Revolution, renaissance and rebranding: Temurid figures in Uzbekistani nation-building

This thesis analyses the forms, content, networks and function of Uzbekistani representations of Temurid figures, namely Amir Temur and Alisher Navoiy, across the Soviet and post-Soviet (Karimovian and Mirziyoyevian) eras in order to assess the degree of change and continuity in these components across time and the reasons for said change and continuity. After an introduction, an explanation of the methodology and a literature review related to the state of affairs in Central Asian Studies, and English and Russian scholarship on Uzbekistani nation-building and Temurid figures, there are three chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the early Soviet nation-building project in Uzbekistan (1920s-1940s) and the relationship of Alisher Navoiy and Amir Temur to this in the context of Soviet ethnogenesis and historiography. It also analyses the failed attempt at the rehabilitation of Temur in the 1960s due to said historiography and analysing the late Soviet context which laid the...Show moreThis thesis analyses the forms, content, networks and function of Uzbekistani representations of Temurid figures, namely Amir Temur and Alisher Navoiy, across the Soviet and post-Soviet (Karimovian and Mirziyoyevian) eras in order to assess the degree of change and continuity in these components across time and the reasons for said change and continuity. After an introduction, an explanation of the methodology and a literature review related to the state of affairs in Central Asian Studies, and English and Russian scholarship on Uzbekistani nation-building and Temurid figures, there are three chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the early Soviet nation-building project in Uzbekistan (1920s-1940s) and the relationship of Alisher Navoiy and Amir Temur to this in the context of Soviet ethnogenesis and historiography. It also analyses the failed attempt at the rehabilitation of Temur in the 1960s due to said historiography and analysing the late Soviet context which laid the foundation for post-independence nation-building in which Temur and Navoiy have played an integral role. Chapter 2 examines the context of Uzbekistan’s newfound independence from 1991 onwards before taking a case study of the 1996 celebrations linked to Amir Temur’s 660th anniversary in 1996, analysing decrees, speeches, the use of public space, and a literary publication related to this anniversary and the relationship of a rehabilitated Amir Temur in particular to state legitimisation and nation-building in the Karimovian era. It finds that an Uzbekified and "Universalised" Temur was a key image in the domestic and international legitimisation of early post-Soviet rule. Chapter 3 turns to Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s presidency (2016-present), examining the context of this political and historical crossroads in post-independence Uzbekistan before turning to a case study of the 2021 celebrations of Alisher Navoiy’s 580th anniversary, looking at decrees and associated actions as well as an online forum from the British-Uzbek Society. It is argued that cultural diplomacy is seen as a way of domestically and internationally rebranding Uzbekistan in the post-Karimovian era, though the structure of the cultural diplomacy betrays deeper tendencies toward continuity.Show less

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Revolution, renaissance and rebranding: Temurid figures in Uzbekistani nation-building