ETHNIC POLICY AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN SOVIET UZBEKISTAN: ETHNIC GROUPS, POPULATION COMPOSITION, AND MIGRATION PROCESSES UNDER SOVIET RULE

This study examines the Soviet Union’s ethnic policies and their demographic consequences in Uzbekistan from 1924 to 1991. By analyzing census data, archival records, and Soviet decrees, the article explores how policies such as korenizatsiya (indigenization), forced migrations, and industrialization-driven resettlement reshaped Uzbekistan’s ethnic landscape. The results reveal significant demographic shifts, including the influx of Slavic populations and the deportation of minority groups, which entrenched ethnic hierarchies and urban-rural divides. The discussion highlights the tension between Soviet multicultural rhetoric and practices of Russification, concluding that these policies laid the groundwork for post-independence ethnic dynamics.