American historian Adeeb Khalid, author of Making Uzbekistan, questions the conventional belief that the territorial boundaries of Central Asia were solely shaped by the Bolsheviks after 1917, leading to the establishment of five republics—Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Khalid argues that the true architect of Uzbekistan's creation was someone other than the Bolsheviks, offering a fresh perspective supported by archival documents to substantiate his claims.
Division Between Peoples
At the beginning of the 20th century, the concept of "nation" in Central Asia was not based on modern national identity but rather on religious, local, and tribal affiliations. However, during this period, socio-political views on nationhood began to shift, giving rise to new perspectives.
According to historian Adeeb Khalid, the idea of "nation" was first introduced to Central Asia by the Jadids—figures like Abdulla Avloni, Mahmudkhodja Behbudi, and Fitrat—who sought to instill a modern national consciousness in society.
Unlike the Bolsheviks, who framed revolution through the lens of class struggle, the Jadids saw nationhood as the key to progress. By the early 20th century, discussions of national identity had begun to take root in the region. For the Jadids, modernity was unattainable without a clearly defined nation.
Drawing from extensive archival materials, Khalid argues that long before the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Jadids envisioned various national statehood projects. However, their vision was not universally embraced. While Kazakh and Turkmen intellectuals pursued their own political aspirations, they showed little interest in the Jadids' proposals for a unified state.
“The views of Kazakh and Uzbek activists began to diverge. For Kazakhs, the idea of Turkestan lost significance as they focused on uniting with Kazakhs from the former Dashti Kipchak (Cumania). The Jadids’ glorification of Central Asian Turkic-Islamic statehood, particularly embodied in Amir Temur, did not resonate with Kazakh intellectuals. Similarly, the small number of Turkmen intellectuals had little interest in the Chigatai debates of the era. These differences highlighted the growing divisions among Turkic groups in Central Asia,” writes Khalid.
Sardor Salim, the journalist who translated Making Uzbekistan into Uzbek, argues that Uzbek historians should move away from the notion that "Moscow created the Central Asian republics." In an interview with Daryo, he warned of the dangers of maintaining this perspective.
"Remember what Vladimir Putin said when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. He claimed that Ukraine had never existed in history and that the Bolsheviks and Lenin had artificially created the Ukrainian state. If we continue to assert that the Soviets created the Central Asian republics, Russia—driven by neo-imperialist ambitions—could one day use this narrative against the region, including Uzbekistan," says Salim.
Who is the Memoirist of Uzbekistan?
According to historian Adeeb Khalid, Uzbekistan was officially established in 1924 as part of the national-territorial delimitation process. However, he argues that its creation was not a direct product of the Communist Party or the Soviet state.
“Uzbekistan was, in fact, the triumph of the national project envisioned by Central Asia’s Muslim intelligentsia under Soviet conditions. It was the local Muslim intellectuals—the Jadids—rather than Soviet ethnographers or Communist Party officials, who were the true architects of Uzbekistan and Uzbek society,” Khalid asserts.
During the interview, Sardor Salim emphasized that the Jadids played a pivotal role in uniting the historically fragmented emirates and khanates into a single state.
"The Jadids brought together the scattered emirates and khanates, forming the very state we live in today—Uzbekistan. They united three Central Asian states—the Emirate of Bukhara, the Khanate of Khiva, and the Khanate of Kokand—into one country. This stands as the greatest achievement of the Jadids," he stated.
Adeeb Khalid further highlights the role of Fayzulla Khojayev in shaping Uzbekistan’s territorial framework. According to Khalid, it was Khojayev who proposed that all historical cities of Movarounnahr be incorporated into a unified Uzbek republic, solidifying the foundation of modern Uzbekistan.
Fayzulla Khojayev's vision of Uzbekistan could be described as "Great Bukhara", as it aimed to unify the historical regions of Turkestan, Bukhara, and Khorezm into a single republic. In practical terms, the creation of Uzbekistan marked the consolidation of these territories under one national identity.
However, the Stalinist purges of 1937 led to the repression and execution of many Jadids, including Khojayev. Despite this, historian Adeeb Khalid argues that the Jadid national project did not vanish. Instead, it laid the foundation for modern Uzbekistan, influencing the country’s long-term development and identity.
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