View source for Soviet Central Asia

{{Short description|Section of Central Asia formerly controlled by the Soviet Union}}
{{Hatnote|For the geographical subregion in general, see [[Central Asia]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

{{Infobox continent
|title          = Soviet Central Asia
|image          = Central Asia (orthographic projection).svg
|area           = {{convert|4003451|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|demonym        = Central Asian, Soviet
|countries      = {{USSR}}<br> {{collapsible list
|title = [[Republics of the Soviet Union|5 Republics]]
| {{flagdeco|Kazakh SSR|size=88px}} [[Kazakhstan]]
| {{flagdeco|Kyrgyz SSR|size=88px}} [[Kyrgyzstan]]
| {{flagdeco|Tajik SSR|size=88px}}
[[Tajikistan]]
| {{flagdeco|Turkmen SSR|size=88px}} [[Turkmenistan]]
| {{flagdeco|Uzbek SSR|size=88px}} [[Uzbekistan]]
 }}
|dependencies        = 
|languages           = [[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Tajik language|Tajik]], [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]], [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]], and [[#Languages|Others]]
|time                = {{collapsible list
  | title       = 2 time zones 
  | bullets     = true
  | '''[[UTC+05:00]]''':
   {{hlist
    | Standard: [[Time in Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]] (5 regions), [[Time in Tajikistan|Tajikistan]], [[Time in Turkmenistan|Turkmenistan]], [[Time in Uzbekistan|Uzbekistan]]
   }}
  | '''[[UTC+06:00]]''':
   {{hlist
    | Standard: Kazakhstan (4 cities, 9 regions), [[Kyrgyzstan Time|Kyrgyzstan]]
   }}
 }}
|internet            = [[.su]], [[.kg]], [[.kz]], [[.tj]], [[.tm]], [[.uz]]
|calling_code        = [[List of country calling codes|Zone 9 except Kazakhstan (Zone 7)]]
|cities              = 
{{collapsible list
 | title = List{{efn|With population over 500,000 people}}
 | bullets = true
  | {{flagicon|Kazakh SSR}} [[Almaty|Alma-Ata]]
  | {{flagicon|Turkmen SSR}} [[Ashgabat|Ashkhabad]]
  | {{flagicon|Kyrgyz SSR}} [[Bishkek|Frunze]]
  | {{flagicon|Tajik SSR}} [[Dushanbe]]
  | {{flagicon|Kazakh SSR}} [[Karaganda]]
  | {{flagicon|Uzbek SSR}} [[Namangan]]
  | {{flagicon|Uzbek SSR}} [[Samarkand]]
  | {{flagicon|Kazakh SSR}} [[Shymkent]]
  | {{flagicon|Uzbek SSR}} [[Tashkent]]
 | {{flagicon|Kazakh SSR}} [[Astana|Tselinograd]]
 }}
|m49                 = <code>143</code> – [[Central Asia]]<br /><code>142</code> – [[Asia]]<br /><code>001</code> – World
|footnotes           = {{notelist}}
}}

[[File:Central Asia borders4.png|thumb|250px|Map of '''Central Asia''' showing three sets of possible [[Eurasia]]n boundaries for the [[subregion]]]]

'''Soviet Central Asia''' ({{lang-rus|Советская Средняя Азия|Sovetskaya Srednyaya Aziya}}) was the part of [[Central Asia]] administered by the [[Soviet Union]] between 1918 and 1991, when the Central Asian republics declared independence. It is nearly synonymous with [[Russian Turkestan]] in the [[Russian Empire]]. Soviet Central Asia went through many territorial divisions before the current borders were created in the 1920s and 1930s.

==Administrative divisions==
===Former divisions===
====Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic====
{{Main|Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic}}

[[File:SovietCentralAsia1922.svg|right|250px|thumb|Map of Soviet Central Asia in 1922 with the Turkestan ASSR and the Kyrgyz ASSR]]

By the end of the 19th century, Russian [[tsar]]s effectively ruled over most of the territory that later would constitute Soviet Central Asia. Russia annexed [[Issyk-Kul|Lake Issyk Kul]] in north east [[Kyrgyzstan]] from China in the early 1860s, lands of [[Turkmens]], [[Khanate of Khiva]], [[Emirate of Bukhara]] in the second half of 1800s.

Emerging from the Russian Empire following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War of 1918–1921, the USSR was a union of several Soviet republics, but the synecdoche Russia – after its largest and dominant constituent state – continued to be commonly used throughout the state's existence. ''Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic'' (initially Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic) (30 April 1918 – 27 October 1924) was created from the [[Turkestan Krai]] of [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia]]. Its capital was [[Tashkent]], population about 500,000.

British and Persian forces briefly tried to reach [[Baku]] in Azerbaijan and the Turkmen port of [[Krasnovodsk]]. [[Bukhara]], [[Khiva]], [[Samarkand]], [[Kokand]], [[Dushanbe]] and the former [[Transcaspian Oblast|Trans-Caspian Province]] would see various anti-Bolshevik risings over the next few years.

In 1924, it was split into [[Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast]] (now [[Karakalpakstan]]), [[Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast]] (now [[Kyrgyzstan]]), [[Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik ASSR]] (now [[Tajikistan]]), [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmen SSR]] (now [[Turkmenistan]]), and [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]] (now [[Uzbekistan]]).

====Bukharan People's Soviet Republic====
{{Main|Bukharan People's Soviet Republic|Bukhara operation (1920)}}

[[File:Flag of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic.svg|thumb|Flag of the Bukharan PSR]]

In March 1918, activists of the [[Young Bukharans|Young Bukharian Movement]] informed the [[Bolsheviks]] that the [[Bukhara]]ns were ready for the revolution and that the people were awaiting liberation. The [[Red Army]] marched to the gates of Bukhara and demanded that the [[emir]] surrender the city to the Young Bukharans. As Russian sources report, the emir responded by murdering the Bolshevik delegation, along with several hundred Russian inhabitants of Bukhara and the surrounding territories. The majority of Bukharans did not support an invasion and the ill-equipped and ill-disciplined Bolshevik army fled back to the Soviet stronghold at Tashkent.

However, the emir had won only a temporary respite. As the civil war in Russia wound down, Moscow sent reinforcements to Central Asia. On 2 September 1920, an army of well-disciplined and well equipped Red Army troops under the command of Bolshevik general [[Mikhail Frunze]] attacked the city. After four days of fighting, the emir's citadel (Arc) was destroyed, the [[Red flag (politics)|Red flag]] was raised from the top of [[Po-i-Kalyan|Kalyan Minaret]], and the Emir [[Mohammed Alim Khan|Alim Khan]] was forced to flee to his base at [[Dushanbe]] in [[Eastern Bukharan]], and finally to [[Kabul]], Afghanistan.

A nearby anti-Bolshevik stronghold in the Tadjik/Moslem village of Khangir (qingir) declared its independence shortly afterwards, but soon surrendered after a 14-day siege by Russian and Bokhkori Bolsheviks. It was then quickly re-integrated back into Communist Bokhorah.

The Bukharan People's Republic was proclaimed on 8 October 1920 under [[Faizullah Khojaev]]. The overthrow of the Emir was the impetus for the [[Basmachi movement|Basmachi Revolt]], an anti-Russian rebellion. In 1922, most of the territory of the republic was controlled by [[Basmachi]], surrounding the city of Bukhara. [[Joseph Stalin]] would later [[purge]] and exile many of the local [[Bukhori]] people as well as most of the local Jewish community from the former [[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic]].

Prior to the establishment of the state of Israel, the [[Bukharian Jews]] were one of the most isolated Jewish communities in the world.

====Khorezm People's Soviet Republic and SSR====
{{Main|Khorezm People's Soviet Republic}}

[[File:Flag of Khiva 1920-1923.svg|thumb|Flag of the Khorezm PSR]]

The Khorezm People's Soviet Republic was created as the successor to the [[Khanate of Khiva]] in February 1920 and officially declared on 26 April 1920. On 20 October 1923, it was transformed into the Khorezm Socialist Soviet Republic. The [[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic|Khorezm SSR]] only survived until 17 February 1925, when it was divided between [[Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast]], the [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmen SSR]], and the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]] as part of the reorganization of Central Asia by Moscow according to nationalities.

====Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast====
{{Main|Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast}}

The Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast (Кара-Киргизская АО) was created on 14 October 1924 within the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] from the predominantly Kazakh and Kyrgyz parts of the [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]]. On 15 May 1925 it was renamed into the Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast. On 11 February 1926 it was reorganized into the [[Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (1926–1936)|Kyrgyz ASSR]]. On 5 December 1936 it became the [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Kyrgyz SSR]], one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union.

====Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast====
{{Main|Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast}}

The Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast was created on 19 February 1925 by separating lands of the ethnic [[Karakalpaks]] from the [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] and [[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic]].

Initially located within the [[Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic]], the [[Karakalpaks|Karakalpak]] A.O. was transferred to the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|RSFSR]] from 20 July 1930 to 20 March 1932, at which time it was elevated to the [[Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]]. The Karakalpak ASSR was joined to the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]] on 5 December 1936.

====Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic====
{{Main|Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic}}

The Kazakh ASSR was an autonomous republic of the [[Soviet Union]]. It became the Kazakh SSR on 5 December 1936.

Its original name was the [[Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic#History|Kirgiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]]. This ASSR was established on 26 August 1920, and was a part of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] (RSFSR)

In 1925 it was renamed the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1929 the city of [[Almaty]] (Alma-Ata) was designated as the capital of the ASSR.

===Soviet Republics===
====Kazakhstan====
{{Main|Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic}} 
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The '''[[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]]''', also known as '''Kazakhstan''', was established on 5 December 1936. It was initially called [[Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic#History|Kyrgyz ASSR]] (Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) and was a part of the Russian SFSR. On 15–19 April 1925, it was renamed Kazakh ASSR and on 5 December 1936 it became a Union Republic of the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] called Kazakh SSR in the culminating act of the [[Boundary delimitation#National delimitation|national delimitation]] in the Soviet Union. During the 1950s and 1960s Soviet citizens were urged to settle in the "[[Virgin Lands campaign|Virgin Lands]]" of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The influx of immigrants (mostly [[Russians]] and [[Ukrainians]], but also some forcibly resettled ethnic minorities, such as the [[Volga Germans]] and the [[Chechens]]) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-[[Kazakhs]] to outnumber natives. The influx also deprived the Kazakhs of much pasture land, making it increasingly difficult to sustain the nomadic way of life. Industry, and especially mining, developed. Russian and European culture began to influence Kazakh society.<ref>{{cite web|title=Central Asia|url=http://react.usip.org/downloads/module6.pdf|website=U.S. ONLINE TRAINING FOR OSCE}}</ref>

In 1924, the borders of political units in Central Asia were changed along ethnic lines determined by [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]]'s [[Commissar]] for Nationalities, [[Joseph Stalin]]. The [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkestan ASSR]], the [[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic|Bukharan People's Republic]], and the [[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic|Khorezm People's Republic]] were abolished and their territories were divided into eventually five separate [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet Socialist Republics]], one of which was the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. The next year the Uzbek SSR became one of the republics of the Soviet Union.

[[Almaty]] is the largest city in [[Kazakhstan]], with a population of 1,226,000 (as of 1 August 2005).<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=64678 С начала года население Алматы увеличилось на 1,4%] Gazeta.kz</ref> The [[ethnic group]]s in a 2003 census were: Kazakh 43.6%, Russian 40.2%, Uyghur 5.7%, Tatar 2.1%, Korean 1.8%, Ukrainian 1.7%, German 0.7%.

[[Kyzylorda|Kyzil Orda]] / [[Kyzylorda]] was founded in 1820 as a Kokand fortress of Ak-Mechet (also spelt Aq Masjid, Aq Mechet, 'white mosque'). The name comes from the Kazakh for 'Red center'.

[[Uralsk]] / [[Oral, Kazakhstan|Oral]] was founded in 1613 by Cossacks, was originally named [[Oral, Kazakhstan|Yaitsk]], after the [[Ural (river)|Yaik River]]. The city was put under siege during the Russian Civil War. It has a population of 210,600. It is the capital of the West Kazakhstan Province. Ethnic composition is dominated by Russians (54%), Kazakhs (34%), along with a few Ukrainians and Germans.

====Kirghizia====
{{Main|Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic}}
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The '''[[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic]]''' (sometimes spelled Kyrgyz), also known as '''Kirghizia''', was one of [[Republics of the Soviet Union|fifteen constituent republics]] of the Soviet Union. Established on 14 October 1924 as the [[Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast]] of the [[Russian SFSR]], it was transformed into the Kyrgyz ASSR ([[Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (1926–1936)|Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]]) on 1 February 1926, still being a part of the Russian SFSR. Today it is the independent state of [[Kyrgyzstan]] in Central Asia. Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Kyrgyz ASSR) was the name of two different national entities within Russian SFSR, in the territories of modern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

On 5 December 1936, it became a separate constituent republic of the USSR as the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic during the final stages of the [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union]].

[[Bishkek]] was the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan and the Kirghiz ASSR, with a population of approximately 900,000 in 2005. In 1862, the [[Russian Empire]] destroyed the local fort and began to settle the area with Russian migrants. Over the years many fertile black soil farms were developed by the [[Tsar]]ists and, later, the process carried on by the [[USSR]]. In 1926, the city became the capital of the newly established [[Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (1926–1936)|Kirghiz ASSR]] and was renamed Frunze after the Bolshevik hero [[Mikhail Frunze]], one of [[Lenin]]'s close associates who was born in Bishkek, until Kirghiz independence in 1991.

====Tajikistan====
{{Main|Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic}}
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The '''[[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic]]''', also named '''Tajikistan''' (or by its Russian spelling, '''Tadzhikistan'''), was one of the new states created in Central Asia in 1924 was [[Uzbekistan]], which had the status of a [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet socialist republic]]. In 1929 [[Tajikistan]] was detached from [[Uzbekistan]] and given full status as a Soviet socialist republic. The city of Dushanbe would become an important regional hub on the border with Afghanistan.

Tajikistan has 3 [[exclaves]], all of them located in the Fergana Valley region where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet. The largest is [[Vorukh]] (with an area between 95 – 130&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>/37 – 50 sq mi, population estimated between 23,000 and 29,000, 95% Tajiks and 5% Kyrgyz, distributed among 17 villages), located {{convert|45|km|mi}} south of [[Isfara]] on the right bank of the river [[Karavshin]], in Kyrgyz territory. Another exclave in Kyrgyzstan is a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of [[Kairagach]]. The last is the village of [[Sarvan, Tajikistan|Sarvan]], which includes a narrow, long strip of land (about {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} long by 1&nbsp;km (over ½ mi) wide) alongside the road from [[Angren, Uzbekistan|Angren]] to [[Kokand]]; it is surrounded by Uzbek territory. There are no foreign enclaves within Tajikistan.

In 1931, the city formerly known as "Dyushambe" was renamed "Stalinabad" (after Joseph Stalin), but in 1961, as part of [[Nikita Khrushchev]]'s [[de-Stalinization]] initiative, the city was renamed ''[[Dushanbe]]''. The [[Soviets]] transformed the area into a centre for cotton and silk production, and relocated tens of thousands of people to the city from around the Soviet Union. The population also increased with thousands of ethnic Tajiks migrating to [[Tajikistan]] following the transfer of Bukhara and Samarkand to the [[Uzbek SSR]]. [[Dushanbe]] later became the home to a university and the [[Tajik Academy of Sciences]]. Dushanbe also had a relatively high military population during the war with [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]].

====Turkmenia====
{{Main|Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic}}
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The '''[[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic]]''' which is also known as '''Turkmenia''' (or sometimes known as '''Turkmenistan''') was one of [[Republics of the Soviet Union|fifteen constituent republics]] of the Soviet Union. It was initially established on 7 August 1921 as [[Turkmen Oblast]] of the [[Turkestan ASSR]]. On 13 May 1925 it was transformed into Turkmen SSR and became a separate republic of the Soviet Union. Today it is the independent state of [[Turkmenistan]] in Central Asia.

The [[Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR]] was the ruling communist party of the Turkmen SSR, and a part of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]. From 1985 it was led by Mr [[Saparmurat Niyazov]], who in 1991 renamed the party to the [[Democratic Party of Turkmenistan]], which is no longer a communist party . The current [[Communist Party of Turkmenistan (1998)|Communist Party of Turkmenistan]] is illegal.<ref>[http://www.broadleft.org/tm.htm Leftist Parties of Turkmenistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722185703/http://www.broadleft.org/tm.htm |date=22 July 2012 }} Leftist Parties of the World</ref>

[[Ashgabat|Ashkhabad]] has a population of 695,300 (2001 census estimate) and has a primarily [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]] population, with minorities of ethnic [[Russians]], [[Armenians]], and [[Azerbaijani people|Azeris]]. It is 920&nbsp;km from the second largest city in [[Iran]], [[Mashhad]]. The principal industries are cotton textiles and metal working.

[[Merv]] / [[Mary, Turkmenistan|Mary]] is an ancient city. Its population was 123,000 in 1999. It has an interesting regional museum and lies near the remains of the ancient city of Merv, which, through its corrupted form, gives its name to the modern town. [[Carpets]] from the region of Merv are sometimes considered superior to the [[Persia]]n ones.

====Uzbekistan====
{{Main|Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic}}
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The '''[[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic]]''', also referred to as '''Uzbekistan''', was created in 1924 when the new national boundaries separating the Uzbek and Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republics cut off the eastern end of the Fergana Valley, as well as the slopes surrounding it. This was compounded in 1928 when the [[Tajik ASSR]] became a fully-fledged republic, the [[Tajik SSR]], and the area around [[Khujand|Khodjend]] was made a part of it. This blocked the valley's natural outlet and the routes to Samarkand and Bukhara, but none of these borders was of any great significance so long as Soviet rule lasted.

The Uzbek SSR included the Tajik ASSR until 1929, when the Tajik ASSR was upgraded to an equal status. In 1930, the Uzbek SSR capital was relocated from [[Samarkand]] to [[Tashkent]]. In 1936, the Uzbek SSR was enlarged with the addition of the [[Karakalpak ASSR]] taken from the [[Kazakh SSR]] in the last stages of the [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union]]. Further bits and pieces of territory were transferred several times between the Kazakh SSR and the Uzbek SSR after World War II. During the [[Great Purge]]s of Joseph Stalin, many thousands of [[Chechens]], [[Koreans]] and [[Crimean Tatars]] were exiled to the Uzbek SSR.

The State Anthem of the Uzbek SSR was the [[national anthem]] of [[Uzbekistan]] when it was a republic of the Soviet Union and known as the [[Uzbek SSR]].

The city of [[Tashkent]] began to industrialize in the 1920s and 1930s, but industry increased tremendously during [[World War II]], with the relocation of factories from western Russia to preserve the Soviet industrial capacity from the hostile invading [[Nazis]]. The Russian population increased dramatically as well, with evacuees from the war zones increasing the population to well over a million. (The Russian community would eventually comprise more than half of the total residents of Tashkent by the 1980s.) On 26 April 1966, Tashkent was destroyed by an [[1966 Tashkent earthquake|earthquake]] and over 300,000 were left homeless. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Tashkent was the fourth largest Soviet city and a major center of learning in the fields of science and engineering.

As the nation's capital, Tashkent is still a fairly prosperous city and the capital of Uzbekistan and has a population of the city in 2006 was 2.1 million. The city has been the target of several terrorist acts since gaining independence. These have been attributed by the Uzbek the government to Islamic insurgents aided by the Afghan [[Taliban]].

[[Samarkand]] is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and Europe ([[Silk Road]]). In 1370, Timur the Lame, or [[Tamerlane]], decided to make [[Samarkand]] the capital of his empire, which extended from India to [[Turkey]]. Despite its status as the second city of [[Uzbekistan]], the majority of the city's inhabitants are Persian-speaking [[Tājik people|Tajiks]]. The city a became rich trading center as a major capital of the [[Silk Road]] between China and the West. The [[Timurid dynasty]]'s extensive building in Samarkand produced monuments that rank amongst some of the most striking in the Islamic world.

==Nationalist rebellions==
===Turkestan Autonomy===
{{Main|Turkestan Autonomy}}

[[File:Flag of the Turkestan (Kokand) Autonomy.svg|thumb|right |200px|Flag of the Turkestan Autonomy, 1917–18]]

Kokand is a city in [[Fergana Province]] in eastern [[Uzbekistan]], at the southwestern edge of the [[Fergana Valley]]. By 1999 it had a population of 192,500. Kokand is 228&nbsp;km southeast of [[Tashkent]], 115&nbsp;km west of [[Andijan]], and 88&nbsp;km west of [[Fergana]]. It is nicknamed "City of Winds", or sometimes "Town of the Boar". It is at an altitude of 409 meters.

Kokand is on the crossroads of the ancient trade routes, at the junction of two main routes into the Fergana Valley, one leading northwest over the mountains to Tashkent, and the other west through [[Khujand]]. As a result, [[Kokand]] is the main transportation junction in the Fergana Valley.

Russian imperial forces under [[Mikhail Skobelev]] captured the city in 1876 which then became part of [[Russian Turkistan]]. With the fall of the [[Russian Empire]], a [[provisional government]] attempted to maintain control in Tashkent. It was quickly overthrown and local [[Muslim]] opposition crushed. In April 1918, Tashkent became the capital of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ([[Turkestan ASSR]]). It was the capital of the short-lived (1917–18) [[Russian Provisional Government|Anti-Bolshevik Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkistan]] (also known as the Turkestan Autonomy).

===Alash Autonomy===
{{Main|Alash Autonomy}}

[[File: Proposed Flag of the Alash Autonomy.svg|thumb|200px|left|The flag of the [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]]'s [[Alash Autonomy]] (Алаш Автономиясы). It was declared in 1917 and was dissolved in 1920.]]

The ''Alash Autonomy'' ({{lang-kk|Алаш Автономиясы}}, {{lang|kk-latn|Alash Аýtonomıasy}}; {{lang-ru|link=no|Алашская Автономия}}, {{lang|ru-latn|Alashskaya avtonomiya}}) was a [[Sovereign state|state]] that existed between 13 December 1917 and 26 August 1920, located roughly on the territory of present-day [[Republic of Kazakhstan]]. The capital city was [[Semey]] (referred to at the time as ''Alash-qala'').

The ''Alash Orda'' ({{lang-kk|Алаш Орда'}}, {{lang|kk-latn|Alaş Orda}}) was the name of the provisional Kazakh government between 13 December 1917 and 26 August 1920. It was led by [[Akhmet Baytursinuli]], [[Alikhan Bokeikhanov]] and [[Mirjaqip Dulatuli]] amongst others.

The [[Alash (party)|Alash Party]] proclaimed the autonomy of the Kazakh people in December 1917. Membership consists from 25 members (10 positions reserved for non-Kazakhs) and 15 member candidates. They formed special educational commission and established militia regiments as their armed forces.

[[File:XXth Century Citizen's Atlas map of Central Asia.png|thumb|right|200px|The borders of the Russian imperial territories of [[Khiva]], [[Bukhara]] and [[Kokand]] in the time period of 1902–1903.]]

=== Basmachi revolt ===
{{Main|Basmachi movement}}

In 1897, the railway reached [[Tashkent]], and finally in 1906 a direct rail link with European Russia was opened across the [[steppe]] from [[Orenburg]] to [[Tashkent]]. This led to much larger numbers of [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] settlers flowing into [[Turkestan]] than had hitherto been the case, and their settlement was overseen by a specially created [[Emigration|Migration]] Department in [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]] (Переселенческое Управление). This caused considerable discontent amongst the local population, [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]], [[Kazakhs]] and [[Sart]]s, as these settlers took scarce land and water resources away from them. In 1916 discontent boiled over in the [[Basmachi Revolt]], sparked by a decree conscripting the natives into [[Labour battalion]]s (they had previously been exempt from military service). Thousands of settlers were killed, and this was matched by Russian reprisals, particularly against the [[nomadic]] population. The competition for land and water which ensued between the Kazakhs and the newcomers caused great resentment against colonial rule during the final years of [[Tsarist]] Russia, with the most serious uprising, the [[Central Asian Revolt]], occurring in 1916. The Kazakhs attacked Russian and [[Cossack]] villages, killing indiscriminately. The Russians' [[revenge]] was merciless. A military force drove 300,000 Kazakhs to flee into the mountains or to China. When [[Approximation|approximately]] 80,000 of them returned the next year, many of them were slaughtered by Tsarist forces. Order had not really been restored by the time the [[February Revolution]] took place in 1917. This would usher in a still bloodier chapter in Turkestan's history, as the [[Bolsheviks]] of the [[Tashkent Soviet]] (made up entirely of Russian soldiers and railway workers, with no Muslim members) launched an attack on the autonomous [[Jadid]] government in [[Kokand]] early in 1918, which left 14,000 dead. Resistance to the [[Bolsheviks]] by the local population (dismissed as '[[Basmachi Revolt|Basmachi]]' or '[[Banditry]]' by [[Soviet historians]]) continued well into the 1920s.

===Kengir uprising===
{{Main|Kengir uprising}}

During the rule of Joseph Stalin, a prison labour camp of the Steplag division of the [[Gulag]] was set up adjacent to the village of [[Kengir]], near the River Kengir in central Kazakhstan. It was mentioned in [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]]'s book, ''[[The Gulag Archipelago]]''. The location of the camp was near the city of Dzhezkazgan. Russian actor [[Oleg Yankovsky]] is the most famous of the city's natives. There was a prison revolt in 1954, by [[political prisoner]]s, criminals, and other inmates.

===Exiles===
{{See also|Minorities in Turkey#Uzbeks|Uzbeks in Pakistan}}

Dissident Islamist and anti-Soviet Central Asians fled to Afghanistan, British India, and to the Hijaz in Saudi Arabia.<ref>http://carnegieendowment.org/files/cp_77_olcott_roots_final.pdf http://carnegieendowment.org/files/olcottroots.pdf page 8</ref><ref>https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/research/reportcentralasiaislamicextremism.pdf page 7</ref> The last Emir of Bukhara [[Mohammed Alim Khan]] fled to Afghanistan. The Islamist Uzbek [[Sayyid Qāsim bin Abd al-Jabbaar Al-Andijaani|As-Sayyid Qāsim bin Abd al-Jabbaar Al-Andijaani]](السيد قاسم بن عبد الجبار الأنديجاني) was born in Fergana valley's Andijan city in Turkestan (Central Asia). He went to British India was educated at Darul Uloom Deoband,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://islamhouse.com/ar/author/243088/|title=قاسم بن عبد الجبار الأنديجاني - أعلام وشخصيات}}</ref> and then returned to Turkestan where he preached against Communist Russian rule.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vb.tafsir.net/tafsir36755/|title=(منبع العرفان) تفسير كبير باللغة الأوزبكية (القديمة) بالحرف العربي - ملتقى أهل التفسير}}</ref> He then fled to Afghanistan, then to British India and then to Hijaz where he continued his education in Mecca and Medina and wrote several works on Islam and engaged in anti-Soviet activities.

Uzbek exiles in Saudi Arabia from Soviet ruled Central Asia also adopted the identity "Turkistani".<ref name="Schlyter2005">{{cite book|first=Birgit N.|last=Schlyter|title=Prospects for Democracy in Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eZASCqNASlEC&pg=PA245|year=2005|publisher=Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul|isbn=978-91-86884-16-1|page=245}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cess.memberclicks.net/assets/cesr2/CESR3/article%203%20v3n1.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045534/https://cess.memberclicks.net/assets/cesr2/CESR3/article%203%20v3n1.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A lot of them are also called "Bukhari".<ref name="MaiselShoup2009">{{cite book|first1=Sebastian|last1=Maisel|first2=John A.|last2=Shoup|title=Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab States Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Arab States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhJu2_8vMkMC&pg=PA145|date=February 2009|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-34442-8|page=145}}</ref><ref>http://archive.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=43&article=473739&issueno=10783 https://bukhariyon.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/22042009.jpg?w=765 https://bukhariyon.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/n873330654_6177366_2107662.jpg?w=450&h=338 https://bukhariyon.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/4491_110812876759_697671759_3186263_7497572_n.jpg?w=338&h=450 https://bukhariyon.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/n629897282_964239_5928.jpg?w=450&h=338 https://bukhariyon.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/n615363233_1080293_6221.jpg?w=450&h=338 https://bukhariyon.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%87%D9%85%D8%9F/ https://bukhariyon.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/البخاريون-من-هم؟/ http://www.turkistanweb.com/?p=2156 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402060020/http://www.turkistanweb.com/?p=2156 |date=2 April 2016 }} http://turkistan.ahlamontada.com/t202-topic https://twitter.com/Abunass3r/status/726845854896820225</ref> A number of Saudi "Uzbeks" do not consider themselves as Uzbek and instead consider themselves as Muslim Turkestanis.<ref>{{cite book|first=Birgit N.|last=Schlyter|title=Prospects for Democracy in Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eZASCqNASlEC&pg=PA246|year=2005|publisher=Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul|isbn=978-91-86884-16-1|page=246}}</ref> Many Uzbeks in Saudi Arabia adopted the [[Nisba (onomastics)#Nisba to a place|Arabic nisba]] of their home city in Uzbekistan, such as Al Bukhari from Bukhara, Al Samarqandi from Samarqand, Al Tashkandi from Tashkent, Al Andijani from Andijan, Al Kokandi from Kokand, Al Turkistani from Turkistan.

Bukhari and Turkistani were labels for all the Uzbeks in general while specific names for Uzbeks from different places were Farghani, Marghilani, Namangani, and Kokandi.<ref>https://cess.memberclicks.net/assets/cesr2/CESR3/article%203%20v3n1.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045534/https://cess.memberclicks.net/assets/cesr2/CESR3/article%203%20v3n1.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }} page 16</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Complexity of Central Eurasia|url=https://www.academia.edu/3083768|page= 16|last1=Cutler |first1=Robert M. }}</ref> Kokandi was used to refer to Uzbeks from Ferghana.<ref>{{Cite book|doi=10.1057/9780230376434|title=The Soviet Legacy in Central Asia |year=1999 |last1=Glenn |first1=John |isbn=978-1-349-40743-9 }}</ref>

Shami Domullah introduced Salafism to Soviet Central Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pulsofcentralasia.org/2015/03/31/special-dangerous-preaching-the-role-of-religious-leaders-in-the-rise-of-radical-islam-in-central-asia-by-nurbek-bekmurzaev/ |title=Special: Dangerous Preaching: The Role of Religious Leaders in the Rise of Radical Islam in Central Asia. By Nurbek Bekmurzaev |access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035301/http://pulsofcentralasia.org/2015/03/31/special-dangerous-preaching-the-role-of-religious-leaders-in-the-rise-of-radical-islam-in-central-asia-by-nurbek-bekmurzaev/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="KemperMotika2009">{{cite book|first1=Michael|last1=Kemper|first2=Raoul|last2=Motika|first3=Stefan|last3=Reichmuth|author3-link=Stefan Reichmuth (academic)|title=Islamic Education in the Soviet Union and Its Successor States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-gWAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA247|date=11 September 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-20731-2|page=247}}</ref>

Mosques in Uzbekistan are funded by Saudi-based Uzbeks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tol.org/client/article/1767-the-myth-of-militant-islam-uzbekistan.html?print.|title = The Myth of Militant Islam: Uzbekistan|date = 29 December 1995}}</ref>

Saudis have tried to propagate their version of Islam into Uzbekistan following the collapse of the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ca-c.org/journal/2001/journal_eng/cac-01/13.abbe.shtml |title=CA&C; Press AB |access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-date=25 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625024332/https://www.ca-c.org/journal/2001/journal_eng/cac-01/13.abbe.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/nceeer/2007_819-01g_Collins.pdf page 16</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/273897|title = Hidden Linkages: The Republic of Uzbekistan and the Gulf Region in Changing World Order|last1 = Kalra|first1 = Prajakti}}</ref><ref name="Gorder2008">{{cite book|author=Christian van Gorder|title=Muslim-Christian Relations in Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWqTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA80|date=5 June 2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-97169-4|page=80}}</ref>

Saudi Arabia's "Bukharian brethren" were led by Nuriddin al-Bukhari as of 1990.<ref name="Association1990">{{cite book|author=Central Asian Studies Association|title=Central Asia File: Newsletter of the Central Asian Studies Association|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLERAQAAMAAJ|year=1990|publisher=School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|page=20}}</ref>

==Industry==
[[File:1982 expedition to Tartu Ülikool 350 (14).jpg|thumb|The highest peaks in the Soviet Union were located inside Central Asia. That attracted a lot of mountaineers into the area.]]

===Oil and gas===
After [[World War II]] the Soviet Union rapidly industrialized Kazakhstan and started prospecting for oil in the whole of Soviet Central Asia. Oil was found in Uzbekistan and both [[oil and gas]] were found in Turkmenistan. These fuel supplies would prove invaluable to the region over the coming years.

The central part of the [[geological depression]] that forms the Ferghana Valley is characterized by [[block subsidence]], originally to depths estimated at 6–7&nbsp;km, largely filled with [[sediments]] that range in age as far back as the [[Permian-Triassic boundary]]. Some of the sediments are [[marine carbonates]] and [[clays]]. The faults are upthrusts and [[overthrust]]s. [[Anticline]]s associated with these [[fault (geology)|faults]] form traps for petroleum and natural gas, which has been discovered in 52 small fields.<ref>
[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027103235/http://geocities.com/internetgeology/L34.html Petroleum Potential of Fergana Intermontane Depression] Internet Geology Newsletter
</ref>

Kazakhstan's [[Mangystau Province]] has an area of 165,600 square kilometers and a population of 316,847. It is a major oil- and gas-producing region. The city of [[Aktau]] was built in Kazakhstan's [[Mangyshlak Peninsula]] as a small village to house the region's oil workers in 1961. Over the years a large [[wikt:influx|influx]] of Russian and Ukrainian oil and [[chemical]] workers arrived. Engineers discovered large amounts of [[crude oil]] and petroleum in the area in the days of the [[Soviet Union]], and when drilling commenced, much of the area was built up around the industry. Aktau is Kazakhstan's only seaport on the Caspian Sea.

From 1964 to 1991 Aktau, which had become a city, bore the name "Shevchenko" in honour of the Ukrainian poet [[Taras Shevchenko]] (1814–1861), who had been assigned to the area on military{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} work. The average temperature on January is −3&nbsp;°C, on July +26&nbsp;°C. Annual rainfall averages 150&nbsp;mm. Aktau had a population of 154,500 {{as of | 2004 | lc = on}}.

=== Transport ===
{{Main| Soviet infrastructure in Central Asia}}

Much of the [[road and railway infrastructure]] that exists across Central Asia was developed when the areas was in the Soviet Union. As a result, it often disregards existing national borders. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this infrastructure has faced decline and degradation.<ref name="International Crisis Group">{{cite web|title=Central Asia: Decay and Decline|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/central-asia/201-central-asia-decay-and-decline.aspx|publisher=International Crisis Group|access-date=17 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405043556/http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/central-asia/201-central-asia-decay-and-decline.aspx|archive-date=5 April 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Metallurgy ===
[[File:Kazakhstan-Dzhezkazgan.jpg|thumb|250px|Location of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan]]

Kazakhstan had started to produce and refine sizable amounts of [[tin]] and [[uranium]] by the early 1970s. [[Vanadium]] and [[cobalt]] were, and still are also mined in the south of the country. Uranium was also first produced in Uzbekistan in the 1970s.

The city of [[Zhezkazgan]] was created in 1938 in connection with the exploitation of the rich local copper deposits. In 1973 a large mining and metallurgical complex was constructed to the southeast to smelt the copper that until then had been sent elsewhere for processing. Other metal ores mined and processed locally are [[manganese]], iron and gold. It is on a reservoir of the [[Kara-Kengir River]] and has a population of 90,000 (1999 census).

Its urban area includes the neighbouring mining town of [[Satpaev|Satpayev]], total population 148,700. 55% of the population are [[Kazakhs]], 30% [[Russians]], with smaller minorities of [[Ukrainians]], [[Germans]], [[Chechens]] and [[Koreans]]. Dzhezkazgan has an extreme [[continental climate]]. The average temperature ranges from +24&nbsp;°C (75&nbsp;°F) in July to −16&nbsp;°C (3&nbsp;°F) in January.

Today the city is the headquarters of the copper conglomerate [[Kazakhmys]], the city's main employer. The company has subsidiaries in China, Russia, France and the UK and is listed on the [[London Stock Exchange]].

=== Cement ===
Cement was a major product in both the cities of [[Shymkent]] and [[Dushanbe]] in the south of the region.

=== Hydro-electricity ===
By the early 1970s, the Soviets had started to build some of their [[hydroelectric]] power stations in Eastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as part of an overall development strategy. The waters of the [[Ili River]] and of Lake Balkhash are considered to be of a vital economic importance to [[Kazakhstan]]. The Ili river is dammed for hydroelectric power at [[Kaptchagayskoye]], and the river waters are heavily diverted for agricultural [[irrigation]] and for industrial purposes. In Tajikistan, the [[Vakhsh River]], main tributary of the Amu Darya, is dammed multiple times, including the [[Nurek Dam]] (highest dam in the world at time of construction) and the still-under-construction [[Rogun Dam]].

=== Cotton ===
The Soviets began to grow cotton in Uzbekistan after the ''[[Virgin Lands]]'' project and the mass use of the isolated and now shrinking [[Aral Sea]] for desert irrigation in the early 1960s. A massive expansion of irrigation canals during the Soviet period, to irrigate cotton fields, wrought ecological carnage to the area, with the river drying up long before reaching the Aral Sea which, as a result, has shrunk to a small remnant of its former size.

=== Baikonur Cosmodrome ===
The [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] was founded in Kazakhstan on 2 June 1955, during the [[Cold War]], as one of many long-range [[nuclear missile]] bases in the region, but diverged into space travel.

On 8 June 2005 the [[Russian Federation Council]] ratified an agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan extending Russia's rent term of the spaceport until 2050.

==Culture, religion and ethnicity==
[[File:Central Asia Ethnic.jpg|thumb|250px|The Ethnic and linguistic patchwork of Soviet Central Asia]]

Following a series of migrations, mostly predating Soviet rule, that displaced the autochthonous [[Iranian peoples]], most of the inhabitants of Soviet Central Asia were speakers of either [[Kipchak languages]] (such as Kazakhs), [[Uyghuric languages]] (Uzbeks) or [[Oghuz languages]] (Turkmens). Those populations were nomadic and settled, respectively. There remained traces of some settled farming and urban Iranian communities like the [[Tajik people|Tajiks]] and Bukhara in the south, and [[nomadic]] [[Mongol]]ic Kyrgiz on the border with China.

In Kazakh [qɑzɑqtɑr]; Russian: Казахи; the English name 'Kazakh' is transliterated from Russian) are [[Turkic people]] of the northern parts of Central Asia (largely [[Kazakhstan]], but also found in parts of [[Uzbekistan]], China, Russia, and [[Mongolia]]).

According to Robert G. Gordon, Jr., editor of the Ethnologue: Languages of the World, classifies [[Kalmyk language|Kalmyk]]-[[Oirat language|Oirat]] under the Oirat-Khalkha group, since he contends that Kalmyk-Oirat is related to Khalkha Mongolian – the national language of Mongolia. The descent of the [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] from the [[autochthonous Siberian population]] is confirmed on the other hand by recent genetic studies.

The Slavic community would grow very rapidly under communism and Russians would eventually become a major ethnic group in the region. The [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] population followed Orthodox Christianity, while the rest were mostly [[Sunni]] Muslims. Various nationality, such as the Meskhetian [[Turkish people|Turks]] and [[Volga Germans]] would get banished to the region. Over the years ethnic groups changed. [[Uralsk]] and [[Oral, Kazakhstan|Oral]] are now Russians (54%) and Kazakhs (34%), while it's also Kazakh 43.6% and Russian 40.2% in [[Almaty]].

===Religion===
The Bolsheviks would quickly set about closing mosques and churches throughout the USSR. This became particularly prevalent in the 1930s, but had been fully abandoned by the 1980s. (No Citation)

===Veil===
{{Main|Paranja}}

In Uzbekistan and Tajikistan women wore veils which covered their entire face and body like the [[Paranja]] and faranji.

The traditional veil in Central Asia worn before modern times was the faranji but it was banned by the Soviet Communists.<ref name="AbdullaevAkbarzaheh2010">{{cite book|first1=Kamoludin|last1=Abdullaev|first2=Shahram|last2=Akbarzaheh|title=Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mC9RsIYy8m8C&pg=PA381|date=27 April 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6061-2|page=381}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Pannier |first=Bruce |date=1 April 2015 |title= Central Asia's Controversial Fashion Statements |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/central-asia-fashion-islamic-risque-western-national-mentality/26932437.html |newspaper=Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty}}</ref>

===Y-haplogroups===
According to the interim results of Kazach mitochondrial DNA studies<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=9184531|title=Полиморфизм митохондриальной ДНК в казахской популяции|journal=Медицинская Генетика|year=2005|volume=4|issue=3|last1=Березина|first1=Г. М.|last2=Святова|first2=Г. С.|last3=Абдуллаева|first3=A. M.|last4=Бермишева|first4=М. А.|last5=Кутуев|first5=И. А.|last6=Хуснутдинова|first6=Э. К.|last7=Виллемс|first7=Р.}}</ref> (where sample consisted of only 246 individuals), the main maternal lineages of Kazakhs are: [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)|D]] (17.9%), [[Haplogroup C (mtDNA)|C]] (16%), [[Haplogroup G (mtDNA)|G]] (16%), [[Haplogroup A (mtDNA)|A]] (3.25%), [[Haplogroup F (mtDNA)|F]] (2.44%), which is of eastern-Eurasian origin (58%), and haplogroups [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)|H]] (13%), [[Haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T]] (4.07%), [[Haplogroup J (mtDNA)|J]] (4.07%), [[Haplogroup K (mtDNA)|K]] (4.07%), [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)|U5]] (3.25%), [[Haplogroup I (mtDNA)|I]] (0.41%), [[Haplogroup V (mtDNA)|V]] (0.81%), [[Haplogroup W (mtDNA)|W]] (1.63%), of western Eurasian origin (41%).

The on a similar level, the distribution of Y-DNA haplogroups, according to E.K. Husnutdinova,<ref>[http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/vogis/pict_pdf/2006/t10_1/vogis_10_1_02.pdf 10_1]</ref> (sample size is 331) is the following: [[Haplogroup C-M130|C]] (25.3%), [[Haplogroup J-M267|J]] (18.2%), [[Haplogroup N-M231|N]] (15.2%), [[Haplogroup R-M207|R]] (10.1%).

====R1a====
The descent of the Kyrgyz from the [[Autochthon (person)|autochthonous]] [[Siberian]] population is confirmed on the other hand by the recent genetic studies (The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity). Remarkably, 63% of modern Kyrgyz men share [[Haplogroup R1a1 (Y-DNA)]] with [[Tājik people|Tajiks]] (64%), [[Ruthenians]] (54%), [[Polish people|Poles]] and [[Hungarians]] (~60%), and even [[Icelanders]] (25%). Haplogroup R1a1 (Y-DNA) is believed to be a marker of the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] speakers.

====R-Z93 (R1a1a1b2)====
This large subclade appears to encompass most of the R1a1a found in Asia {{harv|Pamjav|2012}}.

== See also ==
* [[Hujum]]
* [[Bamboo Curtain]]
* [[Russian Turkestan]]
* [[Soviet–Afghan War]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{Cite book|author=H. B. Paksoy|title=Alpamysh: Central Asian Identity Under Russian Rule|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KkOGNefbfsC|year=1989|publisher=AACAR|isbn=978-0-9621379-9-0}}
* {{Citation |last1=Pamjav |title=Brief communication: New Y-chromosome binary markers improve phylogenetic resolution within haplogroup R1a1 |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=149 |issue=4 |pages=611–615 |date=December 2012 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.22167 |pmid=23115110}}
* {{Country study}}

==Further reading==
{{Main|Bibliography of the history of Central Asia}}

== External links ==
* [http://aliciapatterson.org/stories/strange-state-soviet-central-asia The Strange State of Soviet Central Asia] Alicia Patterson Foundation Reporter
* Keller, Bill (1989). "[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2DD1231F936A35752C0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Afghan Cadets Reportedly Riot in a Capital in Soviet Central Asia]", The New York Times.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0_U44QBbz8 Kazakh SSR Anthem] YouTube
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVRL_MxdvMw Uzbek SSR Anthem] YouTube
* [http://www.oxuscom.com/lang-policy.htm#policy Soviet Language Policy in Central Asia by Mark Dickens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607162900/http://www.oxuscom.com/lang-policy.htm#policy |date=7 June 2011 }}
* {{Cite web |url=http://dissertationreviews.org/archives/13361 |title=Citizenship in Soviet Uzbekistan |last1=Hierman |first1=Brent |date=20 January 2016 |website=Dissertation Reviews }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Akyildiz |editor-first=Sevket Akyildiz |editor2-last=Carlson |editor2-first=Richard |date=2014 |title=Social and Cultural Change in Central Asia: The Soviet Legacy |url=https://www.academia.edu/3337971 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-70453-3}}
* [http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/ipg/ipg-2002-3/artrasizade.pdf Alec Rasizade. Dictators, Islamists, big powers and ordinary people: the new ‘great game’ in Central Asia. = Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft (Bonn: F.Ebert Stiftung), July 2002, number 3, pages 90–106.]

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[[Category:Soviet Central Asia| ]]
[[Category:Post–Russian Empire states]]
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