ABSTRACT
In one sense, the tussle between Britain and Russia during the nineteenth century for political supremacy in Central Asia must be regarded as a completely dead letter: the juxtaposition and near confrontation in Asia of two expanding European empires can hardly be expected to recur. Apart, however, from its intrinsic historical interest, the episode retains an abiding importance as the first stage in the establishment of Russia’s formidable presence in Central Asia, a region abutting on a number of independent countries from which British presence and influence has now disappeared.
