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Turkmenistan
Soviet Turkmenistan
Because the Turkmen generally were indifferent to the advent
of Soviet rule in 1917, little revolutionary activity occurred
in the region in the years that followed. However, the years immediately
preceding the revolution had been marked by sporadic Turkmen uprisings
against Russian rule, most prominently the anti-tsarist revolt
of 1916 that swept through the whole of Turkestan. Their armed
resistance to Soviet rule was part of the larger Basmachi Rebellion
throughout Central Asia from the 1920s into the early 1930s. Although
Soviet sources describe this struggle as a minor chapter in the
republic's history, it is clear that opposition was fierce and
resulted in the death of large numbers of Turkmen.
In October 1924, when Central Asia was divided into distinct
political entities, the Trans-Caspian District and Turkmen Oblast
of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic became the
Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. During the forced collectivization
and other extreme socioeconomic changes of the first decades of
Soviet rule, pastoral nomadism ceased to be an economic alternative
in Turkmenistan, and by the late 1930s the majority of Turkmen
had become sedentary. Efforts by the Soviet state to undermine
the traditional Turkmen way of life resulted in significant changes
in familial and political relationships, religious and cultural
observances, and intellectual developments. Significant numbers
of Russians and other Slavs, as well as groups from various nationalities
mainly from the Caucasus, migrated to urban areas. Modest industrial
capabilities were developed, and limited exploitation of Turkmenistan's
natural resources was initiated.
Data as of March 1996
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