International academic conference „Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - Summary [PHOTO coverage] - Instytut Pileckiego

Three days, dozens of presentations, and researchers from Poland and abroad summed up the international academic conference held at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw on 2–4 September.

The event was devoted to the history of Soviet Central Asia – a region marked by mass repression, deportations, famine, collectivization, the destruction of local elites and religious structures, and far-reaching Soviet social engineering. Particular attention in the program was given to the experiences of Poles deported to Central Asia.

The conference program demonstrated the wide range of perspectives from which the region can be studied. Discussions covered topics including archives and audiovisual sources, Russian colonialism, deportations, repression and nationality policy, religion and secularization, collective memory, the experiences of Poles and other deported communities, as well as contemporary Central Asia and the legacy of Soviet totalitarianism. The conference brought together researchers from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Germany, Spain, Canada, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, and even Indonesia.

We would like to thank all the researchers, participants, and academic partners for taking part in the conference, and we invite you to view the photo report on our Facebook profile.

Partners: Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Center of Central Asian Studies at Adam Mickiewicz University, Museum of the Second World War, Sybir Memorial Museum.

The project was financed from the state budget with funds awarded by the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the Vectors of Science Program.