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The Kets of Central Siberia are perhaps the most enigmatic of Siberia's aboriginal tribes. Today numbering barely 1,100 souls living in several small villages on the middle reaches of the Yenisei, the Kets have retained much of their ancient culture, as well as their unique language.
Genetic studies of the Ket hint at an ancient affinity with Tibetans, Burmese, and other peoples of peoples of South East Asia not shared by any other Siberian people. The Ket language, which is unrelated to any other living Siberian tongue, also appears to be a relic of a bygone linguistic landscape of Inner Asia.
Because language isolates such as Ket are of special value to scholars of the original peopling of the continents, linguists have recently attempted to link Ket with North Caucasian, Sino- Tibetan, Burushaski, Basque and Na Dene. None of these links have been proved to the satisfaction of all linguists, and the research continues both in Russia and abroad. ... Read more

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This major work lays bare the wilful destruction ofpeoples, cultures and the environment by a centralised state. Itis about the dehumanization of society, of human dignity andhuman values. The nightmare goes back to czarist times, whencolonization of the ancestral lands of the peoples of Caucasusand Central Asia commenced. It was then that the orientalistattitudes surfaced, so admirably diagnosed by Edward Said in hismajor work "Orientalism", resulting in the denigration of theconquered peoples, portraying them as savage barbarians. Thesoviet leaders and system largely continued the basic policies,and perpetuated the basic attitudes, of the czars towards theindigenous peoples of the conquered lands ... Read more

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Drawing on sources and archival materials in Russian and Turkic languages, Michael Khodarkovsky draws a complex picture of the encounter between the Russian authorities and border peoples from the decline of the Mongol Golden Horde to the end of the 18th century. Not surprisingly, both sides viewed the other through the distorted lenses of their own societies, but what they saw had important consequences for the evolution of the Russian Empire and the fate of the indigenous peoples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Nice contrast. Highly relevant.
I read this in connection with several other studies of the declining years of the Crimean Khanate. Most emphasized Crimean and Ottoman sources and largely took their point of view. Khodarovsky does not stint on Crimean sources, but emphasizes the Russian administrative problem: how should a more-or-less European nation deal with a frequently violent, completely non-western power on one's poorly-defined borders? Khodarovsky sees the problem as essentially insoluble, except by the ultimate destruction of one or the other society. Whether or not he's correct, the Russian experience is certainly relevant to the Soviet approach to the "nationalities problem" and even to US and European policies today. The Russian experience with intractable conflicts over land use, security, and entanglement in the internal politics of the khanates -- and the many mistakes, mutual incomprehensions, and occasional successes of both sides -- is both disturbing and useful.

My only gripe is Khodarovsky's limited treatment of the khanates in the context of Russian-Ottoman relations. Even if Khodarovsky believes that the Ottoman Empire wasn't particularly relevant to Russian relations with the khanates, he ought to explain why. Still, one can't cover everything, and an Ottoman emphasis would risk loss of focus on the main points.

An excellent and rare glimpse at the Russian frontier.
This work -- the latest of Micheal Khodarkovsky's books -- is a well-written and very thorough study of Russia's relations with the frontier peoples in the Early Modern period.Tracing the relationship from the decline of the Mongol Hordes in the fifteenth century to the outright colonization of the North Caucasus and Central Asia in the succeeding centuries, Khodarkovsky fills a serious gap in the standard histories of Russia.

A gifted Russian historian, who is also well-versed in Islamic and especially Ottoman history, Khodarkovsky is able to tell the history of Russia's relations with the Muslim peoples on its frontiers without the biases of a Russianist or an Islamicist.This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of the modern North Caucasus and Central Asia, of Islam in the Russian world, and of Russian colonization. ... Read more

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