Imperial desert dreams : : cotton growing and irrigation in Central Asia, 1860-1991 / / Julia Obertreis.

• Superior document: Kultur- und Sozialgeschichte Osteuropas : Band 8
• VerfasserIn: Obertreis, Julia,
• Place / Publishing House: Göttingen, [Germany] : : V&R unipress,, 2018.
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Kultur- und Sozialgeschichte Osteuropas : Band 8; Cultural and Social History of Eastern Europe ; Band 8
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (537 pages) :; illustrations, maps.

Officials, engineers, and scientists of the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union planned to expand and modernize irrigation systems and cotton cultivation in Central Asia. The study, which examines contemporary Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, emphasizes the discursive and political continuities across the 1917 turning point. One of the central themes was the transformation of 'dead' steppes and deserts into 'blooming oases'. High modernism reached its peak in the post-war decades. Since the 1970s, an eco-criticism of Soviet modernization has developed, which gained momentum during the perestroika period. Ultimately, the ecological, economic and social consequences of growth-oriented modernization contributed to the collapse of the communist regime. Officials, engineers and scientists in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union envisaged the expansion and modernization of irrigation systems and cotton growing in Central Asia. Focusing on the region of today's Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, this book highlights the continuities in discourse and politics beyond the historical divide of 1917. One of the central topoi was the transformation of 'dead' lands into 'blossoming oases'. High modernism policies hit their peak in the post-war decades. From the 1970s, an ecological critique evolved which gained momentum in the Perestroika period. Ultimately, the grave ecological, economic and social consequences of the growth-fixated modernization contributed to the downfall of the Communist regime. Biographical information Prof. Dr. Obertreis holds the chair for modern and contemporary history with a focus on the history of Eastern Europe at the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Table of Contents

Introduction -- I Russian colonial rule i Turkestan, 1860-1917 -- II Soviet nation-building and Stalinism, 1917-1944 -- III High modernism in Central Asia, 1945-1969 -- IV a time of crisis, 1970-1991 -- Conclusion -- Glossary -- List of maps and illustrations -- Bibliography -- Index.