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

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

Kaynakça

1. [1] ABN. (2023, October 16). Russian genocides: The extended alphabet of colonialism. Available at https://abn.org.ua/en/analysis/russian-genocides-the-extended-alphabet-of-colonialism/
2. [2] Adams, L. L. (2011). Culture, Colonialism and Sovereignty in Central Asia. In S. N. Cummings and R. Hinnebusch (eds.) Sovereignty After Empire: Comparing the Middle East and Central Asia. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 199-221.
3. [3] Amin, S. (1989). Eurocentrism. New York: Monthly Review Press.
4. [4] Anderson, J. (1994). Islam in the Soviet Archives: A Research Note. Central Asian Survey, 13(3), 383-394.
5. [5] Annus, E. (2011). The Conditions of Soviet Colonialism. Interlitteraria, 16(2), 441-459.
6. [6] Baev, P. (2014). Rosneft, Gazprom and the government: The decision-making triangle on Russia’s energy policy. Russie Nei Visions, 75, 1-19.
7. [7] Bennigsen, A. (1988). Unrest in the World of Soviet Islam. Third World Quarterly, 10(2), 770-786.
8. [8] Bennigsen, A. (1979). Islam in the Soviet Union. Soviet Jewish Affairs, 9(2), 3-14.

9. [9] Bennigsen, A. (1969). Colonization and Decolonization in the Soviet Union. Journal of Contemporary History, 4 (1), 141-151.
10. [10] Bethmann, E. W. (1958). The Fate of Muslims under Soviet Rule. New York: American Friends of the Middle East Inc.
11. [11] Boer, R. (2023). Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance. Singapore: Springer.
12. [12] Bolukbasi, S. (2011). Azerbaijan: A Political History. New York: I.B.Tauris.
13. [13] Breyfogle, N. B. (2005). Heretics and Colonizers: Forging Russia’s Empire in the South Caucasus. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
14. [14] Brinegar, S. (2017). The Oil Deal: Nariman Narimanov and the Sovietization of Azerbaijan. Slavic Review, 76(2), 372-394.
15. [15] Caroe, O. (1953). Soviet Colonialism in Central Asia. Foreign Affairs, 32(1), 135-144.
16. [16] Chiriyankandath, J. (2011). Colonialism and Post-Colonial Development. In P. Burnell, V. Randall and L. Rakner (eds.) Politics in the Developing World, 3rd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 36-52.
17. [17] Christensen, K. (2017). The Making of the New Martyrs of Russia: Soviet Repression in Orthodox Memory. London: Routledge.
18. [18] Clem, R. S. (1992). The Frontier and Colonialism in Russian and Soviet Central Asia. In R. Lewis (ed.) Geographic Perspectives on Soviet Central Asia. London: Routledge, 19-36.
19. [19] Coşkun, B. D. (2008). Khrushchev’s policies toward religion: Repression in a period of reform. Karadeniz Araştırmaları, 18(18), 83-91.
20. [20] Dasgupta, B. (1975). Soviet Oil and the Third World. World Development, 3(5), 345-360.
21. [21] Drachewych, O. (2024). The Comintern and the National and Colonial Question: the Roots of Soviet Anti-Imperialism and Anti-Racism Reconsidered. Russian History, 50(3-4), 219–242.
22. [22] Drolet-Duguay, M. (2023). Russian colonialism in the North Caucasus: The Chechen case. University of Victoria.
23. [23] Duffield, M. and Hewitt, V. (2009). Empire, Development & Colonialism: The Past in the Present. Cape Town: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
24. [24] Erdozain, D. (2017). The Dangerous God: Christianity and the Soviet Experiment. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press.
25. [25] Etkind, A. (2011). Internal Colonization: Russia’s Imperial Experience. Cambridge: Polity.
26. [26] Fagan, G. (2014). A Word of Justice: Islam and State Repression in the North-West Caucasus. Central Asian Survey, 33(1), 29-46.
27. [27] Fanon, F. (1961). The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press.
28. [28] Fanon, F. (1952). Black Skin, White Masks. New York: Grove Press.
29. [29] Fierman, W. (1991). Soviet Central Asia: The Failed Transformation. London: Routledge.
30. [30] Florin, M. (2017). Beyond Colonialism?: Agency, Power, and the Making of Soviet Central Asia. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, 18(4), 827-838.
31. [31] Frank, A. G. (1962). The Development of Underdevelopment. New York: Monthly Review Press.
32. [32] Gast, A. (2023). The Eurasian Economic Union: Keeping up with the EU and China. London: Routledge.
33. [33] George, J. A. (2009). Expecting Ethnic Conflict: The Soviet Legacy and Ethnic Politics in the Caucasus and Central Asia. In A. E. Wooden and C. H. Stefes (eds.) The Politics of Transition in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Enduring Legacies and Emerging Challenges, 75-102.
34. [34] Gherasim, A. I. (2020). Some Flavors of Russian Neocolonialism in Central Asia. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Business Excellence, 464-473.
35. [35] Gibson, N. C. (2003). Fanon: The Postcolonial Imagination. Cambridge: Polity.
36. [36] Glasheva, Z. (2019). The Main Directions of the Policy of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus at the End of the XVIII Century. Modern Studies of Social Issues, 11(3).
37. [37] Go, J. (2009). The ‘New’ Sociology of Empire and Colonialism. Sociology Compass, 3(5), 775-788.
38. [38] Golubev, A. (2023). No Natural Colonization: The Early Soviet School of Historical Anti-Colonialism. Canadian Slavonic Papers, 65(2), 190-204.
39. [39] Heinzig, D. (1983). Russia and the Soviet Union in Asia: Aspects of Colonialism and Expansionism. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 4(4), 417-450.
40. [40] Hirsch, F. (2005). Empire of Nations: Ethnographic Knowledge and the Making of the Soviet Union. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
41. [41] Ibragimova, H. (2019). РОЛЬ БАКИНСКОЙ НЕФТИ В ПОБЕДЕ НАД ФАШИСТСКОЙ ГЕРМАНИЕЙ И ОТНОШЕНИЕ РУКОВОДСТВА СССР К АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНУ ДВОЙНЫМ СТАНДАРТОМ (1941–1945 ГГ.) [in English: The Role of Baku Oil in the Victory over Fascist Germany and the Attitude of the USSR Leadership towards Azerbaijan as a Double Standard (1941-1945]. Scientific Notes of Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University Series, 69(3), 122-127.
42. [42] Keller, S. (1992). Islam in Soviet Central Asia, 1917–1930: Soviet Policy and the Struggle for Control. Central Asian Survey, 11 (1), 25-50.
43. [43] Keskin, O. (2020). Трагедия одного народа: Депортация черкесов. Anadolu Ajansı, 21 May.
44. [44] Khalid, A. (2021). Central Asia: A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
45. [45] Khalid, A. (2006). Backwardness and the Quest for Civilization: Early Soviet Central Asia in Comparative Perspective. Slavic Review, 65(2), 231-251.
46. [46] Kindler, R. (2018). Stalin’s Nomads: Power and Famine in Kazakhstan. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
47. [47] Kommersant. (2023, March 18). Русский язык в бывших советских республиках. Available at https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5875938
48. [48] Koplatadze, T. (2019). Theorising Russian Postcolonial Studies. Postcolonial Studies, 22(4), 469-489.
49. [49] Kulski, W. W. (1959). Soviet Colonialism and Anti-Colonialism. The Russian Review, 18(2), 113-125.
50. [50] Langan, M. (2018). Neo-Colonialism and the Poverty of ‘Development’ in Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
51. [51] Lenin, V. (1917). Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism. Connecticut: Martino Fine Books.
52. [52] Libman, A. and Davidzon, I. (2023). Military Intervention as a Spectacle? Authoritarian Regionalism and Protests in Kazakhstan. International Affairs, 99(3), 1293-1312.
53. [53] Loring, B. (2014). “Colonizers with Party Cards”: Soviet Internal Colonialism in Central Asia, 1917–39. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, 15(1), 77-102.
54. [54] Martin, T. (2001). The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923–1939. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
55. [55] Mccauley, M. (2009). Stalin and Stalinism. London: Routledge.
56. [56] Michaels, P. A. (2004). Prisoners of the Caucasus: From Colonial to Postcolonial Narrative. Russian Studies in Literature, 40(2), 52-77.
57. [57] Mir-Babayev, M. (2018). Brief History of the First Drilled Oil Well; and the People Involved. Oil-Industry History, 18(1), 25-34.
58. [58] Müller, L. (2018). Colonialism. In E. Fuchs and A. Bock (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Textbook Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 281-292.
59. [59] Nagarajan, N. (2015). Development under Colonialism?. In Critical Readings of Development under Colonialism. Ramallah: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Regional Office Palestine, 67-85.
60. [60] Nazaroff, A. (1941). The Soviet Oil Industry. The Russian Review, 1(1), 81-89.
61. [61] Newton, F. (1976). Soviet Central Asia: Economic Progress and Problems. Middle Eastern Studies, 12(3), 87-104.
62. [62] Nkrumah, K. (1965). Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism. London: Panaf Books.
63. [63] Perović, J. (2015). Highland Rebels: The North Caucasus During the Stalinist Collectivization Campaign. Journal of Contemporary History, 51(2), 234-260.
64. [64] Pianciola, N. (2001). The Collectivization Famine in Kazakhstan, 1931–1933. Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 25(3/4), 237-251.
65. [65] Pipes, D. (1983). The Third World Peoples of Soviet Central Asia. In M. Lerner (ed.) Third World: Premises of U.S. Policy. New York: Routledge, 155-174.
66. [66] Rodney, W. (1972). How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. London: Verso.
67. [67] Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books.
68. [68] Saparov, A. (2015). From Conflict to Autonomy in the Caucasus. London: Routledge. [69] Schorkowitz, D. (2021). Was Russia a colonial empire? (Part II). Nomadic Civilization: Historical Research, 3.
69. [70] Schwarz, H. and Ray, S. (2005). A Companion to Postcolonial Studies. London: Blackwell Publishing.
70. [71] Shafiyev, F. (2015). The Russian-Soviet Resettlement Policies and Their Implications for Ethno-Territorial Conflicts in the South Caucasus. Ottawa: Carleton University.
71. [72] Sicotte, J. H. (2017). Baku: Violence, Identity, and Oil, 1905-1927. Washington, DC: Georgetown University. [73] Stringer, A. (2003). Soviet Development in Central Asia: The Classic Colonial Syndrome? In T. Everett-Heath (ed.) Central Asia: Aspects of Transition. London: Routledge, 146-166.
72. [74] Strongman, L. (2014). Postcolonialism and International Development Studies: A Dialectical Exchange? Third World Quarterly, 35(8), 1343-1354.
73. [75] Suny, R. (2010). The Soviet Experiment: Russia, the USSR, and the Successor States. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
74. [76] Шурхало, Дмитро. (2023, August 23). Завоевание Кавказа – русская столетняя война. Взгляд из Украины, Кавказ.Реалии.
75. [77] Teichmann, C. (2009). Cultivating the Periphery: Bolshevik Civilising Missions and ‘Colonialism’ in Soviet Central Asia. Comparativ, 19(1), 34-52.
76. [78] Terzyan, A. (2018). The Anatomy of Russia’s Grip on Armenia: Bound to Persist? CES Working Papers, 2, 234-250.
77. [79] Thorton, T. P. (1964). Third World in Soviet Perspective. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
78. [80] Tlostanova, M. (2011). The South of the Poor North: Caucasus Subjectivity and the Complex of Secondary “Australism”. The Global South, 5(1), 66-84.
79. [81] Udegbunam, C. U. (2020). Neo-Colonialism and Africa’s Development: A Critical Review. Public Policy and Administration Research, 10(10), 69-86.
80. [82] Vasilyev, D. V. (2022). Russian Colonialism in Central Asia: to Determine Time and Place. Journal of Frontier Studies, 1.
81. [83] Вердиева, Жаджар. (2007). Переселенческая политика Российской империи на Кавказе. Кавказ и Глобализация, 1(5).
82. [84] Wallerstein, I. (2004). World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction. Durham: Duke University Press.
83. [85] Wallerstein, I. (1974). The Modern World-System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
84. [86] Weinerman, E. (1993). The Polemics Between Moscow and Central Asians on the Decline of Central Asia and Tsarist Russia’s Role in the History of the Region. The Slavonic and East European Review, 71(3), 428–81.
85. [87] Williams, P. and Chrisman, L. (1994). Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory. London: Routledge.
86. [88] Yakovlyev, M. V. (2022). European Imperialism and Colonialism in Africa: Conceptual Lessons for Understanding the Former Soviet Union and Present Day Russia. African Journal of Economics, Politics and Social Studies, 1(1), 31-39.