This postgraduate thesis examines the relation between the political center and its periphery in the Russian empire and Soviet union on the example of Central Asia in the time period from mid-19th century up until the begining of World war II. The author suggests that the language policies of the imperial and Soviet centres had a double role in their relation to the Central Asian periphery. One part of the policy was the establishment of an education system and administrational infrastructure, whereas this at the same time introduced elements of linguistic and cultural assimilation in order to consolidate the centre's power. The author also suggests, that the centre's approaches differed accordingly to the historical period and form of government, at which point the author determines that both mentioned periods also saw different approaches within their time frames.
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