International academic conference „Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - The Conference's Significance - Instytut Pileckiego

Why are we organizing this conference?

The year 2026 marks several important anniversaries connected with the history of Soviet Central Asia, namely the 100th anniversary of the first Soviet census, which initiated the process of creating the “Soviet nations”; the 90th anniversary of the deportation of Polish and German populations from Soviet Ukraine; and the 40th anniversary of the December events in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, which constituted an expression of national awakening.

We want all these events to become, at least symbolically, the thematic framework of the conference. Our ambition is to host the first academic initiative in Poland to bring together various disciplines of research on Soviet Central Asia, a region with an exceptionally complex history of totalitarianism, mass repression, and forced deportations, that also include the experiences of Poles. To date, research in Poland has focused on isolated aspects of the subject, such as documentation of repression, ethnographic studies, or political science analyses related to global security. There remains a significant gap in comprehensive approaches to socio-cultural processes and to the mechanisms of adaptation and survival among deported and indigenous communities in the region. Why not, therefore, create a platform for the exchange of knowledge among scholars representing various disciplines: Soviet studies, anthropology, history, political science, and cultural studies? Why not hold a meeting that will facilitate the sharing of experiences and the establishment of lasting cooperation between Polish and foreign institutions, academic centers, and archives in Central Asia, Europe and other parts of the world?

In the long-term perspective, we intend for the conference to result in expanded access to local sources, foster implementation of joint research projects devoted to the history of totalitarianism and the collective memory, and help preserve and promote the knowledge about the victims of Soviet totalitarianism in Central Asia – people of various nationalities whose tragic fates have for decades been marginalized, distorted or erased. We want our meeting to provide a forum where we can learn about research findings from a number of countries, fields of study and methodological perspectives, including history, political science, law, sociology, cultural anthropology and memory studies, which will allow for a better understanding of the nature of systemic violence and its long-term consequences for national and European identity. We aim to bring together presentations and panels showing both the macrohistorical dimension (state policies, mass repressive operations) and the microhistorical aspect (the experiences of the individual, the family and the local community).

Projekt finansowany ze środków budżetu państwa, przyznanych przez Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego w ramach Programu Wektory Nauki.