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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Turkmenistan
Index
Because the Turkmen generally were indifferent to the advent of Soviet
rule in 1917, little revolutionary activity occurred in the region in the
years that followed. However, the years immediately preceding the
revolution had been marked by sporadic Turkmen uprisings against Russian
rule, most prominently the anti-tsarist revolt of 1916 that swept through
the whole of Turkestan. Their armed resistance to Soviet rule was part of
the larger Basmachi Rebellion throughout Central Asia from the 1920s into
the early 1930s. Although Soviet sources describe this struggle as a minor
chapter in the republic's history, it is clear that opposition was fierce
and resulted in the death of large numbers of Turkmen.
In October 1924, when Central Asia was divided into distinct political
entities, the Trans-Caspian District and Turkmen Oblast of the Turkestan
Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic became the Turkmen Soviet Socialist
Republic. During the forced collectivization and other extreme
socioeconomic changes of the first decades of Soviet rule, pastoral
nomadism ceased to be an economic alternative in Turkmenistan, and by the
late 1930s the majority of Turkmen had become sedentary. Efforts by the
Soviet state to undermine the traditional Turkmen way of life resulted in
significant changes in familial and political relationships, religious and
cultural observances, and intellectual developments. Significant numbers
of Russians and other Slavs, as well as groups from various nationalities
mainly from the Caucasus, migrated to urban areas. Modest industrial
capabilities were developed, and limited exploitation of Turkmenistan's
natural resources was initiated.
Data as of March 1996
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