Tag: History
From “Obey the Tsar” to the “Stalin School”: What Sixty Years of Textbooks Taught Children in Turkestan
From tsarist lessons demanding obedience to Stalin-era primers promoting communist ideals, historical textbooks reveal how successive regimes sought to shape children's loyalties in Central Asia. [...]
Around the corner
A daily stroll through the narrow streets of Bukhara, in Uzbekistan. In the 10th century, when the city had already been inhabited for centuries, these very… [...]
Live watermelons or still life?
A few watermelons await their fate in the entrance hall of Kokil Dara Khanagha. Kokildor-Ota Khanaka in Termez, in the far south of Uzbekistan, was originally… [...]
Abai and Semey
Two men walk by the entrance of the Abai Theater of Semey. The theater, built in a typical Soviet modernist style, is named after Abai Qunanbaiuly, or… [...]
Another fairy tale …
The Burana Tower, located in the Chüy Valley on the outskirts of Bishkek, is a minaret that forms part of the remains of the city of Balasagun… [...]
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“Islands of Soviet power on the steppes”
Out on the Kazakh steppe, in the early days of Soviet rule, so-called red yurts tried to bring the USSR and its communist ideals to those that were most… [...]
Beyond fun and games – the politics of Nowruz
In Central Asia, the beginning of spring is traditionally marked by Nowruz, also known as ‘Persian New Year.’ Typical holiday celebrations include horse games, family visits, and large feasts. [...]