Adrienne Edgar. Intermarriage and the Friendship of the Peoples: Ethnic Mixing in Soviet Central Asia.

The article focuses on a book examining interethnic marriage in Soviet Central Asia during the postwar era, highlighting the experiences of marginalized groups such as women, ethnically mixed individuals, and non-European inhabitants. Based on over eighty oral history interviews in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, the book reveals how Soviet nationality policies became increasingly racialized despite official antiracist stances, and how mixed families faced discrimination amid rising ethnic tensions. It also explores gender roles within mixed marriages, challenging assumptions about Soviet influence on Central Asian gender norms. The book concludes that negative attitudes toward mixed marriage after the Soviet collapse stem from Soviet-era ideas rather than a simple return to tradition, offering new perspectives for rethinking Russian and Soviet history.