“The Lost Journal of Valikhanov” is not meant to be an exciting blog about current events ala Registan. Rather, it is more a venue for me to organize my thoughts about my independent reading and research; some posts will amount to little more than notes. It is my hope that this blog will serve as a venue for students with similar interests to exchange ideas and offer feedback. (Beyond the River achieves a similar objective very effectively.)
My main interest is Central Asian history, especially that of modern day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. However, the contents of this blog will cover other topics like religion, culture, and security, as well as bordering countries such as Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and China. The entries will be limited to academic material; any thoughts I have that a broader audience might be interested in I publish over at neweurasia instead.
The title of this blog may beg the question: Who the heck is Valikhanov? When I was an undergrad, I was writing a paper about the “Great Game” (think Kim) — that shadowy conflict allegedly full of adventure and espionage fought between Russia and Great Britain during the 19th century. There is a tremendous amount of information out there about the heroic exploits of British scholar-spy-diplomat-adventurers, but practically none on the “vile” Russians. One of the few counterparts on the Russian side that I was able to find information on was Chokan Valikhanov (sometimes Sultan Vali Khan). Educated in Russia, Valikhanov was loyal to the Tsar and was able to fit into elite Russian society. As a native Kazakh, Valikhanov could easily disguise himself as a native Central Asian, and went on several undercover expeditions into Kashgaria.
The so called Great Game is of course overblown and romanticized, but the popular mythologies that embody it to this day are compelling enough to inspire at least one aspiring scholar to name his blog after a player in that celebrated struggle.
