The Other Colonial Empire: Reconsidering Soviet Rule in the Caucasus and Central Asia through a Post-Colonial Lens

Year 2024, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 211 - 247, 25.10.2024

Oğuzhan Göksel , Natavan Huseynova

Abstract

This article argues that the rule of Soviet Union (a.k.a. the USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) over the Caucasus and Central Asia represents a significant but overlooked case of colonialism within the development studies literature. Despite extensive Post-Colonial critiques of Western imperialism, the Soviet Union’s role as a colonial power in Eurasia remains largely underestimated. This oversight may stem from the ideological affinity between Marxism and Post-Colonialism, with many scholars – sympathetic to various strands of Marxist ideology – reluctant to critique the Soviet Union. By applying the Post-Colonial theoretical framework, this article re-conceptualizes Soviet policies in the Caucasus and Central Asia – encompassing political repression, economic exploitation, and cultural assimilation – as forms of colonial domination. The Soviet Union’s practices in these regions mirror those of Western colonial empires, including forced collectivization, resource extraction, and cultural suppression. Through this analysis, the article seeks to fill a crucial gap in the literature, offering a nuanced understanding of Soviet imperialism and contributing to a broader discourse on the nature of colonialism beyond Western contexts.

Keywords

Colonialism, Imperialism, Soviet Union, Central Asia, Caucasus, Post-Colonialism, Development Studies

Ethical Statement

In this article, Ethical Committee Approval is not needed.

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