The Russian Colonial Economy in Central Asia

Abstract

The article addresses selected problems of the colonial economy in Central Asia which appeared following the Russian conquest of this region. The basis of this economy was the cultivation of a new, American cotton variety across the region and the subsequent development of cotton growing on an industrial scale. As a result of the large-scale introduction of this agricultural-technical culture, significant changes occurred in the structure of the region’s economy. One negative consequence of this transition to a colonial economy was the demise of the manufacture of finished products that had been common prior to Russian conquest of the region. This development reconfigured trade relations of the Bukhara Emirate, Khiva, and Kokand Khanates (Turkestan) with Russia, as following colonization the bulk of cotton exports to Russia was made up of raw materials, primarily cotton and cotton fiber. Cotton also played an important role in the regional geopolitics of Russia, particularly with regard to Afghanistan. Accordingly, it was more important for Russia to expand Afghanistan’s cotton production than to be dependent on cotton supplied from the United States. Railways became important elements of the colonial economy by providing a vital connection between urban centers and rural agricultural areas. This not only accelerated the delivery of raw materials, primarily cotton, to Russian industrial-textile centers, but also significantly reduced the delivery costs of goods. However, the unilateral development of this regional colonial economy ultimately aggravated social conditions among local populations. After the establishment of Soviet control in Central Asia, the agricultural policy of the Tsarist government became the prototype for the Bolsheviks in defining this region’s economic role in the Soviet economic system.