Table of Contents

A Note on Spelling
Glossary 

Introduction

1. Early Coexistence

Rus’ and the Steppe Peoples 
Turko-Mongol-Iranian Central Asia
Early Diplomatic and Trade Relations 
Summary and Notes

2. The Balance of Power Shifts

Internal Fragmentation, External Threats 
Nomadic Cultures: Kazakhs, Turkmen, Kyrgyz 
Beginnings of Russian Rule
Summary and Notes

3. Conquest

Settled Cultures: Uzbeks and Tajiks 
Russia Engulfs the Kazakhs 
Change in the Air
Military Conquest
Summary and Notes

4. Imperial Rule

Governance
Economic Development 
Education
Social Dynamics
Summary and Notes

5. Revolutions 

The Revolution of 1905 and its Effects
The Great War and the Great Unraveling
Marxism, Bolshevism, and Empire 
Central Asia Shattered
Summary and Notes 

6. Founding Soviet Central Asia

Authority and Credibility
The Creation of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
Building the Tools of Modernization
Summary and Notes

7. Breaking and Building: The Stalin Era 

The Great Break 
Collectivization and the Kazakh Tragedy
Contradictions of Stalinist Modernization
World War II and After
Summary and Notes

8. Stability and Growth

Changing Relations between Moscow and the Republics 
Cotton Monoculture, Cotton Monomania
 The Hungry Steppe
 Life on the Cotton Collectives
Mature Socialism 
Summary and Notes  

9. From Reform to Independence 

Water, Cotton, and Nationalism
Restructuring / Unraveling
Now What?

Bibliography

About the Author

Shoshana Keller is a professor in the Department of History at Hamilton College.

Reviews

"Shoshana Keller’s Russia and Central Asia: Coexistence, Conquest, Convergence is a book I couldn’t put down. Anyone curious about Central Asia from a Russian history background would benefit from her unassuming prose. Whatever your interest, there will surely be an aspect of Central Asian and Russian history that will tickle your fancy. The University of Toronto Press publishes some of the most powerful books that demystify this shrouded region and lesser-known history, opening the doors so that any student can begin learning about the richness of these societies."
*Lossi 36 Weekly*

"Shoshanna Keller has written an important book on the history of Central Asia that covers its pre-Russian, Russian imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods, focusing on the imperial and Soviet periods. As she tackles this thorny subject, Keller’s most significant contribution is to bring into focus the nomadic perspective that has largely been neglected by earlier scholarship."
*Acta Via Serica*

"Well informed on historical debates of each period that the book addresses, Keller demonstrates how the relations between these two spaces evolved before, during, and after key episodes in their respective histories."
*Central Asian Survey*

"The book’s simplicity and strong engagement with new finds in existing scholarly literature make this an important survey text for those looking to first engage Central Asia."
*American Historical Review*