The Tashkent Oasis: Russia's Forgotten Colony

The Story of Uzbekistan: Silk Road Kingdoms and Soviet Legacy — Fexingo History · May 2, 2026 · 5m · transcript

In this episode of The Story of Uzbekistan, Lucas and Luna explore the lesser-known story of how Tsarist Russia transformed Tashkent from a medieval Islamic city into a colonial capital. After the Russian conquest in 1865, General Konstantin von Kaufman implemented a policy of indirect rule, preserving Islamic courts and waqf endowments to avoid rebellion. But beneath the surface, the city became a laboratory for colonial experiments: from the construction of a European 'New City' with wide boulevards and parks, to the introduction of Russian education, to the emergence of a class…