Reviews
"Undoubtedly a great contribution to the growing literature on the Central Asian region. In an elaborate analysis of cultural and educational clubs in Kyrgyzstan beginning in the 1920s, historian Ali ?men argues that Kyrgyz tradition meshed with Soviet art in the clubs to create representations of 'Kyrgyzness.' The book sheds light on the ways in which Kyrgyz selectively maintained certain pre-Soviet traditions while casting off others and adopting a new culture that resulted in an entirely new society. . . . Easy to understand and easy to read." --International Social Science Review, "Undoubtedly a great contribution to the growing literature on the Central Asian region. In an elaborate analysis of cultural and educational clubs in Kyrgyzstan beginning in the 1920s, historian Ali ?men argues that Kyrgyz tradition meshed with Soviet art in the clubs to create representations of 'Kyrgyzness.' The book sheds light on the ways in which Kyrgyz selectively maintained certain pre-Soviet traditions while casting off others and adopting a new culture that resulted in an entirely new society. . . . Easy to understand and easy to read." —International Social Science Review, "Igmen contributes an exemplary addition to the fields of oral history, cultural studies, and national identity." -- Oral History Review, "Igmen's research in Kyrgyzstan links rural to urban and local to national in an exploration of the cultural construction of 'Kyrgyzness.' In this admirable example of cultural history, the Soviet state shaped the structures through which Kyrgyz were to become modern, but Igmen elucidates the content of culture, drawing on many voices of Kyrgyz who articulate the ways that their own concepts of Kyrgyzness infused new cultural forms, rendering them meaningful." -Marianne Kamp, University of Wyoming, "While Central Eurasia has too often been neglected in modern scholarship, Kyrgyzstan has proved especially under-explored. Igmen has aided the field by delving into Central Asian archives and conducting invaluable oral history interviews. His book expands our understanding of Kyrgyz experiences of Soviet culture and power. It invites not only new lines of historical inquiry into the Kyrgyz past, but also helps to contextualize and better appreciate the Kyrgyz present." --Europe-Asia Studies , "The book's special contribution lies in examining the people in charge of implementing what we would now call the 'soft power' policies of the Soviet revolution in Central Asia, the Kyrgyz artistic intelligentsia whose subjectivity was formed in the employ of the first Soviet clubs, theaters, and houses of culture." --The Russian Review, "Drawing on the rich history of comparative colonialism, Dr. Igmen's fascinating account of the Cultural Revolution in Kyrgyzstan analyzes the many ways in which the Kyrgyz intelligentsia appropriated and refashioned the Soviet project in Central Asia." -Choi Chatterjee, California State University, Los Angeles, "While Central Eurasia has too often been neglected in modern scholarship, Kyrgyzstan has proved especially under-explored. Igmen has aided the field by delving into Central Asian archives and conducting invaluable oral history interviews. His book expands our understanding of Kyrgyz experiences of Soviet culture and power. It invites not only new lines of historical inquiry into the Kyrgyz past, but also helps to contextualize and better appreciate the Kyrgyz present." --Europe-Asia Studies, "Igmen's research in Kyrgyzstan links rural to urban and local to national in an exploration of the cultural construction of 'Kyrgyzness.' In this admirable example of cultural history, the Soviet state shaped the structures through which Kyrgyz were to become modern, but Igmen elucidates the content of culture, drawing on many voices of Kyrgyz who articulate the ways that their own concepts of Kyrgyzness infused new cultural forms, rendering them meaningful." --Marianne Kamp, University of Wyoming, "Undoubtedly a great contribution to the growing literature on the Central Asian region. In an elaborate analysis of cultural and educational clubs in Kyrgyzstan beginning in the 1920s, historian Ali ??men argues that Kyrgyz tradition meshed with Soviet art in the clubs to create representations of 'Kyrgyzness.' The book sheds light on the ways in which Kyrgyz selectively maintained certain pre-Soviet traditions while casting off others and adopting a new culture that resulted in an entirely new society. . . . Easy to understand and easy to read." --International Social Science Review, "Drawing on the rich history of comparative colonialism, Dr. Igmen's fascinating account of the Cultural Revolution in Kyrgyzstan analyzes the many ways in which the Kyrgyz intelligentsia appropriated and refashioned the Soviet project in Central Asia." --Choi Chatterjee, California State University, Los Angeles, "The book's special contribution lies in examining the people in charge of implementing what we would now call the 'soft power' policies of the Soviet revolution in Central Asia, the Kyrgyz artistic intelligentsia whose subjectivity was formed in the employ of the first Soviet clubs, theaters, and houses of culture." -The Russian Review, Drawing on the rich history of comparative colonialism, Dr. Igmen's fascinating account of the Cultural Revolution in Kyrgyzstan analyzes the many ways in which the Kyrgyz intelligentsia appropriated and refashioned the Soviet project in Central Asia." —Choi Chatterjee, California State University, Los Angeles