National identity for the Tajiks, the Uzbeks and the Turkmens is a
construct derived from the Soviet period. Over seventy years of Soviet
social engineering and efforts at creating a Soviet community have led
to the unintended emergence of aspiring "national" elite and
intelligentsia groups, trained and educated in their "national"
languages and identifying Soviet-defined administrative territories as
their "national" motherlands. The Soviet trained elite and
intelligentsia groups in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were responsible
for the smooth transition to the post-Soviet era, and thus performed a
major role in ensuring political continuity. These two states seek to
legitimise themselves by claiming to defend and represent the interests
of their "national" communities. The Soviet initiated process of social
engineering is now being modified to serve these states. National
intelligentsia groups, through their scientific, historical and creative
writings, are pivotal for the dissemination of the national ideal.