The Cotton Crusade: How Uzbekistan Became a Soviet Cotton Colony

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the dramatic transformation of Central Asia under Soviet rule, focusing on Uzbekistan's forced shift to monoculture cotton farming. They trace the story from the 1920s land reforms through the construction of the Ferghana Canal and the vast irrigation networks that turned the Hungry Steppe into farmland. Lucas explains how Moscow's cotton quota system—dubbed the 'white gold' plan—led to environmental catastrophe, including the shrinking of the Aral Sea and widespread soil salinization. They discuss the role of collectivization, the 1937 purges of Uzbek intellectuals like Fayzulla Xo‘jayev, and the brutal suppression of the 1916 Central Asian Revolt. Luna asks about the human cost: the millions of uzbek farmers forced into collective farms, the rise of child labor, and the enduring legacy of economic dependency. The conversation ends with a reflection on how this Soviet experiment shaped modern Uzbekistan's struggles with water scarcity and authoritarian governance. Keywords: Soviet Union, Central Asia, cotton monoculture, Aral Sea, collectivization, Hungry Steppe.

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