THE JUSTIFICATION FOR THE POLICY IN CENTRAL ASIA OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE “GREAT GAME”

Abstract

The article deals with the substantiation of Russian promotion and consolidation in Central Asia in the second half of the XIX century in terms of geopolitical rivalry between the Russian and British empires – the so-called “Great Game”. The basic models of justification of Central Asian policy of the Russian Empire are allocated. The arguments confirming the need for the accession of Central Asia to Russia as a natural boundary for the protection of its own existence and the establishment of parity with Britain are given. At the end of the article conclusions about the difference of geopolitical and governmental justification of Russian policy in Central Asia are made.

Keywords

• Central Asia
• Great Game
• geopolitics
• propaganda
• ideology