Latest / The Story of Uzbekistan: Silk Road Kingdoms and Soviet Legacy — Fexingo History
The Cotton Monoculture: How Uzbekistan Became a Cotton Colony
In Episode 84 of The Story of Uzbekistan, Lucas and Luna explore how the Soviet Union transformed Uzbekistan into a cotton monoculture, a decision that reshaped the region's economy, ecology, and society. They trace the roots of this shift to the 1920s and 1930s, when Moscow prioritized cotton self-sufficiency, forcing collective farms to dedicate over 90% of arable land to 'white gold.' The episode covers the brutal mechanism of the cotton quota system, the role of Sharof Rashidov (Uzbekistan's long-serving party boss who inflated harvest figures), and the devastating…
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