Competing Temporalities of Power on the Qazaq Steppe, 1748-1786

• In Event: Time, Chronologies, and Progress: Peripheral Temporalities in Eurasia

Abstract

The 18th century was a time of the gradual expansion of Russian imperial 'soft power' into the Qazaq Steppe - laying the groundwork for outright annexation in the 19th century. But the temporalities and chronologies employed by the various actors involved during this period diverged considerably. Russian border officials hewed strongly to civilizational models that privileged their imperial project as both an agent and outcome of the arrow of progress. Qazaq elites, on the other hand, understood history through two complementary models - first, the positioning of ancestral lineage as an enduring wellspring of legitimacy; and second, an inevitable cyclical pattern of waxing and waning dynastic fortunes. This paper will explore how these competing temporalities helped to shape political actions and outcomes as Russian imperial influence gradually expanded in the region.

Author

• Eric W Johnson, U of Washington