SUMMARY:

The article by Albert Kaganovich presents results of the research into the history of Bukharan (“Eastern”) Jews in the decades following the incorporation of Central Asia into the Russian empire. Although the Russian administrators arrived in Central Asia with the views of the Jewish people and its “utility” shaped by the policies of the Russian empire towards Russian European Jews, in Central Asia the colonial background and the “oriental” character of the local population neutralized such perceptions of Jews. Exceptionally for the Russian Empire, the Jews of Bukhara received rights and privileges (not limited to Central Asian protectorates) that were not given to other Jews in Russia. Partly explained by the importance of the Jews in Central Asian trade, this development provided for persistent loyalty to the Russian empire on behalf of the Jews of Bukhara. Despite attempts by the military authorities to impose restrictive policies on the Jews of Bukhara and to deport them from Central Asian possessions of Russia and the general worsening of attitudes on behalf of the authorities, the Jews of Bukhara preserved their rights well until the collapse of the Empire and remained loyal to the Russian authorities in Central Asia.