Modernization or colonization? : the politics of memory of the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

The article describes the politics of memory of the Soviet Union in post-soviet Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (1991-2016). The analysis is based on the following documents: Presidents N. Nazarbaev and I. Karimov statements, their publications, the politics of commemoration and historical education in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan after 1991. Author tries to compare two national historical narrations over the Soviet regime and argues that Uzbeks and Kazakhs were used two different approach of criticism of soviet colonialism, related to their foreign policy towards Russia