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Measuring Mixedness: A Case Study of the Kyrgyz Republic

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The Palgrave International Handbook of Mixed Racial and Ethnic Classification

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Abstract

This case study explores how the ethnic/national identities of millions of Soviet/post-Soviet peoples were shaped in the twentieth century. It demonstrates how the Soviet government introduced new mechanisms of counting and categorizing nationalities, while linking national identity to territory and economic life. This chapter is based on a study of the census as an instrument of categorization, as well as other official documents that facilitated the transformation of the national/ethnic identities of Soviet peoples. Interestingly, the Soviet state encouraged mixedness as a way to unite the population, and statistical data was gathered and research was conducted and reported on this matter. However, the state also promoted the institutionalization of singular ‘ethno-nationality’ categories through censuses and through the registration of documents and certificates in which Soviet citizens were classified by a singular ethnicity/nationality category. This chapter also draws on media discourses to capture the contemporary Kyrgyz everyday ‘identity talk’ around mixedness. In doing so, it shows the complex and unusual linkages between history, narrativity, language, territory, and culture that shaped and continue to transform nationality consciousness and the understanding of mixedness in the post-Soviet space.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term was coined by Ronald Suny (1993) in his work Suny R.G. (1993) ‘The Revenge of the Past: Nationalism, Revolution, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union’.

  2. 2.

    Mankurt—A person who has lost his historical memory, spiritual values, and landmarks, and who has broken ties with his people. This phenomenon was described in one of the poems of Kyrgyz/Soviet writer Chingiz Aitmatov ‘Burannyi polustanok’.

  3. 3.

    Project ‘Zheneke’ (daughter-in-law) available at www.turmush.kg, the special project issue tells stories about mixed and mono-ethnic couples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. American University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    Asel Myrzabekova

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  1. Asel Myrzabekova
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Correspondence to Asel Myrzabekova .

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  1. Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Zarine L. Rocha

  2. Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Peter J. Aspinall

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Myrzabekova, A. (2020). Measuring Mixedness: A Case Study of the Kyrgyz Republic. In: Rocha, Z.L., Aspinall, P.J. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Mixed Racial and Ethnic Classification. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22874-3_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22874-3_29

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