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THE COLONIAL POLICY OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE AND BORDER FORMATION IN CENTRAL ASIA (1865–1917)

Avtors

Salimov F.N.

Abstract

The article explores the mechanisms by which the colonial policy of the Russian Empire in Central Asia in 1865–1917 transformed the frontier space of the Turkestan region into a hierarchically controlled system of regions, protectorates, treaty boundaries, and customs and communication circuits. The aim of this work is to identify the connections between military conquest, legal formalization, diplomatic border delimitation, and the economic integration of the region. Based on legal documents, the 1895 agreement, as well as contemporary Tajik, Russian, and regional historiography, it is shown that the border served not only a defensive but also, above all, an administrative and distribution function. It is concluded that the late imperial model consolidated legal heterogeneity, institutional fragmentation and a linear perception of space, some of which were reproduced in subsequent territorial practices in Central Asia.

Keywords

Central Asia; Russian Empire; colonial policy; Turkestan country, protectorate; border delimitation

References

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