CARAVANS & COMMISSARS

Welcome to Caravans and Commissars. This blog explores the historical landscapes and peoples of Eurasia, a region shaped by trade, ideology, and empire, and reborn in the wake of communism’s collapse.  The heart of the Silk Roads--the plains of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and the mountainous regions of the Caucasus and Iran--linked the cultures of Europe to East Asia.  Here, the rise and fall of communist rule set the stage for the recent emergence of new nationalist identities.