Contemporary Central Asia

Abstract

The achievement of independence by the Central Asian States as a consequence of the disintegration of the Soviet Union has predictably led to a cultural renaissance within the region and a reassertion of their pre-Soviet cultural roots. Following on in the wake of independence the leaders of these states reaffirmed their common historical ties by renaming the region Central Asia (Tsentralnaya Azia) thereby refusing to recognise the Soviet imposed separation of Kazakhstan from the other four states which were grouped together and known collectively as Middle Asia (Srednyaya Azia).¹ Even before the break-up of the Soviet Union a cultural renaissance had begun, with calls for the re-establishment of the primacy of the national language and the re-interpretation of the ‘blank spots’ of Central Asian history so that key figures of the Alash and Jadid movements could be rehabilitated.² The post-Soviet period has witnessed the attendance of Kazakhs from around the world at a Kazakh Kurultai held in Almaty which resolved to make the return of the Kazakh diaspora a primary objective.³ At the same time efforts are under way to document the family trees of all Kazakhs in order to create a definitive catalogue of their ancestry. In 1996 Uzbekistan celebrated the 660th anniversary of Timurlane, and is building a State Museum of the Timurids which will endeavour to collate and collect all significant artifacts of the period.⁴ Likewise, in 1995 the Kirghiz celebrated the millenial anniversary of their epic poem, Manas, and in a similar fashion Turkmenistan has promoted the celebration of its reknowned national poet Makhtumkuli.