FEATURES OF TEACHING THE “COTTON AFFAIR” REPRESSION

Abstract

In the 1980s, as the Soviet Union faced an economic crisis, the decline of its centralized planned economy, and growing political instability, the central authorities launched a series of campaigns aimed at concealing these systemic problems. Among these campaigns, the “Cotton Affair” became one of the most extensive and consequential. As Kh. Yunusova notes, this campaign was designed to portray the causes of the economic downturn as the “fault” of the union republics, thereby deflecting political responsibility away from the Center.