Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 for theirhelpinpreparingthis article.ThisresearchwassupportedbytheU.S. Critique, No.15,Fall1999 plastered over.Throughoutthesystem,Uzbek-languagsignshavbeen name, butthedecorativsealsthadepictedsocialisfriendshiphavbeen Yashlik, Uzbekfor"youth."ThePeoples'Friendshipstationkeptits Komsomol (CommunistYouthOrganization)stationhasbeerenamed changes. TheLeninstatiohasbeerenamedIndependencSquare Union, thesubwaysysteminTashkentcapitalhasundergonsom and flag,theestablishmentofanationalairlintourisoffice Department of Education'sFulbright-Hayes Travel-StudyProgram. begins beforeindependence.AccordingtoErnes t Gellner,"Iis of nationalism-building.Indecolonizedcountries,thi s procesusually simultaneously engagedinthemordifficultanless commonenterprise other trappingsofcontemporarynationhood. in anewlydecolonizednation,alongwiththeredesigofstatseal stenciled aboveRussian-languagsigns.Suchchangescanbexpecte Evans, AlanGodlas,ReuelHanks, DonoKabilova,ErinLeahey,andKenPalmer Hill. HewishestothankLaura Adams,DeborahBarrett,JohnDunn,Rhonda nationalism whichengendersnations,nottheothe r wayround";Eric Uzbekistan andtheotherformeSovietrepublicso f CentralAsiaare Survey 15,1(1996):23-32. Charles Kurzmanteachessociology attheUniversityofNorthCarolinaChapel 1 Since 1991,whenUzbekistabecamindependentofthSovie Yet, inadditiontotheseroutinstepstowardnation-building, 1. ShahramAkbarzadeh,"Nation-BuildinginUzbekistan, " CentralAsian Uzbekistan: TheInventionofNationalism in aInventedNatio Charles Kurzman Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 3 2 mobilized forgenerationsbeforegainingindependence.Evencolonial the Austro-HungarianEmpire,topickaearlyandparadigmaticexample Hobsbawm agrees,"nationaliscomesbeforenations."ThCzechof 78 *Kunman outsiders, witnessednationalistmovementsinoneformoranotheprio primordialist viewthanationsemergefromanciencommunal to theabolitionfforeigsuzerainty.Thisinosuggesaretur entities suchaIndonesiorNigeria,whoseboundariewerdrawnby as concessiontonationalismovements. identities—just thanationalindependenceisgenerallyviewedbalside was particularlypopularamongthepeoplofUzbekistan.Aaresult, Moscow's command,notthroughnationalismobilization.Indeedwha century, Uzbekistanwasbothcreatedangranteindependenceat independence in1991.Unlikmostdecolonizednationsofthtwentieth by thestate,notagains.Ratherthanemergingamonelitesi decolonized nations,intwoways.Firstnationalismsbeingdevelope Asia presentsninterestingcontrastotheusualpatterfnationalismi little evidencexistsonthsubjectsuggestthaneitherfthesmove by andserveinthecolonialregime.However,thishanotprevente civil societyanddirecteagainstthecoloniaregime,nationalismin nationalism inUzbekistaandtheotherformeSovietrepublicsofCentral that isoprominennothernewnations. decolonized nationswithagreaterhistoryofanti-colonia l nationalist state fromengaginginnationalistthemesanalogouothos regime, andindeeisdirectebytheverpersonnelwhowerappointe Uzbekistan isemergingwithiastatestructurcreatedbythcolonial mobilization—with theexceptionof"independenc e movement"them other newnationsexalttheanti-colonialmovemen t andthenational logical andhistoricagapbetweenputativelyprimordia l CentraAsian Movement otheFully-Forme d Nation:TheNation-BuildingProcessinEurope," (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversit y Press,1992)p.10 Press 1983),p.55;EricHobsbawm , NationsandNationalismsince1780,2ded. Oxford Universit y Press,1996)pp.60-77 in GeoffEleyandRonalGrigo r Suny,eds.BecomingNational(NewYork: "national" identitiesandthepresentconditionofnationhood . Wheremost Uzbekistan, bycontrasthadalmostnonationalismovemenprior 3. See,forexamplethephase s sketchedinMiroslavHroch,"FromNational 2. ErnestGellner,NationsandNationalism(IthacaNY : CornellUniversity This absenttheme,CentralAsia'secondexceptiona l ism,createsa Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 6 5 4 billboards—interviews withgovernmentofficialandacademics, the smallnationalistmovementsthaexistedinearly1920anlat mobilization forliberation,Uzbekistaactivelysuppressesthememorof heroes; alinguisticnationalismassociatedwiththehaltingremovalof themes: aterritorialnationalismlinkedwiththeelevationof"national" secondary literatureonindependentUzbekistan.Iidentiffourprimar Islom Karimov,thestatencyclopediaandgovernment nationalism inUzbekistathroughofficialliterature—writingsofPresident of othernewlyindependentnations. in 1991.Ithisregard,nationalismUzbekistamoreresembleth Spread ofNationalism,rev.ed(London:Verso,1991)pp . 83-111 promoting aCentralAsia-wideidentityknownsth "nation"(millat)of nationalist tendencieswhicharedevelopingandbecomin g accentuated" The InventionofUzbekista the cultivationofastate-controlledIslamicidentity;ancultural Russian fromofficialcommunications;areligiousnationalisinvolving Turkestan. Stalin,hiscollaboratorsandsuccessor s soughtoreplace in CentralAsia—nationalismherereferringtoth Pan-Turkicrevolts of Stalin'ssearchfor"anantidoteto,areliablbulwar k against,the sentiments intheregion,theslinewerintendedtothwar t them,aspar international boundaries.Farfromacknowledgingexistinnationalist Soviet Union,drewmosofthelinesinCentralAsiathanomark nationalism. in Uzbekistan,andtheimplicationsofthiabsencforstudy authentic. Ithenexaminethabsentthemofindependencmovements nationalism usedtopresenstatedominationfsocietyasregionall "official nationalism"oftheSovieterathananti-colonianationalisms Studies, 1992)p.13;Serge A.Zenkovsky,Pan-TurkismandIslaminRussia (Bloomington, Ind.:Indiana University,ResearchInstituteforInneAsian International Publishers,1942) , p.168 (Cambridge: Harvar d UniversityPress,1960) , p.148 Uzbekistan *79 1980s, priortothecreationfUzbekistai1924anditsindependenc 4. BenedictAnderson,ImaginedCommunities:Reflectionson theOriginand 6. IngeborgBaldauf,"Kraevedenie" andUzbekNationalConsciousness 5. JosephStalin,Marxism andtheNationalQuestion(NewYork: This articleexaminethmajorthemeofemergingideology In 1924,JosephStalinthecommissarofnationalitiesithenew Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 9 7 8 10 juxtaposed againstotherethnicitiesincritiqueofSovieinequality.By multi-ethnic populationsthatiwouldnoformthebasifornationalis was granteda"national"homelanwithsucconvoluteborderan nationalisms—Kazakh, KirgizTajikTurkmenandUzbekeachofwhic 80 •Kurzman through Sovietnationalitypolicies.Overthenexhalf-centurUzbek Republic, justasotherofficiallyrecognizedgroupbecamereifie mobilization. Pan-Turkic nationalismwithmoreeasilymanipulabl in thepoliticalandculturaorganizationsofUzbekSovietSocialis well, asUzbek-nesgrewintonidentitythatcouldbeanwas ethnic sentimentappearsohavefulfilledStalin'vision—perhapevento "national" identity,andexpressionsofthiidentitywereinstitutionalize sentiment wouldtranslateintoamassindependencmovement. the lat1970sandearly1980s,foreignobserverwonderewhetherthi Communist PartyofUzbekistanhadwo8percentheparliamentar Asian independencewasimposedfromMoscow.Thpreviouyear,th du monderusseetsovietique32,1(1991):79-95;Donal d S.Carlisle,"Soviet Ingeborg Baldauf,"SomeThoughtsonthMakinfUzbe k Nation,"Cahiers that theSovietsignoredstateidentitieofpeoplregion.Se relatively faithfultothefindingsfethnographicresearch,andothersuggesting identities ihotlydebated,withsomescholarsuggestingthSoviettriedtosta Revolution, andtheCollapse oftheSovietUnion(Stanford,Calif.:Stanford ed., CentralAsiainHistoricalPerspective(BoulderColo. : WestviewPress, Uzbekistan: StateandNationiHistoricalPerspective," inBeatriceF.Manz, National Delimitation,"CentralAsianSurvey14,2(1995) : 225-41;Yuri Apartment"; RonaldGrigor Suny,TheRevengeofthePast:Nationalism, Politics 43,2(1991):196-232;Slezkine"TheU.S.S.R . asCommunal Promoted EthnicParticularism,"SlavicReview53,2(1994) : 414-52. Slezkine, "TheU.S.S.R.asCommunalApartmentorHo w aSocialistState Nationalism in SovietUzbekistan,"SovietUnion 12,1(1985):1-41. N.J.: PrincetonUniversityPress , 1984)pp.225^2;WilliamFierman"Cultural University Press,1993). 1994), pp.111-21;StevenSabol"TheCreatioofSovietCentra l Asia:The1924 7. TherelationshipofthesSoviet"nationalities"existingCentralAsian Local elitesinUzbekistamobilizedquicklyarounthenew 9. PhilipGRoeder,"SovietFederalismandEthnicMobilization, " World 8. Baldauf,"Kraevedenie". Such amassmovementdidnomaterialize.Instead,in1991Central 10. NancyLubin,Labourand NationalityinSovietCentralAsia(Princeton, Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 12 13 14 percent infavorofremainingthedwindlingunion.IAugust, untenable, Karimovchangedcourse.WithintwoweekstheUzbekista Uzbekistan's CommunistPartychief,IslomKarimovsupportedthe seats contestedinasemi-freeelection."O17March1991,witth parliament, underKarimov'scontrolreluctantlyvotedfo the coupfailed,anditbecamclearthaSovieframeworkwas attempted coupd'etatthamarketheSovieUnion'slasstand.When Baltic regionsalreadyquittingtheSovietUnion,Uzbekistanvoted93.7 nationalism. Nationalistideologyisnowpursuedwiththesamintensity, he continuestorulthcountryanunlikelchampiofUzbekistani independence. to avoidtheeconomicanpoliticalcatastrophesthahavengulfesom historic elementstodrawon,andpartlybecauseUzbekistanhamanage than elsewhereiCentralAsia,partlybecausthnatiohasmor of thenewideology,appearsthavprogressedfartherinUzbekista socialist ideology.Theinventionoftradition,onthcrucialelements and manyofthesamtechniques,oncdevotetpromotion Uzbekistan •81 with nationalistslogansarecommonthroughouthcountry,andwor billboard proclaimsinTashkent,thecapitalofUzbekistan.Billboard of itsneighbors. Literature Today70,3(1996) : 612;seealsoMarthaBrillOlcott,"CentraAsia's independence torepresenthgreatraditionfUzbekistan i independence. Uzbekistan? Oneclucomesfromthnationalheroe s selectedsince "National" Heroes Soviet Press43,13(May1991):23. Wisconsin Press,1995)p.138 in theCommonwealthofIndependentStates(Madison, Wis.:Universityof People's Deputieshoutand clap."TahirQahhar,"UzbekLiterature,World "vatan" appearsinmanyofthem.Butwhaconstitute s thevatanof Catapault oIndependence," ForeignAffairs 71,3(1992):113. 1 (1994):51-58. Karimov quicklybecameapatriot.Eightyearsafterindependence, 12. Izvestia,27March1991,pp13;translatedinCurrent Digestofthe 11. AnatolyKhazanov,AftertheUSSR:Ethnicity,Nationalism, andPolitics 13. JonathanGrant,"Decolonizatio n byDefault,"CentralAsianSurvey13, 14. "Onlyafter[Karimov]said , 'Wellistherenoapplause?'didour "Feeling forone'shomeland(yatari)igreatethanallthings,"alarge Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 15 16 his ownsubwaystatioiTashkent(formerlnamedOctoberRevolutio known itheWestasTamerlane)andhigrandson,UlughBek(1394- The tworulerslionizedanationalheroearAmirTimu(1336-1405, 82 *Kurzman Amir Timur's660thbirthdaywacelebratedinaSoviet-stylegalth Amir Timur'smausoleumappearonthebackf10-sobill,and quickly renderedstatuesarounthecountry,replacingMarxanLenin. and 50YearsoftheUzbekistanS.S.R.,respectively).Eachappeari history textbooksbeingpreparedforuseinthcountry'schools,plac fall of1996atwhichKarimovandforeigndignitariessharetheirvisio of AmirTimur'scontributiontUzbekistan. conqueror whenhewasifactathoughtfulandenlighteneconqueror. that AmirTimuhasbeenmisunderstood,longdepictedablood-thirsty an archaeologistwhochairsthecommitterewritingthestexts,argue of theRusso-centricandanti-capitalistSovietexts.AkhmadaliAskarov, to Askarov,AmirTimuhadgrearespecfohisOttomanenemie(the In therevisionistaccounthawillappearinewtextbooks,according Asia Monitor5(1996):14-15 . monuments, attackingevenamosquebuiltbyhiswif e beforhwas sponsored someofthgreatestarchitecturalachievementshitim(th account holdsthathirescuewaunintentional);andAmirTimu civilizations bydefeatingtheOttomanandMongolarmie(thstandar displayed inacage);AmirTimusaveWesterEuropeaanRussia standard accountfocusesontheOttomarulerwhomhcapturean informed thatiwasbuilnhihonor). standard accountbalancesthiwithhidestructionofarchitectural 1449). Bothappearconstantlyinofficialcommunications,andeachas world relieontheseobservationsforcenturies,longafte r UlughBekwas detailed observationsofthestars'locations.Astronomer s fromaroundthe July 1997.Forarelativel sympatheticversionofthestandardaccount,se California tBerkeley,1999; KenPetersen,"CelebratingAmirTimur,"Central was apioneeringastronomerwhobuiltgiansextan t inorderomake University Press , 1989). Beatrice ForbesManz,TheRise andRuleofTamerlane(Cambridge:Cambridge in Uzbekistan,"Ph.D.Dissertation,DepartmentofSociology , Universityof Both AmirTimuandUlugBekarefeatureprominentlyinthnew The canonizationofUlughBekinvolveslesrevisionism . UlughBek 15. LauraAdams,"CelebratingIndependence:ArtsInstitutions , andIdentity 16. AkhmadaliAskarov,lectur e atTashkenStatEconomicUniversity,28 Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 17 18 19 Persian. Infact,theyfoughtagainsttheUzbeksTimurdefeatedthem; Timur andUlughBekbelongetoaseparatebrancfMongols.They to modernscience. assassinated anhisobservatorydestroyebreligiouleaderoppose period arenotpromineninUzbekistan'snationalisideology.For keep theUzbeks,whowermigratingfromnorthoutflandtha presence inthnewnationalistpantheon.AccordingoEdwardAllworth, Amir TimuandUlughBekare"national"heroes,thUzbeksofsam Uzbeks finallyconqueredtheregioniearl16thcentury,ant is nowcalledUzbekistan.Thelocalpopulationwatexpellewheth Ulugh Bekdidnot.Timur'sdynastystruggleforacenturanhalfto spoke adifferentdialecofTurkicandconductehigh-culturbusinessin completed theconquestofpresent-dayUzbekistan,hasarelativelminor fair tocallbothgroupstheancestorfpresent-dayUzbeks.Buwhil Uzbekistan *83 Shaybani wascondemnedtoobscurity,anAmirTimuunderwen example, MuhammadShaybani(1451-1510)theUzbekleaderwho historiography. Governmentideologuesstatetha t thepeoplof as stand-inUzbeks. unpleasantness, SoviethistoriansdraftedAmirTimuanhisuccessor defeating itskingandsackinlands.Ratherthanrevisitthi Uzbeks ofthe14thand15tcenturiewerscourgRussia, Uzbekistan. Theproblem,fromthSovietperspectivewastha reconstruct asafehistoryforthrecentlcreatedsocialisrepublicof believe thhalf-centuryofSovietflattery,thaAmirTimu r wasethnically rehabilitated inseveralyears.Itsunclearwhethe r Uzbeksactually Uzbekistan arenot"ready"forthShaybanids,who arescheduledtob "conversion toUzbekhood,"ithe1940s,asSoviehistoriansough one ofthem.ThofficialEncyclopediaoftheRepublic ofUzbekistan ideological tradition,evenasittrieoriditsel f oRusso-centric Institution Press,1990)pp.238-45 . Giyasiiddin-i Kafi'ninMektubu (Ankara:TurkTarihKurumuBasimevi,1960). The ironyisthatthes"national"heroewernoUzbeks.Amir Post-Soviet nationalisminUzbekistasfollowin g inthesam 18. EdwardAAllworth,The ModernUzbeks(Stanford,Calif.:Hoover 17. AydmSayih,UlugBey veSemerkanddekiHimFaaliyetiHakkmda 19. LauraAdams , personalcommunication, 1July1998. Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 21 20 2 23 A moremundanexplanationmightbthaAmirTimuandUlughBek his abilitytogovernamulti-ethnicempirewithouculturalimpositions. One scholarsuggests,ratherthatAmiTimur'scurrenstatustemfrom does notattributeanUzbekidentityoAmirTimuandhidescendants. 84 •Kurzman rulers hadtheircapitalanbuiltmonumentaSamarkand,which counting ontattrachardcurrencyaninternationalattention.Both are convenientfocalpointsforthtourismindustrythaUzbekistani rather thanethnicnationalism,atensiotRogersBrubakeha not beUzbeknationalismsomuchaUzbekistaninationalism—territorial relations, vatanreferstoaplacenopeople.Thenewideologymigh Stalin gavetothUzbekS.S.R.Perhaps,thenforpurposesfpublic identified throughouttheformerSovieUnion. these sitesapartofnationalislegacy,howeverthUzbekistan Russian CentralAsia:Khiva,BukharaandKokand.Tocommandeer Asian monuments,includingthecapitalsoflastthrekingdom to thenationthaRussianslaterwouldcall"Uzbekistan."Thei khans ofKokand,forexamplewereethnicallyUzbekbuthadnloyalt government musoverlooktheirresolutelynon-nationalnature.Thelas sites. Stalin's1924bordergaveUzbekistanthlion'sharofCentral twentieth century,manyofthefirstbooksandnewspaper s tobepublished Historically, BukharahasbeencenterofIraniaculture . Earlyinthe 2500th jubileeinth1960sortsurelywouldhavbeeincludeawell. Uzbek khanates.EvenmoreproblematicisBukhara,whichcelebrateda loyalty wasmorelocalinnature,andthefrequentlfoughtwithother Tahririiati, 1997). unlike elsewherinUzbekistan,Ifoundthatmanyself-identifyin g ethnic languages thatpredominateinCentralAsia.Eve n ithelat1990s, Union andPost-SovietEurasia, " TheoryandSociety23,1(1994):47-78. Policy Journal14,2(1997):57 . in BukharawereTajik,Persian-basedlanguag e unlikthTurkic "2500th anniversary"alongwitKhivain1997—Samarkandhaits York: Praeger, 1973),pp.143-50 in EdwardAllworth,ed.The NationalityQuestioninSovietCentralAsia(New 23. WilliamLHanaway,Jr. , "FarsitheVatanandMillatinBukhara," 22. RogersBrubaker,"Nationhoo d antheNationalQuestioniSoviet 21. KennethWeisbrode,"UzbekistanitheShadowofTamerlane, " World 20. UzbekistonRespublikasiEntsiklopediia(Tashkent: QomuslarBosh Fortunately forthetourismindustry,Uzbekistanisrichhistoric Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 26 25 24 percent (thoughgreaterthanthe1989Soviecensusfigurof3.1 percent). Bukhara provinceisTajik,lesthanthnationalproportioof4.7 national heritage.Atthesamtime,ethnicnationalismallows nationalism allowsUzbekistantoclaiBukhara'jubileeaparfit even madehopelessirredentistclaimothcity.Onlyaterritorial blessing, amity."ThisloftysentimentcomefromthepoetrofMir Linguistic Nationalism government oclaim,inthenewEncyclopedia,thaonly4.0percenf Uzbeks inBukharaspeaksomeTajik.ThnewstatofTajikistaha great renownthanewlymarriedcouplescommonllaflowersathefee Alisher Navoi(1441-1501),andsinscribenthecupolacoveringlarg Uzbekistan *85 Asia (Reading,England:Ithac a Press,1993)p.248;RichardFoltz"TheTajiks Soviet era. of thisstatue—aSoviet-inventedtraditionthathasurvivedintthepost- statue ofhimincentralTashkent.Navoi'sromanticpoetrysuch the pantheoncomesratherfromhistandinga greatestpoeinthe territorial nationalismsymbolizedbyAmirTimuan UlughBek.Navoi Yet, Navoi'sinclusionithenationalistpantheoruncountero subway stationnamedafterhim,althoughhiswadesignateitheSoviet represented instatuesthroughoutthecountry.HtoohaaTashken of thesamstaturasAmirTimuandUlughBek.Likthem,Navoi a handfulofyearsinthelandthatnowUzbekistan. Navoi'spositioni was bornanddieiHerat,present-dayAfghanistan , andspentonly and theTashkentstatuofNavoiappearsnback5-somnote. era. LinesfromNavoi'poetryfrequentlareinscribedonbillboards, a retronym.NavoididnotconsiderhimselfnUzbek , atermreserved of Uzbekistan,"CentralAsian Survey15,2(1996):213. Uzbek language. Ethnic Identity,"inVitalyNaumkin , ed.State,Religion,andSocietyinCentral (Minneapolis: Eas t ViewPublications,1996) . 24. SeealsoLudmilaChvyr,"CentralAsia'sTajiks:Self-Identificatio n and 25. Entsiklopediia,p621 26. 1989U.S.S.R.Population Census,English-languageCD-ROMedition "Know, allhumankind:thegreatestcursisenmity; Navoi hasbeenadoptedathethirgreatnationalherofUzbekistan, As withAmirTimuandUlugBek,howeverthi identificationis Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 28 21 literary heritageinth1920sbaleadingUzbekscholar,Abdurrauf language. AccordingtoAllworth,NavoiwasfirsclaimedfortheUzbek them "bloodthirsty"inoneofhiswritings.Navoi'wonderfuland 86 •Kurztnan being corralledfortheseconstrainofnationalism-building:re- identity. ForthisandothedisplayofCentralAsiannationalism,the and TurkiculturalaccomplishmentstocreateageneraCentraAsian Fitrat, whosebookSpecimensofUzbekLiteraturesoughtolinUzbe innovative poetrywaswritteniChagataTurki,arelatedbutdistinc in hisdayforcertainomadictribes.HedidnotlikthUzbeks,labeling valuation oftheUzbeklanguage.Sinclat1989,justbefor Ironically, givenNavoi'sdistasteforthUzbekofhidaylegacyi (though nothisreputation)witavolumeonNavoientitledFatherof the 1940sSovietdidanabout-face,resurrectingFitrat'hypothesi Soviets deemedFitratideologicallyunreliableanexecutehim.Theni Russian toUzbek,asdidstreesignanotherofficialnotices.Theby- of mid-1997,thisshiftwalimitedprimarilybillboard s andstore-front names, suchasGforGollandiyaRussianpronunciatio n forHolland.As are onsalteachingLatilettersthroughcommowordrcountry laws oftheUzbekistanAdvocateAssociation,country'first independence, governmentcommunicationsbeganobeswitchedfrom of UzbekistanisabandoningtheCyrillicalphabetforLatin.Poster Uzbek. independent barassociation,foundedinsumme1997werewritte Other non-Turkicminoritynationalities—Koreans,Armenians , andso comprise almost10percenofthpopulation—ar fluentinUzbek. Cyrillic. street signsinUzbekistan.Almosallnewspaper andbooksstilluse signs. Somestreetsignshavbeenconverted,thoug h therearen'tmany Uzbek Literature. one survey,fewerthan5percentofRussiansiUzbekistan—wh o still Soviet Union:TheMindAflame (Oslo:InternationalPeaceResearchInstitute; SAGE Publications , 1997)p.126 Geneva: UnitedNationsResearc h InstituteforSocialDevelopment;London: 27. Allworth,TheModernUzbeks, pp.37,226-31 28. ValeryTishkov,Ethnicity, NationalismandConflictinafterthe Post-Soviet nationalisminUzbekistahascontinuedthipath. To emphasizethbreakwithRussianlanguage,government Not everybodyinUzbekistan,howeverspeaksUzbek . Accordingto Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 29 30 31 comfortable speakingRussianthatheirowancestrallanguage. group istheunknownnumberofwell-educatedUzbekwharmor Russian asthemediumofinter-ethniccommunication.Anotheraffected whose languagesargenerallymutuallintelligible,alsoappeartus on—are similarlyunlikeltohavlearnedUzbek.ManTurkicpeoples, tongue. mobility. EvenPresidentKarimovandsomemembersofhicabine speaking Uzbeksmaybeviewedatraitors.Iwitnessenuglscene, reportedly tookUzbelanguagelessonstobrushupntheirnativ Soviet Union,fluenRussianwasseeaprerequisiteforupward Russian; somefamiliesraisedtheirchildreniRussiabecause,undeth Advanced educationwasconducted,untilveryrecentlylargeli Affairs 12,1(1996):4-24. to hiretranslatorsparticipatinthnewbarassociation;whelegal emerging senseofnationhood.Russianlawyers,forexamplewillneed non-Uzbek speakersinUzbekistafindthemselveotheoutsidf knowledge ofthUzbeklanguage.Evenitheydnotsufferpersecution, own writingsareiRussian),beratedhiUzbektranslatorfohepoo academic, speakingUzbekfornationalistpurposes(thoughmosofhi similar toonesthaothescholarhavereported,inwhichaUzbek I heardsimilarcommentsfromseveralRussian-speakin g Uzbeksawell. asked ifheplannetolearnUzbek."I'ratherimprov e myEnglish." you joking?"acollege-educatedRussianiTashken t respondedwhenI all. YetiappearsthafewRussian-speakersnUzbekistaarelearning system isfullyconvertedtoUzbek,thewillbeunablpracticlawa Uzbekistan *87 Law ImplementationiUzbekistan, " inYaacovRo'i,ed.MuslimEurasia: (1996): 88. Russian toUzbekigovernmencommunicationswa s supposedtohave crimp inthecampaigforlinguisticnationalism.Th e transitionfrom adults, andmanynon-UzbekspeakersonotwantlearnUzbek."Are D. Laitin,"LanguageandNationalis m inthePost-SovietRepublics,"Post-Soviet Uzbek. ThereislittlinfrastructurtosupporUzbekeducationfor Conflicting Legacies (London:FrankCass , 1995)pp.205-30 30. Asimilartrendhasbeendocumente d inneighboringKazakhstan.Davi 29. SFrederickStarr,"MakingEurasiaStable,"Foreign Affairs75,1 31. WilliamFierman,"Independenc e andthDecliningPriorityofLanguag According totheideologyflinguisticnationalism,non-Uzbek- This stubbornnesiapparentlywidespreadenoug h tohavepua Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 32 3 34 v decade, andsomepeoplinUzbekistafeeltwilnobimplemente been completedithe1990s;nowthaspostponeuntilnex nationalism mightwastethcontributionsofagoodportion 8 •Kurzman unspecified instancesofethnicchauvinism:"Fortunately,thematurity Russians inthe"nearabroad."Ihilatestbook,PresidenKarimovtoe country's educatedworkforce,whilesimultaneouslyirritatingthstill- fully foratleasgeneration,preciselthereasonthalinguistic Politically NeuteredIslam a greatbarrierothegoalsfthesgroupnpathextremism." wisdom, humanismandopen-heartednessoftheUzbekpeopl...wer a carefulline,promotingUzbekethnicidentitywhiledenouncin influential Russianstate,whichtakesaactiveinterestithfatof from ahadith,sayingoftheProphetMuhammad,althoughmosIslamic slogan repeatedobillboardsthroughoutUzbekistan.Thesayingcome serves thepurposeofideology-building.Alargpartnew the Prophet,itstellingthatheyshouldpickalittle-regardehadith former CommunistswhostillrunUzbekistashouldpromoteasayingf scholars consideritfraudulent.Whilemaybsurprisingthath Karimov waxedlyricalabouttheneeforspirituality : "Humanbeings nationalism concernsIslam—butaversionofIslathaipolitically spirituality. TheyearaftesupportingthattemptedCommunistcoup, neutered. humanity isalsonconstant,sometimepainfulandarduous , searchofa traveller inthedesertwhoquencheshithirsa life-givingspring, need spiritualitylikethetobreathairandrin k water.Likea the middlof1996.Karimov'slatestbookinclude achapterexplicitly scholars reportanincreasingemphasiotheconcep ofma^naviyatsince spiritual source."Karimovhascontinuedtospea k onthetopic,and Muhammad al-Ajlunial-Jarrihi , Kashfal-Khafa'(Beirut:DarIhyaal-Turathal- (Tashkent: "Ozbekiston, " 1992),p.62 "Arabi, 1968)vol.1pp413-14 . 1997), p.79 K 33. IthankProfessorAlanGodla s forlookingupthihadithinIsmaMlib 32. IslomKarimov,UzbekistonXXIAsrBosafasida(Tashkent : "Ozbekiston," The centerpiecofthisapproachithterm"manaviyat," "To loveone'shomeland(vatari)iamatterffaith,"readanothe 34. IslomKarimov,Uzbekistan: TheRoadofIndependenceandProgress Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 35 K 36 37 understanding ofnationalidentityandareturntthepeople'sspiritua of thewordGod.IncontemporaryUzbekistan,bcontrast or essencefhumanity,andisspecificallylinketfaiththacceptanc debate. IntheIslamictradition,ma^naviyatreferstoinnerdimensio concept ofma^naviyatasihadevelopedthroughcenturietheological manaviyat. headwaters, totheirroots."High-schoolstudentsnowtakecoursen of ourspiritualvaluestbeanaturaprocesconsistingthgrowin linking ma^naviyattothenewnationalism:"Wconsiderrestoration unprincipled self-interest,muchinthesamwaythatSovieideolog and islinkenotwithfaitbuethics.Iuseatheantonymfor ma ^naviyatrefersmoretoexternalandvisiblaspectfhumanbehavior, Indeed, itseemsoservethsamideologicalpurposenamelyexhorting contrasted theinterestsofproletariatwithcapitalisindividualism. museum-piece. WhattheregimapparentlyfearsiIslambeingviewed an allegedIslamicprecedentwhileportrayingIslamsarchai dead byahalf-milleniumormore,ignoringhundredsfyearlivin and justifyingindividualsacrificeforthgreategood. Uzbekistan •89 arrested in1995anhasnotbeehearfromsince . Otherreligious Renaissance Party,AbdullahUtaevdisappearedin 1992.Theleading subject osevererepression.ThleaderfUzbekistan' s outlawedIslamic sought agreaterrolefoIslambothsociallyandpolitically , havebeen as viablealternativideology.ActivistMuslimi n Uzbekistan,who tradition. Currentusageofma"naviyatseeksdrawlegitimacyfrom scholars inIslamichistory,thelistincludeonlyfigureswhoarsafel seeking tolinkhisversionfma^naviyatwithsomethgreates in thecontextofhistoricalheritage.WhehcitesIslamicprecedents, activists areinjail,exileoroperatingundeclos e scrutiny.Bearded religious officialinthecityofAndijan,AbduvalKor i Mirzaev,was ed., CentralAsia,3rded.(Durham , N.C.:DukeUniversityPress1994)p.596 to EdwardAllworth,"TheHunge r foModernLeadership,"iEdwardAllworth, Kazakhstan andKirgizstaare reportedlypromotingsimilarideologies,accordin Contemporary Uzbekistan,"pape r inpreparation.Officialsneighboring Yet thisconcepofma^naviyathalittledwiththIslamic 36. AlanGodlas,"Ma^naviyat andMa'rifatinIslamicTraditio 35. Karimov,UzbekistonXXIAsrBosafasida,p140 Karimov's writingonspiritualityrarelmentioIslam,andtheonl 37. Karimov,Uzbekiston XXIAsrBosafasida, p.140 Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 38 39 40 Government sensitivityonreligioustopicigreathahundredf men areharassedanarresteosuspiciofIslamistsympathies. 90 •Kurzman Uzbekistani studentswererecentlyrecalledfromTurkebecausof pointing totheterriblcivilwarinneighborinTajikistaasobjec chair ofthePresident'sCouncilnReligion."Butbasi activism. "TheAmericansandourotheWesternfriendrepresentthes lesson. KarimovusestheEnglishword"fundamentalism"and alleged religiousinfluence. both governmentalandcivil." have beenplasteredobillboards.Religiouslysignificantartifactsan movement wasnodemocratic.Iafightforpoweandauthority, Selected Islamicsayings,suchastheonaboutlovingone'homeland activities. RegulationslimitingpilgrimagetoMeccahavbeeneased. Islamic versionofma^naviyat,butalsobysupportingnon-political [Islamic] currentsademocratic,"sayProfessorHamidullahKaramatov, though theircommentspresumablyarevettedmeticulously. crescent andstarappeaonthenewstatemblemiplacfSovie sites aremobilizedfortouristicpurposeannationalpride.ThIslami "extremism" inhisrecentUzbek-languagebookodescribIslamic New YorkTimes,28January1998,p.A4;WashingtonPost, 27September1998, throughout theIslamicworld.Bysupportingrenovatio n andpresiding one ofthlargestandmosinfluentialSufiorders , nowrepresented Bahauddin an-Naqshband(1318-1389),anativeoftha t region,founded five-pointed star.Religiousspeakerarepermittedonstate-rutelevision, http: //www.hrw.org/hrw/reports98/uzbekistan. p. A31;HumanRightsWatch,"RepublicofUzbekistan : CrackdowniThe Asia," RadioFreeEurope/RadioLibertyNewsline2,109 , PartI9June1998; at there-openingceremony,Karimovclearlywishe d tosignalthe restoration oftheNaqshbandmosqucomplexoutsidBukhara. been banned,accordin g toKaramatov. Farghona Valley:ArbitraryArrest s andReligiouDiscrimination,"May1998, 30 July1997. The governmentcitessecurityconcernforbanningIslamicactivism, 38. SalimjonAioubov,"TheSignificancofWearinga BeardinCentral The governmenthastakenupthifighnojusbypromotinganon- 39. HamidullahKaramatov,lectur e atTashkenStatEconomicUniversity, 40. Atthesamtime,Saudi fundingforIslamicgroupsinUzbekistaha Perhaps thestate'cleareststepintoreligiouarenahabeen Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 41 42 power thatKaramatovmentionedisalsoastruggleovetradition. the alternativIslamicheritagassertedbyopposition.Thfightfor legitimacy ofthisparticularsetIslamicbeliefandpracticeaagains Karakalpak regionofthecountry.Thmostinnoceninterpretatio even iKarakalpaktranslatiooofficialsitesthesemi-autonomou Building aGreatState nation. this sloganiadesireforimprovementthgeneralwelfarof The "greatstate"sloganappearsnexohighways,schoolbuildings common billboardiUzbekistan,afterCoca-Colaadvertisements policies, buttherearofficiallysponsoredinstancesofculturalattachmen Kyrgyzstan, andathirofmillioneachiKazakhsta that moren1millioUzbeksliviTajikistan,halfa to "GreaterSerbia"Israel."TheofficialEncyclopedianotes state" toreferexpansionisimpulses,a"GreateUzbekistansimila (apparently thepresident'sfamilownnationalCoca-Colafranchise). it onstate-ruUzbek-languagetelevision.Thgovernmenbillboard Turkmenistan. Uzbekistanhasdisplayedfewindicationofexpansionist Uzbekistan •91 concrete situation,mentalitytraditionsandthway oflifethUzbek the intendedmeaning,itseemsanaccuratprediction . Thestatnotonly refer tothepowefstatapparatus.Although thistoomaynotbe cultural boundariesratherthanpoliticaones. slogan, "Turkestanisourcommohomeland,"seemintendedtorefe large factorinthemergingnationalistideology.Presiden t Karimov's remains thedominantplayerinallaspectoflif f Uzbekistan,buta in MarthaBrillOlcott,Central Asia'sNewStates(Washington,D.C.:United lean heavilyostatepower,justifyingthistendenc onthebasisf"th "To Turkestan,"theentirCentralAsianregion,asonsong'refraiha States InstituteofPeacPress , 1996)pp.113-37 "five principles,"whichoutlinethcountry'spost-Communis t ideology, 41. MarthaBrillOlcott,"Uzbekistan : CentralAsia'sInstinctiveImperialist," An unintendedreadingoftheslogan,howevermighttak"grea 42. Entsiklopediia, p.51 Another sinistereadingofthe"greatstate"slogan mighttakeio "Uzbekistan's futureiagreatstate."Thithsecondmos Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 43 45 46 people." Ofspecialinterestarethrolostatinemerging approach, outlinedina1993bookletwascouchetermoftradition: 92 *Kurzman capitalist economyandthepost-Communispoliticalsystem. sector, nevershouldbeprivatized."Privatlanushasbeenhistorically Karimov suggestedthatagriculture,Uzbekistan'sleadingeconomic state's activerolintheconomy.Indeed,forthiandothereasons opposed to"theUzbekpeople."Tradition,Karimovarguedjustifieth Note thusofnon-ethnicphrase,"thpeoplUzbekistan,"as Assembly (Tashkent:"Ozbekiston, " 1993),p.16 have been"laggingbehindthscopanefficiencyo f reforms"inother the onlyexpedientsolution." alien totheMuslimpopulatiofCentralAsia,"hwrote."Tpreserv "shock therapy"transitionsfromsocialistocapitalism.Higo-slow Republic ofUzbekistan,atthe48thSessionUnited NationsGeneral people." OnotheroccasionsKarimovhabeemor e explicit,asinhi anniversary ofindependence,Karimovadmittedtha t politicalreforms land asstatepropertyantorefrain[from]itprivatizatioseemb sectors. Partoftheproblem,hnotedwasthapolitica l institutions in termsoftradition.IaAugust1996speechmarkingthefifth Transition toaMarketEconomy (Tashkent:"Ozbekiston,"1993),p.27 "should correspontothenationalspecificfeaturesan d mentalityofthe Chukurlashtirishning MuhimVazifalari(Tashkent : "Ozbekiston,"1996) , p.59 1993 comment:"ItisnonecessaryforuoadopWester n democracy 45. Karimov,BuildingtheFuture, p.95 43. IslomKarimov,AddressbyH.E.Mr.IslomKarimov, Presidentofthe In theeconomicsphere,Karimovhasbeeaoutspokeopponentof 44. IslomKarimov,Building theFuture:Uzbekistan—ItsOwnModelfor 46. IslomKarimov,Hozirgi BosqichdaDemokratikIslohotlarni In thepoliticalsphere,tooslownessofreformhabeejustified 4 traditional lifestyleofthpeople. communal formofself-organization,whichisrootednthe people ofUzbekistanarhistoricallycharacterizedbtheir people, theiroutlookthinkingcustomsandrituals.The national andhistoricafactors,i.e.traditionawayoflifeth decisive extentstemsfromacomprehensivconsiderationof Our choiceofthroadtransitiontmarkeeconomya Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 49 48 47 50 51 journalist in1993."Uzbekpeoplearverykind,busdangerouo justifications forauthoritarianismiunclear.Independentsurveyn1993 People arnotallowedogouansayanythintheplease,becaus the respectofsonforfatheandstudenprofessor. elders, apoliticalsystembasednotoncompetitioburespectsuchs historical modeforEasterndemocracy,hearguedisthcounciof our country."Askarov,thearchaeologistinchargofre-writing country, ithasadifferendemocracyandcannoaccepallthings"from give [them]thingslikdemocracy.""BecausUzbekistaniaEaster spiritually alientous.Weshallhavourown,nationademocracy." political competitionimportant;56percentwaswillingotrade and 1994founjustunderhalfotherespondentscallingafrepres Tajikistan's troubleresultedfromanexcesofdemocracy. an oft-usedobject-lessoithisregard,thoughtunlikelytha that wouldleaocivilwar.ThewarinneighboringTajikistas Uzbekistan's historybooks,statedthecasevenmorstrongly.Th the West,politicalscientistSadullaOtamuratovexplainedinlectur democratic governance.Fromemperorsandkhan s totsarand "[O]ur traditionsaredifferent,"anothegovernmentofficialtolda Uzbekistan *93 June 1995),pp . 4-7 August 1997. what theysaincreasestensioninsociety"—opinionthadonoexpres express theirpoliticalopinions"and"saywhatevethewant,evenif of respondentsfeltiwaimportanthapeopleshouldbabl"freely freedoms foreconomicbenefits.Atthesamtime,morthan60percen Uzbekistan's allegedly"Eastern"culturalstandards. 1997. "Ourgovernmentisdevelopingitownwaythaappropriatefo USIA OfficeofResearchan d MediaReaction,OpinionAnalysisM-89-9515 (USIA), "InUzbekistanCheckere d ViewsofDemocracy"(Washington,D.C.: States InstituteofPeace,1995) , pp.4-5;UnitedStatesInformationAgency Central Asia(London:HarperCollins,1994)p.187 49. SadullaOtamuratov,lecturetTashkenStatEconomi c University,2 50. Askarovlecture,28July1997 . 48. DilipHiro,BetweenMarxandMuhammad:TheChanging Faceof 47. Khazanov,AftertheUSSR,p143 51. NancyLubin,CentralAsians TakeStock(Washington,D.C.:United Whether Uzbekistan'scitizenagreewiththeigovernment'cultural Uzbekistan's history,ittrueprovidelittle precedentfor Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 52 53 54 politburos, theregionhaslivedunderaalmostunbrokesuccessioof 94 *Kurzman two months,howeverthereformswerswampedbyreactionarforce twentieth century,whenmanypartsoftheworldbegatexperimenwit autocrats. Thefewattemptsatreformhavbeenshort-livedIthearly democracy" onthereactionaries. nationalism downplaysthereformersandbestowlabel"Eastern and theactivistswerarresteorexiled.Thcurrentideologyf constitutional reformsinsemi-autonomousBukharaandKhiva.Withi limits onstatepower,smallgroupfyoungactivistmanagedtwi I havenotbeenablofindaUzbek,evethpoliticalscientisSadull emphasize thcompatibilityofUzbekistan'spoliticalinstitutionwith Karimov's August29,1996speechondemocraticreformmadespecial third ofsurveyrespondentsin1994coulnameanypartthcountry. Otamuratov, whocannameallfourpartieswithoutassistance.Onlya of Uzbekistan'sparliament,wherefourpartiearrepresented.However international standards.Theyarequicktopointhdemocraticnatur rights organizations.Butthenexday,representativofHuman mention ofhumarightsandurgecooperatiowithinternationalhuman- U.S. StateDepartment'sannualreportonhumarights,"twsenior Rights WatchinTashkent,aBritiscitizenwajailed.Accordingtothe that isstartingoliveupthhuman-rightdiscours e thatiquickly spend thenightinacoljailcelhisunderwear";governmenlater basis ofillegallypossessingnarcoticandfirearms.Hewaforcet officials intimidatedanverballyabusehim,accusehimwithout Tashkent saythathecountrslowlisbecomingmor e democratic,and apologized fortheincident.Somforeignobserver s interviewedin and ChangeinCentralAsia theCaucasus(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity first congressasteptowardtheemergencofcivi l societyandthe adopted afterindependence.Oneexamplisthfoundin g ofthefirst Democratization?" inKareDawishaandBruceParrott,eds. , Conflict,Cleavage, independent barassociationiAugus1997,which washeraldedatit Practices for1996(Washington , D.C.:U.S.DepartmentofStateBureau Press, 1997)p.398 Democracy, Huma n Rights,andLabor30 January1997). At thesamtime,Karimovsupportersandideology-builderwisho 54. UnitedStatesDepartment ofState,UzbekistanReportonHumanRights 52. WilliamFierman,"PoliticalDevelopmenti n Uzbekistan: 53. Karimov,HozirgiBosqichda, pp.60-61 Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 5 56 professionalization ofthelegalsystem.Anotherexamplisregula Monopolizing Nationalism retribution. Yet,toreaddemocracyanhumanrightsbackintthe Development PrograminTashkent;theycomenowwithlittlfearof flow ofhuman-rightscomplainantttheofficeUnitedNation projects acontemporarynationalidentitbackwardthroughtime,foisting memory, similarlytherecanbofuturforanatiodeprivedfits national historyofUzbekistanwouldtakesomdoing. striking thatthethemesofUzbekistaninationalismarbasicallysam proposed bytheoutlaweIslamicopposition.Bothimplicationsarpart undermine alternativnationalhistories,suchasthIslamicidentity khanates ofKhivaandBukhara.Theseconimplicationattemptt Bek, nownationalheroesandonnon-nationaentitiessuchathe exists, andthateachnationhasasinglehistory.Thfirstimplicatio national history."Thesecommentsimplyboththata"national"histor is whattrulyis.Sincethercanbotalkabouhumanitwithou nationalism, UzbekistanapproximatesMeyer'hypothetica l island. plants, andevenwith"national"institutions.Bu t withregardo changes thatwouldoccurinahypotheticalislan societyiftwere confirms thepredictionmadbyJohMeyerandhicolleague s aboutthe themes foundinotherdecolonizenations:thejumblofterritorial,ethno- of thestatprojectcreatanationalisideologyposhoc,after almost acenturyofexperiencewithconstitutions,economi c plans,power to buildanairport,powerplantspaveroads.Uzbekista n hasd classifying themaccordintoage,genderwealthrights , etc.;itwould for presentpurposes.Thisisomorphismwithgloba l nationalistthemes linguistic, religiousandpoliticalheritagemanipulateorreconstructe independence. Ramirez, "WorldSocietyan theNation-State,"AmericanJournalofSociology face pressurtopromulgataconstitution,economicplans ; itwouldhave "Uzbekistani-ness" onsuchenemiesfUzbekaAmurTimuandUlug Uzbekistan *95 "discovered" bythemodernworld:itwouldstarcountin g itsmembers, 103, 1(1997):144-81 . 56. JohnWMeyer,Boli , GeorgeM.ThomasandFranciscoO 55. Karimov,Uzbekistan:The RoadofIndependenceandProgress,p.62 Given theunusuallystatistorigiofnationalismiUzbekistan,s "History shouldbetreateasthlivingmemorofnation,sincthat Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 57 58 59 to conformcontemporarystandardsfnationhood—andsolidifhi 96 *Kurzman missing themeofthindependencmovement.Whilvirtuallyallother decolonized nations. available fromthSovietpasandexperiencesofother rule—by developinganationalistideology,usinthebuildinblocks Casting aboutformodelsintheearly1990s,Karimovregimsough decolonized countriesglorifythenationalistmobilizationthaleo did existintheyearspriorotheslandmarkevents.Onfmos were duprimarilytoexternalfactors.Yesmalnationalismovements above, thecreationofUzbekistai1924anditsindependenc1991 independence, Uzbekistanhaslittlematerialtoworkwith.Adiscussed Jadids areadequatelyrepresentedinnewhigh-schoo l textbooks—the who waspurgedbytheCommunistin1930s,notanationalher agitated forreligiousanpoliticalreforminthe19101920s, example, AbdurraufFitrat(1886-1938)thescholarandpoliticianwho in Uzbekistasthesuppressioofthesprecursormovements.Fo remarkable aspectsofthofficialnationalismcurrentlybeingdeveloped part ofthetwentiethcenturyearnedthempersecutionbolguar official recognitionofhiscontributions;theonlystreetnamedafterm in post-CommunistUzbekistan.IsawoFitrastatuesrstampandlittle write abouttheminacademicjournals—according toonereport,th Although intellectualsarebeginningtostudythJadidsandfre known astheJadids(thmoderns),whospioneeringactivismiearly of textundertheheadingeducationalreformand threepagesonth are scarcelymentionedinth1997officialEncyclopedia, lessthanapage official nationalismpaysthescantattention.Forexample , theJadids (the khanatesandtsarists)thenpurgebythnewSoviets). in Tashkentsaone-blockalley.Similarlyforhientiregeneration, mention theJadids'politicalactivism,theirachievement s andsetbacks, emergence ofmodernUzbekliterature.Thencyclopedi a doesnot University Press,1992). Greenfeld, Nationalism:Five RoadstoModernity(Cambridge:Harvard reciting insteadasketchyRusso-centricaccountofth e lastdecadesofth Uzbekistan," CentralAsiaMonitor 4(1996):23-30. Where Uzbekistanveersfromglobalisomorphism,howeverith 59. Entsiklopediia, pp.376-77,525-27 57. Seehistoricalparallelsof thisborrowingofnationalistideologyinLiah 58. KenPetersen,"Historyi theRemaking:JadidistThoughinPost-Sovie Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 60 62 61 64 u 63 khanates andafawningaccountoftheSovieconquesregion. mobilizing issueswatheunexplaineddeathofUzbekrecruitin the lat1980s,ahandfulofintellectualsformednillegagroupBirlik the glasnosteratovoicUzbekistanigrievances,andsunclearwha Soviet military,buthemovement'sdeepergoalwaautonomyandlate (unity), toprotestheSovietreatmenfUzbekistan.Amongtheirfirst pride beginninginth1970s. vis Moscow,althoughtheyopposedthedisintegrationofSoviet Communist Partyofficialssoughoimprovethregion'standingvis-a- impact theseprotestshadonSoviepolicies.EveKarimovanother independence, forUzbekistan.Birlikactivistswerenotthonlyonein Uzbekistan •97 places theUzbekistanS.S.R.Communistleadershipiperfecharmony official nationalistlineonthendfSovieera,whichretroactively Union. ObserversalsonotedincreasingindicationfUzbekcultural medical treatment,andexiled.Italsosufferetheignominyfhaving Karimov remainipower,inventinganationalisttraditionwhileth with theallegedlypro-independencsentimentsofpeopl Uzbekistani nationalism—onethathasbeenthoroughlyignoredbth stripped ofitspastanpurpose. its namestolenforaofficialBirlik"movement,in-housversio independence, Birlikwassuppresseditleaderarrestedbeatenrefused Uzbekistan. Theproblemisanobviouone:Soviet-erofficialsuch document inUzbekistan'sofficialnationalismoperate s onasimilarbasis: case, forcontemporarypoliticalends.Eachofthetheme s Ihavetriedto Soviet-era oppositionsuchsBirlikremainiopposition.After May 1990,p.6 Resurgence ofCentralAsia(Karachi : OxfordUniversityPress;anLondonZe Press, 1991);Fierman"Cultura l Nationalism." independent Uzbekistan:theappropriationofpast , literallyinthis Books, 1994)p . 79 More recentnationalisprecursorsarburiedevenmorcruelly.I Birlik andotherprotestorsprovideaninspiringpre-historyfo 61. See,forexamplecoverageofaBirlikcongressinThe Independent,28 60. Ibid.,pp156-68 64. Fierman,"PoliticalDevelopment, " p.392;AhmedRashid,The 63. Entsiklopediia,pp184-87 . 62. JamesCritchlow,Nationalism inUzbekistan(Boulder,Colo.:Westview What clearerallegorycouldtherebfothinventio n oftraditioi Downloaded By: [University of North Carolina] At: 20:20 9 July 2007 mobilized intheservicofUzbeklinguisticnationalism,despitNavoi's 98 * democracies" inordertojustifyauthoritariastatepower. distaste forUzbeks;ancientprecedeniscitednsupporofstatcontrol the actualUzbekstheyfoughtagainsardownplayed;AlisherNavoi Amir TimuandUlughBegareappropriateas"national"heroes,whil reactionary politicalregimesfromthepastarlabeled"Eastern over Islam,whilecontemporaryIslamicmovementsarsuppressed;and —Fouad Ajami,Johns subtlety andelegance." borders. Aworkofreal historical interpreta- "Frontier Fictionsisan Hopkins University physical andcultura Iranian identityand lays barethmakingof tion Abookthat outstanding workof AT FINEBOOKSTORESORCALL800-777-4726•WWW.PUPPRINCETON.EDU Princeton UniversityPress Frontier Fictions Shaping theIranianNation,1804-1946 Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet very tangibleexplanationofwhatconnectspeopla wide rangofaspectsmoderncitizenshipiIran, Iranians viewedtheirfluctuatingborderanthecon- looks at"frontierfictions,"othewayinwhich specific place.Herapproachisintendedtoenricou ogy, travelandmap-making.Kashani-Sabetoffersa nant roleindefiningthnation. flicts surroundingthem,andhowtheseplayeadomi- Cloth $35.00ISBN0-691-00497-8DueDecember also fnationalismeverywhere. understanding notonlyofIraniannationalism,bu Persian language,andwidespreainterestiarchaeol- including loveofhomeland,thhegemony In thisfascinatingstudy,FiroozehKashani-Sabet Her focusongeographyenablehetexplorea Kurzman