Knowledge production, its uses and limits in Central Asia under Russian rule, 1865-1908

Osharov, R

Oxford Thesis Collection

Thesis

Knowledge production, its uses and limits in Central Asia under Russian rule, 1865-1908

Abstract:: This thesis examines Russian knowledge production about Central Asia, its uses and limits, in the Governor-Generalship of Turkestan, focusing on the period between the 1860s and the 1900s. In the initial decades after the conquest, Russian knowledge about Central Asia was patchy at best, and Russian rule in the region was characterised by indirectness, with local administration largely in the hands of Central Asians. This thesis argues that the strengthening of Russian rule went hand in hand with the growth of Russian knowledge about the region.

Chapter 1 shows how the system of military-civil administration that first emerged in the North Caucasus was used as a blueprint for colonial rule in Transcaspia. Chapter 2 moves to Tashkent, a city divided between Asian and Russian parts. It shows that Russian knowledge of the city remained poor – without even accurate data on the population size – until the reform of the police in the 1890s started a transition to more formally direct rule.

The last two chapters examine the production of knowledge about Central Asia in the 1890s and the 1900s, showing that it remained the preserve of a handful of individuals – colonial officials, General Staff officers, diplomats and academic scholars of Central Asia in St. Petersburg. Chapter 3 shows the role of these individuals in shaping the threat perceptions around the potential for conflict with the British Empire. Chapter 4 is a case study of an archeological debate among Russian scholars and amateurs.

The thesis attempts to view Russian rule in Central Asia from a new perspective, showing how it relied on the interaction of different groups involved in the production of knowledge, including Russians in the region and in the metropole, as well as those in other parts of the empire – and, crucially, Central Asians themselves.

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APA Style

Osharov, R. (2025). Knowledge production, its uses and limits in Central Asia under Russian rule, 1865-1908 [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Osharov, R. Knowledge Production, Its Uses and Limits in Central Asia under Russian Rule, 1865-1908. 2025. University of Oxford, PhD thesis.

Chicago Style

Osharov, R. 2025. “Knowledge Production, Its Uses and Limits in Central Asia under Russian Rule, 1865-1908.” PhD thesis, University of Oxford.
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