‘Corruption’, nationalism, and the native elites in soviet central Asia

Abstract

In the years since Brezhnev's death, the indigenous Communist elites of Uzbekistan and other Soviet Central Asian republics have been the target of a far‐reaching purge. Ostensibly aimed at eliminating ‘corruption’ and other ‘negative phenomena’ in a region with a traditionally Muslim population, the purge appears to be in reality a determined effort by the Moscow leadership to overcome nationalism and particularism among the elites, and thus to remove an obstacle to the economic and social integration of the region. At the same time, the disparity between the region's stagnant economy and rapidly growing population threatens to increase Moscow's dependence on the elites to help it ensure future stability.