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Recent political changes in Central Asia, where the United States is replacing Russia as the dominant power, are having a profound effect on Russian speakers in the region. These people, formerly perceived as progressive and engaging with Europe, are now confronted by the erasure of their literary, musical, cinematic and journalistic culture, as local ethnic and American cultures become much stronger. 

This book examines the predicament of Russian culture in Central Asia, looking at literature, language, cinema, music, and religion. It argues that the Soviet past was much more complex than the simplified, polarised rhetoric of the Cold War period and also that the present situation, in which politicians from the former Soviet regime often continue in power, is equally complex.

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Uzbekistan has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners.This report puts these executives on the fast track.Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources).Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given. ... Read more

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Chapters: Pilaf, Kanka, Uzbekistan, Culture of Uzbekistan, Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum, Uzbekisation, Aqsaqal, Shahruhiya, Chor-Bakr, Xazorasp, Boysun, Rabati Malik Caravanserai, Public Holidays in Uzbekistan, Khanbandi, Tubeteika, Sheikh Mukhtar-Vali Complex, National Library of Uzbekistan. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 49. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Pilaf, also called polo , polao, pilau, pilav, pilaff, plov or pulao in their adopted languages (Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Marathi, Uzbek, Turkmen, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Pashto, Persian, Armenian etc.) and in Greek - (Pilafi-), is a dish in which a grain, such as rice or cracked wheat, is browned in oil, and then cooked in a seasoned broth. In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of burned onion, as well as a large mix of spices. The English term pilaf is borrowed directly from Turkish, but all these terms ultimately derive from (Classical) Persian , which is pronounced in Persian (Dari), and in standard Iranian Persian, polów. In Urdu is pronounced pulo . Depending on the local cuisine, it may also contain a variety of meat and vegetables. Pilaf and similar dishes are common to Middle Eastern, Central and South Asian, East African, Latin American, and Caribbean cuisines. Plov being prepared in a qozonThere is historical evidence that the cultivation of rice was introduced systematically into Mesopotamia and southwestern Iran on a large scale in the 5th century BCE, making rice available to the people of Central Asia and the Middle East on a scale that was not possible previously. Persian culinary terms referring to rice preparations are numerous and have found their way into the neighbouring languages: Polow (rice cooked in broth while the grains remain separate, straining th...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=581997 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3815 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from World Policy Journal, published by World Policy Institute on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 5146 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Uzbekistan's eternal realities: a report from Tashkent.
Author: Gregory Feifer
Publication: World Policy Journal (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: World Policy Institute
Volume: 19Issue: 1Page: 81(9)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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Recent political changes in Central Asia, where the United States is replacing Russia as the dominant power, are having a profound effect on Russian speakers in the region. These people, formerly perceived as progressive and engaging with Europe, are now confronted by the erasure of their literary, musical, cinematic and journalistic culture, as local ethnic and American cultures become much stronger.

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Text in cyrillic (Russian or Uzbek). Illustrated with diagrams and black-and-white photographs. ... Read more

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Since its rediscovery by European explorers and travelers in the nineteenth century, the Silk Road has lost none of its fascination. It continues to evoke images of heavily laden caravans crossing endless deserts, steppes, and mountain ranges to reach the markets of wealthy oasis towns. From the second century BC, this network of merchants' routes, well over 4,000 miles long, linked China and the Roman Empire. It served the trade of luxury goods, notably silk, and stimulated the spread of ideas about religion, culture, and art. The young republic of Uzbekistan, with its ancient urban cultural centers of Bukhara, Chiwa, and Samarkand, is the heartland of the Silk Road. The artistic and cultural history of the region, through more than two millennia, is clearly explained here, together with analyses of the architecture, the art of the book, Islamic arts and crafts, and the rich variety of textiles of the region. The wealth of illustrations is drawn from objects in European and Uzbek museums and private collections, many published for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Comprehensive guide through the ages.
This German collaboration does well in discussing the general history of the region from the pre-Islamic Sogdian and Bactrian kingdoms, to the khanates and the intrigues of the Great Game to the present day independantcountry.

Uzbekistan itself, strangely enough, is largely a Soviet eracreation. The present borders include the historically important towns ofSamarkand and Burkhara (and much of the Fergana Valley), much to theannoyance of Tadjikistan. Thus, the work focusses on the regionaldefinition of Uzbekistan rather than as a people. (The Uzbeks trace theirname from Ozbeg, a leader of tribes of Mongol descent in the 14thCentury).

Vivid pictures of works of art as well as early photographschronicle the cultural sophistication in what was once the crossroads ofthe greatest civillizations in antiquity. An in depth analysis of thedifferent patterns and motifs in carpets points attest to the subtleinfluences in the region. The book cannot be faulted on its detail of itsanalysis of artifacts and works of art. Long a people with a nomadicinclination, such influences did not necessarily remain rooted for long,and these remain as probably its most reliable catalog of its past.

Thussaid, the book is informative to the point of being somewhat staid in itsnarrative. Not much is said about life after the transition from the formerUzbek SSR to an independant country. The work is obviously of some nationalimportance as the President of the new Republic provides theforward.

Recommended if you hold more than a casual interest in theregion. ... Read more

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The national dancers of Uzbekistan are almost always female. In a society that has been Muslim for nearly seven hundred years, why and how did unveiled female dancers become a beloved national icon during the Soviet period? Also, why has their popularity continued after the Uzbek republic became independent? The author argues that dancers, as symbolic "girls" or unmarried females in the Uzbek kinship system, are effective mediators between extended kin groups, and the Uzbek nation-state. The female dancing body became a otabula rasa" upon which the state inscribed, and reinscribed, constructions of "Uzbek" nationalism. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Touchingly sad, funny and worthwhile
This is a different sort of book.It's not fiction, but it doesn't really read like a memoir either.It's the true story of Bibish, an Uzbeki woman who grows up in a tiny village.Bibish is sexually assaulted on more than one occasion, but never tells anyone because in her culture, she would be punished for the assaults.She endures numerous hardships but somehow maintains hope and a desire to escape her difficult life.She loves to dance but is punished for doing so by her family.She makes her escape, which leads to a whole new series of pitfalls.

Although many of the things that happen to her are horrific, there are other, more light hearted aspects of the novel too.When Bibish moves to Russia and sets up a stall in the marketplace, she hasn't quite got the hang of the Russian language and makes some fairly inappropriate, and hilarious, gaffes while trying to talk to customers.The tone of the book is very conversational, almost a cross between a journal and a long talk with a close friend.It's both sad and uplifting, and a clear and personal portrait of one woman's struggle to survive oppression and poverty with her spirit intact.

A great book!
I really liked this book. I like that she wrote it as though she were just talking to you and telling her story face to face. I'm still not sure why it says "one muslim woman's quest for freedom" in the description though. Maybe the publisher thought it would make for a good sale?
At some points in this book I wanted to cry, and then at some points I was laughing so hard I did cry. She is a very spirited woman, but I just wish that she would stand up for herself a little more. She doesn't dwell on the bad things. She tells it like it is and then moves on. I'm left with the impression that she plans to write a sequal and thats why the ending was a bit abrupt. ... Read more