What was Central Asia like under Soviet control?

by MetallicaDash
Kochevnik81

Hi, I would be happy to answer. Is there a specific topic, country or time period you're thinking of? It's worth remembering that "Central Asia" in the Soviet sense means what are now Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Kazakhstan gets included in most English language or international groupings, but from a Soviet/Russian perspective, it's technically different.

It's also worth remembering that the Soviet period ran from 1917 to 1991, which covers some massive changes and events in the region: the Russian Civil War, the subsequent basmachi revolts, territorial delimitation, Soviet cultural campaigns, collectivization, mass deportation and development of the Gulag camp system, mobilization for the Second World War, use of the region for conventional, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons testing and development during the Cold War, major environmental crises, of which the desiccation of the Aral Sea is just the best-known example, and political fragmentation and independence in 1991 and after.

There's a lot that happened in that time period demographically, economically, politically socially, and in relation to gender and ethnicity, so let me know if there is a specific topic you have questions on.

A sampler:

Hope this helps!