Articles
Pre-Soviet autonomism in Siberia and Central Asia: Buryat-Mongolia and Alash in the context of imperial crisis
Ivan Sablin , Alexander Korobeynikov
Vostok/Oriens '2017, №2
The transformation of political thought in the national borderlands of the Russian Empire in the early twentieth century featured a variety of ideas, trends and projects. The imperial crisis which manifested itself at the turn of the century contributed to the discussions on future state formations. Although the autonomist discourse is usually located in the sphere of Soviet policy, regional intellectuals who synthesized local and global ideas worked out their political projects independently of the Soviet power. Comparing political activism of Siberian (Buryat-Mongol) and Central Asian (Alash or Kazakh) intellectuals, this article discusses the articulation of political unity in national terms which was caused by their struggle against discrimination, desire for greater representation within the existing power structures, as well as for protection of native languages, traditions and other forms of cultural expression.
Keywords: Russian Empire, Siberian Regionalists, Kazakhs, Buryat-Mongols, intellectuals, nationalism
Pages: С. 49–61
