Dr Alun Thomas wins Alexander Nove Prize for 'Nomads and Soviet Rule'

BASEES is delighted to announce that the Alexander Nove Prize, 2018, to be awarded at the 2020 Annual Conference, will go to Dr Alun Thomas (Staffordshire University) for Nomads and Soviet Rule. Central Asia under Lenin and Stalin (I.B. Tauris, 2018). The judges’ citation reads as follows:

In Nomads and Soviet Rule, Alun Thomas presents an original and convincingly-argued account of the relationship between the Soviet regime and Central Asia’s nomad population in the 1920s and early 1930s. This is a nuanced and sophisticated book which makes a significant contribution to extending the scope of Soviet nationalities policy by focussing on the hitherto unstudied Central Asian nomads. Based on extensive archival research in Almaty, Bishkek and Moscow, the book shows how Soviet attitudes towards nomads were complex and ambiguous, despite an ideological context that believed nomadism to be incompatible with modernisation. This pioneering and ambitious book adds significantly to our understanding of the Soviet Union and its peoples.

Jury

Prof Judith Pallot (University of Oxford / Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)

Prof Peter Waldron (University of East Anglia)

The Alexander Nove Prize for scholarly work of high quality in Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet studies was established by decision of the annual general meeting of the Association in March 1995 in recognition of the outstanding contribution to its field of study made by the late Alexander Nove.