ABSTRACT
From the 1940s to early 1990s, it was very difficult for Europeans or Americans to do any anthropological research in this region, because of difficulties gaining visas and entry permits. This meant that most European and American anthropology of Central Asia until 1990 suffered from being both very exclusive and at a premium – just because of access – and also that it tended to be rather ahistorical and ‘authoritative’. The great exception was Caroline Humphrey’s work on Buryatia and Mongolia, which the author still hold as an example of the best research – pre- and post-independence – of this region. The peculiarity of Russian Central Asian Studies is that they were once a monopoly in the field and had a huge academic base, but today they have almost completely disappeared, Russia has ceased to be an important player in shaping the image of the region.
