AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGRARIAN TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE FERGANA ECONOMIC REGION UNDER SOVIET MODERNIZATION (1950s–1980s)

Abstract

 This article analyzes the state of agricultural development in the Fergana economic region during the 1950s–1980s and examines the outcomes of Soviet agrarian policy on the basis of historical sources, periodical publications, and scholarly research. The study explores the post-World War II processes of agricultural expansion in the region, including the enlargement of irrigated agricultural lands, the reclamation of new territories, and the increasing specialization of agricultural production. Particular attention is devoted to the transformation of the Fergana economic region into a major cotton-producing area, the growth of raw cotton production, and the role of this specialization in meeting the demands of light industry enterprises located in the central regions of the Soviet Union. The findings indicate that although agrarian reforms contributed to the expansion of agricultural production and the development of new lands, they also reinforced the region’s unilateral specialization in cotton cultivation. Consequently, traditional branches of agriculture experienced a relative decline, economic imbalances intensified, and a number of environmental challenges emerged. The article provides a historical assessment of the economic, social, and ecological impacts of Soviet agrarian policy on the agricultural development of the Fergana economic region.