Journal Article

Colonialism or kolonizatsiia? Why the Difference between Ukraine and Central Asia Matters

Hofmeister, Ulrich

2025

Overview

Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in 2014, a view that interprets Russian-Ukrainian relations as colonialism has gained ground in historical scholarship. However, based on an analysis of the terms “colonization” and “colonialism” and a comparison between Ukrainian territories and the Governorate-General of Turkestan in late imperial Russia, this article argues for a more cautious use of the term “colonialism” in relation to Ukraine. It shows that contemporaries rarely viewed tsarist rule in Ukraine through the prism of colonialism, while in the case of Central Asia this perspective was pervasive. Moreover, tsarist policy toward Central Asia and its predominantly Muslim population was much more in line with colonial practices than it was in the case of Ukraine. While colonial rule is generally based on the institutionalization of difference, the opposite was the case in Ukraine: Ukraine was appropriated as part of the Russian nation. Therefore, this article argues that Russia’s claims on Ukraine, which deny Ukraine’s right to national self-determination and statehood, are not an indication of colonial subjugation, but rather of nationalist usurpation.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Subject: 19th century / 20th century / Aggression (International law) / Cluster: Towards a History of Russian Colonialism / Colonialism / Colonies & territories / Colonization / Dictionaries / European history / Geopolitics / Institutionalization / Nationalism / Population policy / Rules / Russian history / Self determination / Self image / Statehood / Terminology