The Brother-City Project and Socialist Humanism: Haskovo, Tashkent and Sblizhenie

Author: Scarboro, Cristofer

Source: The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume 85, Number 3, 1 July 2007 , pp. 522-542(21)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

The brother-city (pobratimeni gradove) programme and the relationship between Haskovo, Bulgaria and Tashkent in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic was to be central to Haskovians' understanding of their place and function within the international socialist space. It was a conflicted relationship. Tashkent was a bewildering model for Haskovians who visited her, alternately coded as a socialist city, a model for Haskovo leading the way to the socialist future, or as a sensual temptress, leading enticingly to a decadent, `oriental' past. This paper investigates the ambiguities inherent in this relationship and the manner in which questions of socialism, modernity and civilization were mapped out by Haskovian correspondents' tours of Tashkent's streets.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Publication date: 2007-07-01

More about this publication?

The Review is the oldest British journal in the field, having been in existence since 1922. Edited and managed by the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, it covers not only the modern and medieval languages and literatures of the Slavonic and East European area, but also history, culture, and political studies.