By comparing the border area between Turkestan and Xinjiang with the region in the Russian Far East bordering Manchuria, the talk will explore how the cross-border opium economy connected the Tsarist Empire and then the USSR to China and to the larger global opium market. It will also highlight the ambiguous status between legality and illegality in which opium remained during this period of imperial competition and state collapse, and the contradictions in both Tsarist and early Soviet rule of these two key Asian borderlands.
Sponsorship
Co-sponsored by Imperiia Project
Accessibility
The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at 617-495-4037 or daviscenter@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance if possible. Please note that the Davis Center will make every effort to secure services but that services are subject to availability.
