Historical insight into the Russian colonisation of Central Asia

The captivating Dr Alexander Morrison joined staff and students at Edge Hill University's ‘Ethnicity, Race, and Racism Research Seminar' with a lecture on, ‘The Russian Empire and Colonisation in Turkestan: To sow the seed of national strife in this alien region.'

The former Oxford Fellow and Lecturer in Imperial History at the University of Liverpool, who has lately returned from a Fellowship in Japan, provided a fascinating insight into the Russian conquest of Central Asia from both a Russian and Central Asian perspective.

Dr Morrison discussed how during the late 19^th century the Tsarist State actively encouraged its people, particularly the poorest groups, to migrate to Turkestan for a better quality of life, and how by 1908 some 150,000 people had made the journey across Europe into Central Asia. 

In contrast to this, the Russian military authorities based there voiced real concerns over this migration, in terms of both the acute strain it placed on the limited resources of the region and the social tension caused by the influx of Christian Europeans with the native Muslim population.  

By 1916 their worries were proved correct when a widespread revolt led to 2,500 settlers being killed, prompting swift and brutal retaliation by both the settlers and the Russian authorities.

Seminar organiser James Renton comments, "Central Asia is of vital importance in international politics today. Dr Morrison's paper gave us some wonderful insights into the history of Russian colonialism in the region, and some very interesting parallels with other European Empires of the time." He continues, "Having such a fascinating and original scholar such as Alexander visit Edge Hill is a great opportunity for our students and staff."  

The next Ethnicity, Race, and Racism Seminar will feature Simon Mayers from the University of Manchester discussing"Murdered in odium fidei": A case study of Jewish-Catholic relations in England in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries', and will take place on Wednesday 2^nd February at 1pm. For further information visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/english/research/racismseminar