Building socialism in Kyrgyzstan: Nation-making, rural development, and social change, 1921--1932.

摘要

This dissertation explores the creation and early development of the Kyrgyz Republic under Soviet rule between 1921 and 1932. In particular, it looks at Bolshevik efforts to govern the territory, develop its economy, and transform its society in accordance with the regime's ideology and political agenda. The Soviet leadership ultimately aimed to "build socialism" in Kyrgyzstan and the rest of the Soviet East, creating a new society for its citizens and an example for the developing world. The regime's policies in rural Kyrgyzstan, the main focus of this study, included efforts to develop its agrarian economy, eliminate "vestiges of the old way of life," such as religion and tribal traditions, and improve social services. The dissertation uses archival materials in Russia and Kyrgyzstan as well as printed sources to examine how Soviet officials of all ranks formulated, adapted, and implemented these policies as well as what effect these policies had on Kyrgyzstan's multi-ethnic society.;Soviet development in Kyrgyzstan reflected both the ambitiousness of the regime's goals and the weakness of its institutions, especially in rural, non-Russian areas. The Soviet transformation during this period was profound, but it failed to achieve its ultimate goals. Bolshevik officials found that they could neither abolish "vestiges of the old way of life" nor could they create a workable socialist economy during NEP. The weakness of state and party institutions in rural areas, a lack of funding for its initiatives, and poor leadership and coordination all contributed to these failures. For its part, the populace resisted unwanted changes imposed from above in various ways, including armed opposition, sabotage, flight, evasion, and circumvention. Far from creating a strong foundation for industrialization, Soviet agrarian reforms wreaked havoc on Kyrgyzstan's economy, especially in the Kyrgyz-dominated mountainous areas where nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralism persisted. At the same time, however, certain Soviet initiatives---notably state-building and the expansion of social services---enjoyed partial success and created a basis for more profound and long-lasting "socialist construction" during the 1930s.