This paper examines one facet of these displacements, the experiences of German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in Turkestan through the lens of international relief efforts in order to contribute to a fuller picture of displacement in this particular historical context.

There is a growing body of literature on prisoners of war during this period, and the groundbreaking work of Gerald H. Davis (1993), Reinhard Nachtigal (2003) and Alon Rachamimov (2002) has examined different aspects of wartime captivity in Russia, including the provision of relief by various national Red Cross societies. However, these accounts predominantly focus on the experiences of prisoners of war in Siberia. This paper will nuance our understanding experiences of captivity and relief by exploring the ways in which they were shaped by the geographic and historical context of Turkestan, which foreign observers such as Alf Harald Brun (1931, p.4), a Danish delegate in Tashkent, considered to be an ‘isolated and distant’ part of the Russian Empire.

Drawing on archival documents and published primary sources from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the former Soviet Union, this paper brings a transnational perspective to the study of Central Asia during the First World War. The accounts of prisoners of war and relief workers constitute a novel lens through which to study the events of 1916 and provide unique insights into the challenges of caring for displaced persons in the region. This paper suggests that while regional particularities led to unique experiences and challenges for relief workers and prisoners of war alike in Turkestan, it is possible to make connections with the experiences of POWs and responses to their situation in other locations. More broadly, the paper considers what the study of relief can tell us about the importance of displacement in War and upheaval in Central Asia.

Paper short abstract:

A. M.B. Meakin is one of the first European women visiting Turkestan at the beginning of the XX century. Though several women travelers such as Ujfalvy, M.I. Phibbs etc., visited before her, none of them provide deeply analyzed information about Central Asian Muslim women's life as she did.

Paper long abstract:

The history of women's life in Turkestan until the beginning of the XX century is one of the understudied topics. There are many reasons such as the deficiency of sources and poor activity of women in political and economic life.

The only sources that provide information about Turkestani women are few waqf documents, jung works and some qadi books. These sources mainly disclose the issues connected with women's donation, heir and divorce. Occasionally, the works of poetesses could be sources. Opening the routes to Central Asia by European travelers created a favourable condition for European female scholars and enthusiasts' penetration into Turkestan. This resulted the appearance of historical information about Turkestani women in travelogues and other books.

Between XVI and early XX centuries, there were no direct participation of women in political and economic policy of the country despite their status. Even female representatives of royal families were aside any state policy. This is also one of the factors why there is very little information about Turkestani women in historical sources.

Being a woman, A. Meakin had an opportunity to be close enough to women's life. One can find hardly any information about women scattered in various sources. For instance, Ujfalvy provides basic description, Mac Gahan gives some information about women's life in Khivan harem, M. Rickmers gives about their housing and etc. Unlike abovementioned authors, A. Meakin gives detailed information about Turkestani women such as their housework, make-up, dressing, appearance and types, women baths, and samples of stories about women. Describing girls' education, she eliminates the view that all Turkestani women were illiterate and they were not allowed to go to schools.

In conclusion, A. Meakin opened a new historical page in studying the life on Turkestani women. Her studies explore whether or not the women were isolated from any political processes.