Veiled Empire: Gender and Power in Stalinist Central Asia by Douglas Northrop (review)

594 Рецензии/Reviews Akim ELNAZAROV Douglas Northrop, Veiled Empire : Gender and Power in Stalinist Central Asia (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004). 416 p. 5 tables, 5 maps, 37 halftones. Index. ISBN: 0-8014-8891-5. The book under review represents a positive and an important contribution to the growing literature on the history of the Central Asian republics during the Soviet period. It aims to provide a complete picture of one of the most fascinating stories of the ways in which the Central Asian nations were incorporated into the Soviet Empire – the unveiling campaign. The author describes this campaign in Uzbekistan, a country that stands at the heart of Central Asia. He provides a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the socalled hujum (assault against veils), from the establishment of Soviet rule to the beginning of World War Two, which drastically diverted the attention from the hujum to fending off the German assault. The unveiling of Uzbek women marked a significant and conspicuous sign of Soviet intervention into the life of Central Asian Muslims, and challenged the very fabric of their identity. As such it provoked widespread resistance across the Central Asian republics to the Soviet Empire and the new Soviet identity. This resistance was multifaceted, involving many layers of society, from peasants in remote villages to members of the communist party, who tried to accommodate their new roles and positions within their cultural, social, and religious affiliations. The process of unveiling and “re-veiling” is well depicted in the monograph. The analysis draws upon extensive and substantial material from various archives that were previously inaccessible for critical research agendas, or when used, simply depicted pro-Soviet sentiments and interests with an insufficiently critical outlook. The author manages 595 Ab Imperio, 3/2004 to provide the other side of the story: the complexity and subtleties of the unveiling campaign, its successes and pitfalls, and the challenges Soviet authorities could hardly acknowledge but had to deal with. The arguments and assumptions proposed by the author are substantiated by the voices of the people who experienced and led this transition. By pointing out the intricacies of this campaign, the author reveals the extent of Soviet power and domination over the CentralAsian republics. He underlines the fact that Central Asian Muslims were not simply recipients of Moscow’s directives and orders, but demonstrated covertly and overtly their own interpretations and, when necessary, resisted in order to preserve the attributes of their identity, in particular the veiling and seclusion of women. Despite these strengths, the book needs to be approached with a certain critical eye. The author seems to overemphasize the extent of Soviet hegemony in Uzbekistan, comparing it to the British Empire and its campaigns in India. He looks at the whole situation of the unveiling campaign from a colonial perspective , which limits the overarching nature of the transformation of Central Asian Muslims. The values and principles advocated and perhaps reinforced by coercive Soviet measures are underestimated. Perhaps resistance would have been more persistent if the principles of social justice and equality were adhered to. Yet opportunities for women to work and advance in their careers as well as be more active members of society were simply rhetoric and far from reality. The author concedes, though with a certain bias against the Soviet system, that the religious clergy and boi (wealthy people who lost their property in the Soviet system ) stood behind the many upheavals against the unveiling campaign. It was also apparent that the social changes advocated by the Communists did not match their interests, depriving them of the benefits the social structure bestowed on them. Questions may arise in the mind of the reader regarding the importance of the unveiling of women in Central Asia: “Was the campaign for unveiling of women the right approach taken by the party or they should have been left veiled?”, “Were there other alternatives to liberating the women while they remained veiled?” These and many similar questions remain unexplored in the book, which probably stems from the relativistic approach undertaken by the author. Such an approach could be looked upon as one of the strengths of the book, which allows the author to observe the complexity and...