ENDURING INSTRUMENTS OF PROPAGANDA FOR THE CIVILIZING MISSION: RUSSIA IN TURKESTAN

Abstract

Abstract. This article analyzes and summarizes the most common stereotypes regarding the indigenous peoples of Turkestan. Russia’s colonial policy in the conquered lands of Central Asia during the second half of the 19^th century frequently employed propaganda clichés and stereotypes about the subjugated peoples of Turkestan to justify military aggression and the transformation of the region into a colony. The study draws upon works by authors from the Russian Imperial era as well as contemporary scholarship in Russian and English.

The study aims to identify the characteristic features of the representation of the indigenous population in the Russian sources of the period under study, as well as the analysis of stereotypes and evaluative ideas about cultural identity and / or "backwardness", etc. A comparison of historical (the period of the Russian Empire) and modern scientific research in Russian and English has revealed different approaches to the interpretation of history and the cultures of the peoples of Central Asia.