Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Although the area of northern and central Asia is comprised of a large number of independent and sovereign nations, including the Russian Federation and the central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, its recent history is dominated by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). For most of the twentieth century each of these now independent nations was a part of the USSR; since 1991, the central Asian states have struggled to survive in the shadow of the Russian Federation. The central story of rhetoric in this region in both modern history and contemporary times must therefore be framed in terms of the former USSR and its transformations in the continuing period of post-Soviet democratization, mock-democratization, and authoritarian reinstantiation (→  Rhetoric in Eastern Europe ). Rhetoric in the USSR was not at all times in all places the same, but certain general patterns were evident. Two dominant influences on Soviet rhetoric were the lack of strong rhetorical traditions from Tsarist times and the systematic suppression of the human rights vital to the flowering of rhetoric, such as freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, as well as most academic freedoms (→  Freedom of Communication ; Freedom of the Press, Concept of ). Soviet rhetoric was thereby constrained: inventional and deliberative attributes were systematically ... log in or subscribe to read full text