Russia and Central Asia: Coexistence, Conquest, Convergence

by Shoshana Keller

Russia and Central Asia provides an overview of the relationship between two dynamic regions, highlighting the ways in which Russia and Central Asia have influenced and been influenced by Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This readable synthesis, covering early coexistence in the seventeenth century to the present day, seeks to encourage new ways of thinking about how the modern world developed.

Shoshana Keller focuses on the five major Stans: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Cultural and social history are interwoven with the military narrative to provide a sense of the people, their religion, and their practices - all of which were severely tested under Stalin.

The text includes a glossary as well as images and maps that help to highlight 500 years of changes, bringing Central Asia into the general narrative of Russian and world history and introducing a fresh perspective on colonialism and modernity.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction

360 pages, Hardcover

First published November 20, 2019

Reviews

[Bookosaurus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The early centuries can make your head spin with names and tribes, but it makes for very interesting reading, good and thorough overview and developments up until Soviet times gives proper birds’ eye view of relations between Russia and CA. Also shows how far back their knowledge of one another really goes, far past their more “official” relations. Fascinating book!

[Mattie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm using this for my research, very well done ☺️

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who wants a well-researched, informative piece on the Russian conquest of Central Asia. Unfortunately, finding cohesive literature on any topic regarding Central Asia is hard to come by, so I was quite taken back on the quality of this work. The only aspect I would have perhaps liked to see more would be a better in-depth insight into the effects of Russian colonialism that is still seen in present day Central Asia. Nonetheless, an excellent read that I would recommend to anyone interested in this area of history!