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Searching for BukharaBaqer Moin aa BBC World Service, LondonPublished online: 18 Jun 2010.

To cite this article: Baqer Moin (1993) Searching for Bukhara, Asian Affairs,24:2, 170-179, DOI: 10.1080/714041211

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Mr. Moin is Head of the Persian Section in the BBC World Service, Lon-don. His lecture on The New Republics of Central Asia was given to theSociety on 18 November 1992.

BUKHARA IS THE city where my mother was born and brought up into thecomfortable life of the elite who lost out to the Bolsheviks in the 1920'sand who fled to neighbouring Afghanistan and Persia. Her nostalgia forthe beloved homeland was further intensified with the hardships of life inexile. This everpresent, colourful and strong nostalgia was mingled withthe material Bukhara of silk, gold and carpet in which she was brought up.She was influenced by a historic dimension of nostalgia for Bukhara,common to most people in the region known for their soft feelings forpoetry. The Bukhara syndrome verges on, if not outweighs, the search forThe New Jerusalem.

Bukhara, especially in the tenth century under the Samanids, was thecentre of a cultural renaissance after nearly three centuries of Arab domin-ation. It has been described by a contemporary historian as "the focus ofsplendour, the shrine of the empire, the meeting place of the most uniqueintellects of the age, the horizon of the literary stars of the world, and fairto the greatest scholars of the period ". The image of the celestial, romanticand fabulous city of Bukhara has been around ever since. This intensefeeling is constantly evoked by a song written in the early part of the tenthcentury. The impact of this celestial song is as great now as the day it wasimprovised by the father of Persian poetry, Rudaki, the blind poet, singerand harp player of the tenth century.

Attracted by the charm of Herat and its environs, the Samanid Prince,Emir Nasr, had stayed away from his capital Bukhara for about fouryears. The Emir was yearned for by his household in Bukhara, and theentourage were impatient to go back to their families and friends. Thepoet laureate and singer of the Prince, Rudaki, was approached by theEmir's entourage to compose a song powerful enough to induce thePrince to return to his native Bukhara. In return, he was promised fivethousand gold dinars. Rudaki, who himself was longing "for those dearfriends long left behind ", improvised a simple ballad depicting a nostalgicreminiscence of Bukhara. It was a very emotional occasion. The Princewas on his throne in the encampment near Herat. The army was in atten-dance. Their hearts were throbbing to see how this blind poet was going tomesmerise the Prince. Thus, Rudaki, the harp-player, began his eternalsong in the presence of the Emir accompanied by his rud or harp. Workinghis way up the emotional ladder he turned " the toilsome sands of Oxussofter than silk " to welcome the Emir.

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The sands of Oxus, toilsome though they be,Beneath my feet were soft silk to me.Long live Bukhara, be thou of good cheer!Joyous towards thee hasteth our Emir!The moon is the Prince, Bukhara is the sky;O sky, the Moon will light thee by and by!Bukhara is the mead, the Cypress he;Receive at last, O Mead, the Cypress-Tree!

As soon as Rudaki reached this line, the much affected Prince descend-ed from his throne and jumped on to the horse of the sentinel on duty withsuch haste that his riding boots had to be taken to him later on the way.Instead of the promised five thousand dinars, Rudaki was rewarded withten thousand dinars for his achievement. His eternal reward, however, isthe significance given to him in Persian literature and culture over thecourse of the centuries, not for inducing the Emir to return to Bukhara,but for the simple fact that he has turned Bukhara into an eternal spiritualhome with his song.

Exiled as she was, my mother died an unhappy woman feeling robbedof her life by events; her nostalgia for Bukhara was never diminished.Bukhara for her was not only a city, it was an identity. It is this quest foridentity that is troubling the people of Central Asia. The nostalgia for aspiritual homeland is a means not only for the expression of nationalisticaspirations, but also for achieving ethnic identity and self-recognitionwhich has been denied for nearly a century by the imposition of firstRussian rule and then the Soviet system. For my mother, Bukhara was acity she had once lived in and even though there were things embellishedby a colourful imagination over passing years, they were based on person-al experiences. The extremities of temperature have always made Bukharaan introvert of a city. That is the old city. Modest and inward-lookingwith andaruni, or inner quarters, for the family and outer quarters, orbiruni, for the guests. The new part of the city looks spacious and con-fused. Rows of apartment blocks separated by wide boulevards lined withyoung trees signify the new part. While the old Bukhara, referred to by itsinhabitants as Holy Bukhara, or " Bukhoro-ye-Sharif", is proud thoughdilapidated, the new one is as good as any modern city looking for charac-ter and identity. The society is the same, divided horizontally and verti-cally.

The Central Asians I have encountered in Central Asia were not poor.In health and education, and in housing the minimum was there. Thispoverty was hardly physical, but mainly spiritual. I came across a teacherin Bukhara. He was relatively well dressed, had finished university andworked for the government. He was capable of offering a well-argued casein favour of his method of work in Russian, the language he had beeneducated in. He could express himself in English. But that was the limit,and he was aware of it. When he talked about various topics of his culture

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in his own language he was almost incapable of expressing himself andcarrying on any argument except for a few prototype old phrases revealinghis nostalgia. He was not, and does not want to be a robot; he feels he isCentral Asian, but his feeling is not tangible. Even though a new arrival, Iwas not the only one seeking the motherland. Wherever I went I dis-covered that people were looking for that which was unattainable. In 1992when I visited Central Asia again the search for identity had found someoutward and inward expression. The search has taken people towardsIslam, nationalism and ethnic origin. Russian communist rule haschanged to mainly local communist rule. The story is the same almosteverywhere.

Geographically, Central Asia means territory currently occupied bythe former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tajikistan, Turk-menistan and Uzbekistan. The term "Central Asia" also tends to includeimmediately adjacent areas, or areas a little further away which have veryclose ethnic and cultural links to them: many Uighurs (people closelyrelated to Kazakhs) live over the border in China; there are many Tajiks,Uzbeks, and Turkmens in Afghanistan; Azerbaijan, on the western shoreof the Caspian, is also usually grouped together with the Central Asians.They have strong cultural, and increasingly, political and economic bondsto Turkey and Iran. Turkey's secular state is seen by many as a role model.Istanbul Turkish is easily understood by Azeris. Across the Caspian Sea inCentral Asia proper understanding is much reduced.

Although the Central Asians are predominantly Sunni Muslim, notShia, the cultural affinity with Iran runs through Bukhara and Samarkandand, more importantly, through Tajikistan. Tajiks speak Persian andthere are large numbers of them living throughout Central Asia, notablyin Uzbekistan. There are strong links between Iran and Azerbaijan too:large numbers of Azeris live on either side of the Iranian border. In fact,there are few if any clear frontiers between the nations, and racial diversityis part and parcel of everyday life. Unnatural borders cut through com-munities and make for fragile ethnic balances. Up to 25% of the popu-lation consists of non-Muslim groups, mostly Russians, and it is they whohave brought the social order as well as literacy and secular learning.Hence Russian has become the lingua franca throughout the region.

Kazakhstan is the most influential country in the region. With an areaof 2,717,000 sq. km. it was formed as an Autonomous Republic within theRussian Federation in August 1920. It has a population of 16,000,000, ofwhich just over 40% are Kazakhs and just under 40% are Russians. Itscapital, Alma Ata, has a population of 1,151,000. Geographically, itextends from the Volga to the Altai mountains in the West Siberian plainsto the Central Asian deserts. It has a frontier with China in the southeast.In October 1990 the Kazakh Supreme Soviet adopted a declaration ofstate sovereignty. It was one of the last republics to declare full indepen-dence. It is the second largest republic in the C.I.S., with a majoritynon-Kazakh (mainly Russian and Ukrainian) population. It probably

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ranks third in importance, after the Russian Federation and Ukraine. ItsPresident, Nursoltan Nazarbaiev, is a reformist and one of the most influ-ential leaders in the C.I.S. Nationalist and Islamic forces are putting pres-sure on Nazarbaiev to change the middle course he is following betweenthe Russian population and the Kazahks. He is a strong advocate of thedrive against political Islam. At the same time he has distanced himselffrom nationalism advocated by radical Kazakhs who ultimately wouldlike to Kazakhify the country.

Kazakhstan contains about 20 per cent of the cultivated area of theformer Soviet Union, growing mainly grain and cotton. It has rich mineralresources, heavy engineering and chemicals, and is the third most impor-tant industrial republic. It still has nuclear weapons on its soil. This hasgiven the country an important position in the region and a bargainingcard in dealing with the outside world.

Kirghizstan is the closest country to Kazakhstan in the region and itmay ultimately join Kazakhstan. It was made an Autonomous Republicin February 1926. In October 1990 the Kirghiz Supreme Soviet renamedthe republic the Socialist Republic of Kirghizstan. It was one of the firstCentral Asian republics to declare independence after the failed coup inMoscow in August 1991.

The Kirghiz president, Askar Akayev, is the most liberal of the CentralAsian leaders, and the strongest advocate of a market economy. Kir-ghizstan is a small, mountainous and landlocked republic with an area of198,000 sq. km., which has a frontier with China to the southeast, Kazakh-stan to the north and Tajikistan to the south. Out of the population of4,300,000 just over 50% are Kirghiz, about 25% Russian and 13% Uzbek.The republic has a small but highly mechanised agricultural sector. It isself-sufficient in most crops and livestock although its main industry is theprocessing of agricultural products and manufacturing light consumergoods. It has also well developed hydro-electric power stations.

Sharing the Caspian shores with Kazakhstan is Turkmenistan, formedin October 1924. In August 1990 the Turkmen Supreme Soviet adopted adeclaration of state sovereignty, and declared full independence inOctober 1991. It is a small republic, with much of it covered by desert. Itspresident, Saparmurad Niyazov, is an orthodox communist, who has triedto keep nationalist and religious feelings under strict control. It has beenthe slowest of the Central Asian republics in introducing political reform.

Turkmenistan is the second largest producer of gas in the C.I.S. It is anet exporter of electricity, and also produces some oil. Its main agricultu-ral product is cotton, and there is also livestock farming. Turkmenistan isthe southernmost republic within the C.I.S. It is landlocked, with an areaof 488,100 sq. km., bordering Iran on the south and Afghanistan on thesoutheast. The population is 3,600,000 with 70% of Turkmen, 13%Russian, 12% Uzbek and Kazakh.

Next to this sparsely populated country stands Uzbekistan. It wasformed in October 1924. In 1990 the Uzbek Supreme Soviet adopted a

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declaration of sovereignty, and was one of the first Central Asian republicsto declare full independence after the August coup.

Uzbekistan is the most populous of the Central Asian republics with apopulation of 20,000,000 over an area of 447,000 sq. km. With its hugemineral resources it is seen as the leading power, with the best economicpotential. Its president, Islam Karimov, is an old-style communist who isintroducing some economic reform, but has tried to keep an authoritariangrip on political power and has clamped down on growing oppositionfrom liberal as well as Islamic groups.

Uzbekistan has large reserves of gas, coal, oil, and several other min-erals, including gold, uranium, copper, and aluminium. Its industry isconcentrated on the extraction and processing of these minerals, but hasalso some heavy and light industries. Agriculture is dominated by inten-sive cultivation of cotton, which has caused immense environmental prob-lems.

Uzbekistan is situated in the heart of Central Asia and has a shortborder with Afghanistan in the south. It has increased its influence drasti-cally by helping to bring to power its friends in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan, the poorest republic in the C.I.S., was formed as an Auton-omous Republic in October 1924.

In August 1990 the Tadjik Supreme Soviet asserted the republic's rightto secede from the Soviet Union, and it declared independence soon afterthe August coup. The first elected Tajik president, Rahman Nabiev, anold-style communist, was forced out by a coalition of secular and Islamicforces. After eight weeks of non-stop demonstrations in April and May1992, they forced him to set up a coalition government with them, andgained a substantial number of key jobs. Soon, however, the coalitioncollapsed. Supporters of Mr. Nabiev helped by Russian and Uzbek troopsbrought back the former communists, led by Emamali Rahmanov, topower late in 1992. It was a bloody change which led to death and dis-placement of thousands of people in the country.

Tajikistan is an agrarian society. It is a major producer of cotton andfruit. It has deposits of rare elements such as uranium, radium, andarsenic. There are limited light manufacturing industries. With an area of143,000 sq. km, it is landlocked and has a border with Afghanistan to thesouth, and China to the east. It has a predominantly rural population of5,100,000 (est. 1989) of which about 60% are Tajik, 23% Uzbek, and 10%Russian.

The only country amongst the Muslim republics of the former SovietUnion that has changed leadership is the Azerbaijan Republic. It wasformed in April 1920 and joined the U.S.S.R. in December 1922. Itdeclared independence soon after the August coup, despite the earlierresistance of its leadership to secessionist pressures from the opposition.

Azerbaijan occupies an area of 86,600 sq. km. and has an overallpopulation of 7,100,000. Its politics have been dominated by the conflictwith neighbouring Armenia over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Aftersuccessive setbacks on the war front, the former Azeri president, AyazMutalibov, an orthodox communist, was forced out of office last year by

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the nationalist opposition, Popular Front, led by Abolfazl Ilchbey, whowon the presidential elections on 7 June 1992.

Azerbaijan's most important industry is oil production, although itsoutput has been steadily declining since the 1950's. The engineering andfishing industries are also important. Its main agricultural product iscotton.

Azerbaijan occupies the eastern part of Transcaucasia facing theCaspian Sea, and has a border with Iran in the south. It includes twoautonomous enclaves: Nakhchevan and Nagorno-Karabakh (with its pre-dominantly Armenian population, which is disputed by neighbouringArmenia).

For over one hundred years the passive Central Asians have not beenin charge of their own fate; even independence was not fought for. The fiveCentral Asian republics are very isolated; they have diverse cultures,encompassing many ethnic groups with different languages and dialects.They should not be thought of as nation-states in the same way as wethink of France or Germany. For example, Kazakhs are a minority inKazakhstan; in Uzbekistan there are people from different ethnic back-grounds, speaking different languages, all living together in the sametown. Since independence the old communist establishments haveremained largely intact, with a struggle going on between them and thenewly emerging opposition forces (nationalist, liberal and religious). Theextent of this varies from country to country.

The economic situation, though not critical at the moment, is likely toget a great deal worse before getting any better. The Central Asian repub-lics have been subsidised by Moscow for a long time, but these subsidiesare now drying up. The economy is likely to be the crucial factor indetermining the new republics' future. The natural resources are there butthey are generally difficult to get at and transportation of goods is also abig problem. On top of that, they have a shortage of skilled people for amarket economy - managers, economists, lawyers, etc. In Russia, Ukraine,Bielarus, there was some understanding of the outside world - economistswho were vaguely familiar with Western ideas and practices; the same istrue of managers, lawyers, etc., but this is not the case in Central Asia.Although there is poverty, it is not a grinding poverty, it is not on the samescale as poverty in Africa or in the sub-continent; relatively speaking, thestandard of living is high. Environmental problems tend to be the result ofseventy years of neglect, and Central Asians are looking for financialassistance to help solve them.

A striking feature in the region is the strength of Russian culture,especially among the educated urban elite. This is resented in the coun-tryside where Russian influence is much weaker. However, even amongthe most nationalistic circles, Russian will remain the lingua franca asmany people cannot express themselves eloquently in the local languages.Novels and poetry, though written in the local languages, have a Westernidiom/form (through Russian influence). The other consideration is theeconomy: in many republics Russians make up the best educated andmost skilled sections of the population. There is much debate about

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changing the alphabet, and a "typewriter war" is going on - it's not yetclear which alphabet will prevail although indications are that, with theexception of Tajikistan, the republics will eventually adopt the Latin alp-habet (mainly through Turkish influence).

With the weakening of central power and the disappearance of thealmighty central authority in Moscow, old rivalries (e.g. over water andterritory) are resurfacing. The structure of the societies varies: in Turkme-nistan, Kazakhstan and Kirghizstan the power blocs are clan-based; inTajikistan and Uzbekistan they are based on regional and territorial loy-alties. These differences would prevent the emergence of any big nationwithin the republics. Because of ethnic tensions it is unlikely that a CentralAsian (Muslim) bloc will emerge, not least because they are also economicrivals (for foreign assistance).

What is most concerning the former communist leaderships in theserepublics is the Islamic revival. The Western powers as well as theKremlin are worried. But for the time being the leaderships should not beunduly concerned except for their own incompetence. The relationshipbetween the religious leadership and the political leadership is complex.The official religious hierarchy is generally appointed by and tends tosupport the political leadership. In Tajikistan, Qazi Akbar Turajan-zadeh,the main religious leader, was dismissed when the political leadershipchanged in the country and he was replaced by a pro-government mullah.But gradually a new generation of young activists are emerging who nolonger pay allegiance to officially supported mullahs. They generally, butnot always, support the opposition movements. However, these alle-giances are constantly shifting.

The problem for the leadership is not helped by the fact that Islam is acentral component of the cultural heritage of Central Asia. Most of Islam'searly scholars were from this region. After centuries of isolation and morethan seventy years of communism, people have a very limited, and oftenfolkloric knowledge of Islam. Many people, for instance, do not see acontradiction between being a devout Muslim and drinking alcohol at thesame time. Not many Muslim preachers can read the Qoran correctly, letalone understand its meanings.

Interest in Islam, at this stage, is more a search for identity thanembracing the Islamic doctrine. Even in Tajikistan where Islamic mili-tancy became particularly strong, it was more a tool of political protestthan a doctrinal issue. Similarly in Uzbekistan's Ferghana valley, one ofthe poorest areas of Uzbekistan, Islamic sentiment has not yet become anall-embracing ideology.

The frenzy to be first in Central Asia has attracted a lot of interest fromdiverse countries. But none has yet achieved supremacy. Turkey, Iran,Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, China, India,Japan and South Korea are vying for political, commercial, cultural anddiplomatic influence. There are also strong links with North Korea. Thegeneral view is that it is too easy to speak of choice - Central Asiansare struggling to survive and will turn to whoever is prepared to offerhelp.

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As for the major industrialised countries, the U.S. position seems to bebased on containing what it perceives to be the "danger of funda-mentalism". Britain has trade and commercial interests in Azerbaijan,Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and to a lesser extent in Uzbekistan. Germanshave good relations with Kazakhstan and are acting independently tohelp German communities. Japan is showing interest and is trying toconsolidate its standing in the region, mainly through trade and somehumanitarian aid.

The Arab world is generally curious, but countries like Libya andSaudi Arabia in particular are playing a rather more active role. TheSaudis have helped in building mosques and spreading traditional Islamicbooks. Turkey seems to have "beaten" Iran in the diplomatic game.Turkey was first to open its embassies in all the capital cities and Turkishbusinessmen are very involved in the region. Turkey is trying to promotethe Latin alphabet, Turkish television is available and there are now airlinks (though these are very irregular).

As for Iran, the obvious link is Islam and a common cultural heritage.The Iranians have tried to influence the region not so much throughreligion as through their cultural and economic links. Until recently Iranand the Central Asian Republics had very little knowledge of each other,and their impressions were coloured by Cold War attitudes. Iran is partic-ularly active in Tajikistan where people speak the same language andshare the same culture as the Iranians. However, the fall of the Islamic andDemocratic parties coalition in December 1992 was a major setback forIran. Iran's strategic relations with Moscow were a major factor in nothelping the Islamic forces in Tajikistan. As for the possibility that Iranmight "export fundamentalism" to the region, this seems very unlikely:any pressure in this direction is likely to come from within rather thanfrom the outside.

Afghanistan has two types of links, through the former communistsand through the Afghan Mujahedin; the former have weakened but thelatter are very much alive (many Afghan Mujahedin in the resistance wereTajik, Uzbek and Turkmen). The Tajik government often accused someAfghan Mujahedin of supporting the Islamic forces in the internal strife ofTajikistan. Pakistan may have a very important role should the linksbetween Central Asia and Afghanistan become stronger. There arevarious factions inside Pakistan trying to stir up Islamic sentiment;should extremism from within breed in Central Asia then the region couldbe a fertile ground for these factions. India is very worried by the possi-bility that Pakistan may make inroads in the region. If Pakistan becomesan important player in Central Asia this will strengthen its standing andIndia would have to deal with a much stronger Pakistan.

There are strong links between China and Central Asia. The Uighursin Kazakhstan and Kirghizstan are the group that shows the strongestsolidarity with people across the border. In fact, the Uighurs foster ambi-tions to re-create the eastern Turkistan republic (made up of Chinese andKazakh territory). The Kazakhs are concerned that such ambitions mayinspire other groups such as the Cossacks and other minorities. The

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Chinese for their part are extremely anxious and the Chinese leadershiphas been trying to establish good relations with their Central Asiancounterparts, especially in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kirghizstan (whichall have borders with China).

These are some of the issues in Central Asia. People I met in the streetsof Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, Bishkek, Alma Ata or Baku havechanged in the past three years. Pain and anger are evident in their faces.Alienation and frustration abound. They are not happy with their presentmasters. But the exploitation and cruelty attributed to the Russians ortheir communist henchmen in the thirties and forties were far crueller thananything now. Above all they can associate themselves with the presentrulers and their culture, while they considered the Moscow tyrants to bealien.

People in Central Asia were woken up from a wintry hibernation to bedazzled by rays of glasnost, then they were disappointed by Gorbachev. Ihappened to be in Bukhara as a guest of some newly discovered relatives.It was late evening. We were about to have the main course when thehost's young son came to tell his father about Gorbachev's speech. Thefather, a nomenclature par excellence, dismissed the boy remarking, "Yetmore chattering from Gorbachev". It was only the next day that I dis-covered that the Soviet system no longer existed, and President Gorba-chev had been making his last speech as the last president of a nowdefunct U.S.S.R. They discovered overnight they had been given indepen-dence. Soon, however, they discovered that the chain of poverty, corrup-tion and stagnation was worse than before. "For God's sake", asked awriter from Central Asia, "why can the Russians rehabilitate their writersand politicians, their Pasternaks and Sholokovs, and we cannot? "

Another writer wants to see all Turkic people of Central Asia united,be it Uzbek, Tajik, Kirghiz, Kazakh or Turkmen. She is an advocate of agreater Turkestan to be established in Central Asia. She is full of accusa-tions against what she calls the "Mafia" of bureaucracy which manipu-lates power and is a law unto itself. For the people in Central Asia,however, the issue is something different.

There are, of course, some tensions between the nationalities caused byvarious factors, including the way the borders were drawn up underStalin, which has the potential of creating inter-ethnic aggression. In addi-tion to inter-regional migrations and social dislocation of the local popu-lation some nine million Russians live in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan andKirkizstan. Some argue that the Russians are using the nationalitiesagainst each other to create artificial tension to divide and rule. Frustra-tion and anger is vividly evident among the intelligentsia, and so is ageneral interest in learning and increasing awareness.

The Russians, as well as Western observers, tend more or less tovisualise an Islamic umbrella covering all Muslims regardless of theircultural diversities. Islamic sentiment is, of course, a phenomenon inter-woven into the fabric of Central Asian society. But the revival of Islam inCentral Asia has to be seen through the general cultural aspirations of

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different nationalities. Meanwhile, the general discontent provides anideal ground for the growth of either religious or nationalistic tendenciesor both. These tendencies for Central Asians are, however, only a meansrather than a goal, a way leading to their "Bukhara", their identity. Acommon home for a Central Asian is a world apart from "the commonEuropean home" used by Mr. Gorbachev in the past, and by some advo-cates of closer cultural ties with " mother Russia ". As the mystic and poet,Jalaluddin Rumi, put it, "This home is a place which has no name. It isneither Egypt, Iraq, or Syria"; nor is this homeland Hejaz (Saudi Arabia),Turkey or Iran. For Turkic idealists it is the historic Turkestan, and forsome Tajiks the ancient Iran-Zamin (land of the Iranians). The future isneither this nor that. The blind old poet can still be heard playing his harp,singing his song and yearning for his Bukhara. Bukhara is lost. But thesearch will go on.

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