SUMMARY:

The article traces the dynamics and content of Russian imperial policy toward its Central Asian protectorate – the Khanate of Khiva. It analyzes the discussions that were unfolding at different levels of the imperial administration in the last days and immediately following the death of the Khiva ruler, Muhammad Rahim-khan II (1864–1910). According to the authors, the asymmetry of colonial relations between St. Petersburg and Tashkent (the center of colonial administration in Russian Turkestan), as well as the involvement of different political and commercial groups in negotiating colonial policies produced a “typical colonial situation” in which the imperial government pursued a policy of “strategic ambiguity.” This conscious stance revealed itself both explicitly in public discourse and in the very logics of Russian politics vis-à-vis the Khanate of Khiva. The initial indeterminacy was inaugurated by the peace treaty of 1873 affording the Russian authorities vast possibilities for improvising with the status of the newly conquered territory. Forty years later, indeterminacy had already become the standard mode of operation, and hence, a fully fledged policy of strategic ambiguity, which provided different groups of interests with advantages and thus influencing their actions. From this perspective, the reforms initiated by the Russian authorities in 1910 reflected their commitment to preserve an indeterminate status of Khiva in its entirety rather than any serious intentions to modernize the khanate or formalize its status within the empire. The metropole excused its indeterminate attitude toward Khiva by references to the lack or even absence of knowledge about the protectorate – whether real or imaginary (as “applied ignorance”). The central government and private groups instrumentalized the ambiguous status of the khanate to impede possible inter-ventionist reforms.