Understanding the post-Soviet trajectories in Central Asia, and why they differ so markedly from the post-communist and post-authoritarian transitions elsewhere, demands that we first understand the bases of social and political order in Central Asia – social organization and identities. For the twentieth century, this demands that we explain this social order in terms of the distinctiveness of the Soviet legacy in Central Asia. Rather than assume that the Soviet regime successfully made “mankurts” of its Central Asian peoples – to borrow Aitmatov's term – we should examine how pre-Soviet identities and social organization interacted with and adapted to the new Soviet order.

An abundant literature on the nature of the Soviet system and its legacy exists; however, that literature generally assumes a uniform Soviet system and culture, and a uniform legacy. Yet neither the Soviet system nor its legacy is so straightforward. The legacy is far more complex and varied than formal Soviet institutions, ideology, and political culture imposed from above. The twelve time zones of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics included a vast array of languages and cultures, more than 100 ethnic groups, many more sub-ethnic groups, and significant religious differences.