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Rewriting Tajik History
Rewriting Tajik History
Marxist ideology has undoubtedly left deep traces in the scientific thinking of Tajik scholars.
Academics in the young, independent state have to unravel their own academic research and the
work of their predecessors in order to sift scientific results from ideology. In this paper,
presented at the ESCAS V, Mr. Asimov investigates the historical topics that urgently need to
be reviewed. He also presents his views on the problem of russification, a predominant
phenomenon in Soviet Tajikistan.
By M.S. Asimov
The dissolution of the Soviet Union gave rise to a revision of Central Asian history. Although
Central Asian historians of most of this century have been 'formatted' in the Marxist
methodology, which reduced everything to 'class struggle' and denied any human dimension,
it is unacceptable to wipe out everything that was done in those years.
We should by no means pretend to be blind and deny that it was during the years of the Soviet
regime that universities and a highly elaborate network of schools were opened, industry started
to develop, archaeologists discovered important monuments of the past, physicians successfully
fought endemic local diseases, engineers constructed hydropower stations and illiteracy has
overcome in Tajikistan. All this and much more permits me to insist in a very modest way that
it is quite impossible to accept a unilateral negative position to the recent past of Central
Asia.
Having given this caution I shall return to my topic; let us see which periods in the history of
the Tajiks have to be rewritten most urgently, and which problems seen from modern objective
viewpoints, we should investigate first.
The benevolent Russian brother.
One of the most burning issues in our past is the Russian conquest. Central Asia was conquered
by the Russian Empire in the second half of the nineteenth century. Historically it was only
another step in Russian colonial politics which had started in the fifteenth century with the move
to the east.
The Russian conquest of Central Asia was extremely brutal; we possess an impressive testimony
of that terrible brutality in the pictures of the great Russian artist Vereshchagin. In one of his
famous pictures we see a huge hill composed of human heads, heads which Russian soldiers
severed from the bodies of defeated Central Asians.
This colonial conquest was said to be the free choice of Central Asian nations whose single
purpose was to be united with the great and most benevolent Russian brother!
Here lies a very important task for historians: their obligation is to uncover all details, to
describe day by day how Russia conquered Central Asia; sources should be published, archives
opened, the requisite documents handed over to Central Asian scholars. The world should know
the truth about the real deeds of the Russians in Central Asia.
Once conquered, Central Asia was made a deliverer of raw material for the Russian
industry. As far as Tajikistan is concerned, the north grew more prosperous than the south.
The south of the country remained under control of the amir of Bukhara, who was, however,
under Russian protection. The amir regarded the eastern part of his princedom as a kind of
colony; thus the people of this "Eastern Bukhara" experienced double exploitation; they led a
miserable life that is shown in the few contemporary documentaries that still are at our
disposal.
The area that we now regard as Northern Tajikistan was in a more favourable situation: it was
under the direct rule of the Russian governor-general in Tashkent. It became an integral part of
the Russian Empire. The growth of Russia's textile industry augmented the demand for cotton;
this raw material became the main agricultural product in the area. The growth of trade
corresponded to that of agriculture and by 1914 the export of Central Asia was higher than its
import. The growth of trade turned the Central Asian economy from an isolated, self-sufficient
rural economy into a steadily strengthening market-oriented economy. Thus Russian colonization
also brought Central Asia positive innovations. Railways were constructed, new schools, and
gymnasiums opened.
We cannot deny the importance of Russian scholarship. Needless to say that all orientalists are
highly appreciative of Professor Barthold and his incomparable scholarly heritage.
Enlightening on the Jadidists.
Another matter is the anti-Russian resistance in Central Asia. Soviet historiography had to
qualify this as a highly reactionary movement. In the restudy of the resistance movement we
should first turn to role of the enlightened Jadidists. Soviet historians always associated Jadidism
with pan-Turkism; and indeed, Jadidist leaders expected support from Turkey and dreamed of
the unification of the Turkish nations. Since pan-Turkism implied a change of orientation from
Russia to the Turkish nations, it was systematically repressed by Russia, along with Jadidism.
In the years of Stalin's purges the majority of the Jadidists disappeared, even people loosely
connected with them did not escape Stalin's hand. The Jadidists were painted very black indeed
and absolutely no research on their real ideas and actions was permitted: one had simply to
repeat the official formulas.
We know now that the Jadidists were not reactionaries. They were critical of the stagnation in
the old princedoms, and they were against the feudal regime. The Jadidists were fighting for
progress in Central Asia, for the well-being of their nation. I am convinced that our duty is to
convey the truth about them, a process which has already been started. The literary heritage of
the Jadidists has now been published.
A history of the Tajik
It is very important to rewrite the history of the Soviet period, which was until recently the
favourite period for research. At the same time it was the period most subject to control: one
could only write what corresponded closely to the official views. For that reason the enormous
bulk of books, articles, and dissertations which deal with this period must be read more than
critically. The main topics for this period are the so-called revolution in Bukhara, the civil war
in Central Asia, the redistribution of land, and water, the collectivization and industrialization,
and the Communist Party's politics in the realm of culture and education. I would like to stress
once more that we have to be very cautious in order not to swing from one extreme to
another.
We have already started this work in Tajikistan. The Institute for History, Archaeology, and
Anthropology of the Academy of Sciences is preparing a history of the Tajik People from the
most ancient times up to our own day. The first two volumes, which deal with ancient and
medieval history, are ready for print.
Russification.
Let us discuss one of the problems that was of paramount importance to my nation as well as
to our neighbours during all the years of Soviet rule: the problem of russification.
Russification embraced a wide spectrum of different issues: language and script; perception of
the cultural heritage; understanding of national identity; family and everyday life; rituals and
traditions; dress and food; everything underwent russification to a greater or lesser degree.
Ultimately it reflects the global problem of "West" versus "East".
The opposition of "West" to "East" has a very long prehistory. It finally took its shape in the
nineteenth century, when the European countries built their colonial empires A popular thought
was that an abyss separated "West" and "East". We know the verse by Rudyard Kipling:
"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stay presently at God's great Judgment Seat"...
This was a global opposition, but it was even thought that eastern and western brains functioned
in different ways, that not only culture, but patterns of thinking differed drastically. And the
saddest thing was the lamentable idea about the absolute superiority of the "West" compared to
the "East". This is an extreme Eurocentric vision that first of all ignores the differences between
a brilliant variety of Oriental cultures and civilizations. Western culture is only one of the many
cultures that have emerged in the history of mankind.
The problem of russification should be analyzed from this point of view: to what extent did
russification destroy our traditional culture and to what extent did it lead to a blend of eastern
and western culture.
We have to separate two things: first, the compulsory russification, which certainly was a
violation of the very basis of our life; second, the natural and beneficent process of opening
Russian and Western culture to the population of Central Asia.
Compulsory russification started immediately after the conquest, the first tsarist governor-general
of Turkestan, General Kaufman, expressed his views quite succinctly, when he said, that 'the
development of education in the area should move in the direction of what is necessary for
Russians'.
After the Russian revolution exactly the same politics continued to dominate, the only
difference being a rather transparent veil of hypocrisy. Language politics gave obvious
expression to russification. Though it was officially, even solemnly, proclaimed that all
languages were equal and have the same rights, practically speaking some languages were
more equal than others, and the "most equal" was, of course, Russian. Russian was not only
used for interethnic contact, it was introduced to serve as a language for all kinds of official
and semi-official documentation; it was even impossible to send a cablegram in Tajik.
Non-Russian languages were expected to function in a very restricted area - in countryside
settlements and for the writing of fiction.
Only after 1989 did it become possible to proclaim Tajik the official state language;
however, the war and economic problems have not allowed us to do now what we intended.
But several positive steps have been undertaken:
There were many other examples of russification, for instance, our national holidays and
feasts had been forbidden, instead new soviet feasts were introduced. Now the situation has
changed; we have again our Nawruz and Mehrgan, Idi Qurban, and Idi Ramazan.
As I already told you, it would be a great mistake to consider everything connected to the
Russian culture as compulsory russification. Through Russia we adopted many
highly-developed forms of culture, we have now our national operas and symphony
orchestra, novels and modern poetry, painting and sculpture. Tajik translations of
Shakespeare helped us to raise a generation of talented actors, who are popular far beyond
the frontiers of Tajikistan.
We have a keen appreciation of the great humanistic culture of the West, which should
pertain to the whole world; as do the great cultures of the East. It is impossible to solve and
even to enumerate all the problems we have after we achieved Independence. Our
expectations are for the future.
M.S. Asimov is affiliated to the Tajik Academy of Sciences,
Dushanbe
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