Soviet National Delimitation: Drawing the Borders of Uzbekistan

Before 1924, there was no country called Uzbekistan. The map of Central Asia was a patchwork of khanates, emirates, and tribal lands. Then, in a few years, Soviet planners redrew the boundaries, carving out the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic from the ruins of the Turkestan ASSR, the Bukharan People's Republic, and the Khorezm People's Republic. This episode explores how Moscow's national delimitation policy created modern Uzbekistan—and with it, the enclaves, ethnic tensions, and economic dependencies that still shape the region. We follow the rise and fall of Faizulla Khojaev, the Jadid turned Bolshevik who led the new republic, and examine Stalin's logic in fusing Uzbek and Tajik populations before splitting them. The story of Uzbekistan's borders is a story of revolution, manipulation, and unintended legacies.

#Uzbekistan #SovietNationalDelimitation #FaizullaKhojaev #CentralAsia #Stalin #UzbekSSR #TurkestanASSR #BukharanPeopleRepublic #KhorezmPeopleRepublic #1924 #1929 #Tajikistan #FerghanaValley #Enclaves #History #FexingoHistory #SovietUnion #BorderDrawing

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