Russian and Soviet Rule
• The Russians conquered Central Asia in the mid-1800s.
• Built railroads
• Expanded cotton and oil production
• Rule came to be resented
• After the Russian Revolution in 1917 the new Soviet leaders weakened resistance to their rule by dividing Central Asia into republics.
• They encouraged ethnic Russians to move to these areas and made other people settle on government-owned farms.
• The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The Central Asian republics finally became independent countries.