- For the film, see The Great Game (film)
The Great Game is a British term for what the British saw as a strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The Great Game is a 1930 British Film. It was one of the earliest Feature films to use football as a central theme The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. The Treaty of Gulistan (Гюлистанский договор Persian: عهدنامه گلستان was a Peace treaty concluded between Imperial Russia The Anglo-Russian Entente or the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 was an accord signed on 31 August 1907 in St Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second, less intensive phase followed. The October Revolution (Октябрьская революция Oktyabrskaya revolyutsiya) also known as the Soviet Revolution Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
The term "The Great Game" is usually attributed to Arthur Conolly, an intelligence officer of the British East India Company's Sixth Bengal Light Cavalry. Arthur Conolly (1807 - June 1842 Bokhara) (sometimes misspelled Connolly) was a British intelligence officer explorer and writer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organisation to collect compile and analyse information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organisation The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or [1] It was introduced into mainstream consciousness by British novelist Rudyard Kipling in his novel Kim (1901). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 was an English Author and poet Kim is a novel by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published serially in ''McClure's Magazine'' from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in
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Origin and scope
At the start of the 19th century there were some 2000 miles separating British India and the outlying regions of Tsarist Russia. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British Much of the land in between was unmapped. The cities of Bukhara, Khiva, Merv, Kokand and Tashkent were virtually unknown to outsiders. Bukhara (Buxoro Бухоро بُخارا Бухара also spelled as Bukhoro and Bokhara, from the Soghdian βuxārak ("lucky Khiva ( Uzbek: Xiva, Хива; Хива Khiva; Persian: خیوه Khiveh) Alternative or historical names include Merv ( Russian: Мерв from Persian: مرو Marv, sometimes transliterated Marw or Mary; cf Kokand (alternative spellings Khokand, Khoqand; Uzbek: Quqon; Russian: Коканд:Куканд/کوکند; Chagatai As Imperial Russian expansion threatened to collide with the increasing British dominance of the occupied lands of the Indian sub-continent, the two great empires played out a subtle game of exploration, espionage and imperialistic diplomacy throughout Central Asia. The conflict always threatened, but never quite developed into direct warfare between the two sides. The centre of activity was in Afghanistan. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت,
The term "Great Game" has no currency in Russian and Soviet historiography. Soviet historiography is the history of the academic study of history as written by scholars of the Soviet Union. In retrospect, it appears to have been a rather one-sided affair resulting from Victorian Imperialism and Russophobia. Imperialism has two meanings one describing an action and the other describing an attitude Anti-Russian sentiment covers a wide spectrum of prejudices dislikes or fears of Russia, Russians, or Russian culture, including Russophobia The only evidence of Russia's interest in challenging the British Raj was the Indian March of Emperor Paul (1801), a Russo-French adventure that got as far as the Aral Sea, roughly a thousand miles short of the Khyber Pass. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British The Indian March of Paul was a secret project of a planned allied Russo - French expedition against the British dominions in India. The Aral Sea ( Kazakh: Арал Теңізі Aral Tengizi, Orol dengizi Russian: Аральскοе мοре Tajik / Persian: Daryocha-i The Khyber Pass, (also spelled Khaiber or Khaybar (درہ خیبر (altitude m ft is the Mountain pass that links Pakistan and Nevertheless, it created quite a stir in London and touched off a war scare between Britain and Russia. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.
Although the Great Game is usually taken to refer to the conflict of British and Russian interests in Afghanistan, there was also intense rivalry in Persia and (later) in Tibet. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Britain was alarmed by Russian expansion into Transcaucasia at the expense of Persia. The South Caucasus is a mountainous geopolitical area of south-central Eurasia, also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Transcaucasus. The Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and Treaty of Turkmanchai (1826) resulted in substantial territorial gains for the Tsar. The Treaty of Gulistan (Гюлистанский договор Persian: عهدنامه گلستان was a Peace treaty concluded between Imperial Russia The Treaty of Turkmenchay (Туркманчайский договор Persian: عهدنامه ترکمنچای was a treaty negotiated in Turkmenchay by which In order to contain Russia's expansion, the British set themselves the task of reorganizing the outdated Persian army into an effective fighting force. With thousands of years of recorded history, and due to an unchanging geographic (and subsequently geopolitical condition, Iran (previously known as Persia There was a chain of Persian-Russian diplomatic crises, to a large degree instigated by the British embassy in Tehran. Tehran (or Teheran) ( Persian: تهران Tehrān) is the capital and largest City of Iran, and the administrative center of One of these resulted in the gruesome murder of the Russian ambassador Alexander Griboyedov. Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов alternative transcription Griboedov ( January 15, 1795 – February
By the early 20th century, Northern Iran had become for all practical purposes a protectorate of the Russian Empire. Northern Iran includes the Southern Caspian regions of Iran, and represents Hyrcania: Gilan and Mazandaran, At one point during the Persian Constitutional Revolution, Cossack colonel Vladimir Liakhov ruled Tehran as a military governor with dictatorial powers. The Iranian Constitutional Revolution (also known as the Persian Constitutional Revolution or Constitutional Revolution of Iran) took place between 1905 and 1911 The Cossacks (Каза́ки́ Kazaki; Козаки́ Kozaki; Kozacy are a group of martial people living in the southern Steppe regions of Eastern Polkovnik (Colonel Vladimir Platonovitch Liakhov (Владимир Платонович Ляхов (1869 - 1919 1) was the commander of Persian The focus of the Great Game shifted considerably to the east. The British were impressed by the semi-military expeditions of Nikolai Przhevalsky, Pyotr Kozlov, and other Russian explorers that roamed the vast expanses of Dzungaria and Xinjiang. Nikolai Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (prʐɛ'valʲskʲi also spelled Przewalski and Prjevalsky (Никола́й Миха́йлович Пржева́льский Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (Пётр Кузьми́ч Козло́в October 3, 1863 near Smolensk - September 26, 1935, Peterhof Dzungaria is a geographical region in northwest China corresponding to the northern half of Xinjiang. Xinjiang ( Uyghur: شىنجاڭ Shinjang;; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang; Turkish: Sincan, Sincan Uygur Özerk There was a growing fear that Russia would annex this remote part of the Qing Empire. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China In order to forestall Russia's prospective claims to the area, Britain mounted a small-scale expedition to Tibet, driving the Dalai-Lama from Lhasa in 1904. The British expedition to Tibet in 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, seeking to prevent the Russian Empire from interfering The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism. Lhasa, ( in English l̥ʰásə or in Tibetan; Chinese: 拉萨 Pinyin: Lāsà sometimes spelled Lasa, is the administrative capital of the
British-Russian rivalry in Afghanistan
From the British perspective, the Russian conquest of Central Asia threatened to destroy the "jewel in the crown" of the British Empire, India. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British As the Tsar's troops began to subdue one Khanate after another, the British feared that Afghanistan would become a staging post for a Russian invasion of India. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, It was with these thoughts in mind that in 1838 the British launched the First Anglo-Afghan War and attempted to impose a puppet regime under Shuja Shah. Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The First Anglo–Afghan War lasted from 1839 to 1842 It was one of the first major conflicts during The Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Shuja Shah Durrani (also known as Shah Shujah, Shoja Shah, Shujah al-Mulk) (c The regime was short lived, and unsustainable without British military support. By 1842, mobs were attacking the British on the streets of Kabul and the British garrison was forced to abdandon Kabul due to constant civilian attacks. Year 1842 ( MDCCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common } Kābul ( Persian and Pashto: کابل, IPA:) is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with The retreating British column consisted of approximately 4,500 regular British troops, 12,000 Hindu soldiers of the British Army as well as support staff. During a series of attacks by Afghan warriors, all but one Dr William Brydon were killed on the march back to India. William Brydon CB (10 October 1811 – 20 March 1873 was an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War The Massacre of Elphinstone's Army was a victory of Afghan forces led by Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohammad Khan, over a combined British Dr Brydon was, with one of his servants, allowed to go free in order to deliver the message of the destruction of the British force in Afghanistan.
The British curbed their ambitions in Afghanistan following the humiliating retreat from Kabul. After the Indian rebellion of 1857, successive British governments saw Afghanistan as a buffer state. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of Sepoys of British East India Company 's army on the 10th of May 1857 in the town of Meerut, Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the A buffer state is a Country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them The Russians, led by Konstantin Kaufman, Mikhail Skobelev, and Mikhail Chernyayev, continued to advance steadily southward toward Afghanistan and by 1865 Tashkent had been formally annexed. Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman (Константин Петрович фон-Кауфман in Russian) ( 1818 - 1882) was the first Governor-General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev (Михаи́л Дми́триевич Ско́белев (– was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during Mikhail Grigorievich Chernyayev ( Russian: Михайл Григорьевич Черняев 24 October 1828 - 16 August 1898) was Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Annexation ( Latin ad, to and nexus, joining is the legal incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity (either adjacent or non-contiguous Samarkand became part of the Russian Empire three years later and the independence of Bukhara was virtually stripped away in a peace treaty the same year. Samarkand (Samarqand Самарқанд سمرقند UniPers: "Samarqand" is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Bukhara (Buxoro Бухоро بُخارا Бухара also spelled as Bukhoro and Bokhara, from the Soghdian βuxārak ("lucky Russian control now extended as far as the northern bank of the Amu Darya river. The Amu Darya (formerly Oxus River the Greeks (Ptolemeus called it Oxiana palus) is the longest river in Central Asia.
In a letter to Queen Victoria, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli proposed "to clear Central Asia of Muscovites and drive them into the Caspian". Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Benjamin Disraeli 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS (born Benjamin D'Israeli; 21 December 1804 &ndash 19 April 1881 was Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering ( CASPIAN) is a USA Grass-roots Consumer group dedicated to fighting Supermarket "loyalty" [2] He introduced the Royal Titles Act, which added to Victoria's titles that of Empress of India, putting her at the same level as the Russian Emperor. Emperor/Empress of India ( Badishah -e-Hind in Hindustani) was used as a Title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur After the Great Eastern Crisis broke out and the Russians sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul in 1878, Britain demanded that the ruler of Afghanistan (Sher Ali) accept a British diplomatic mission. The " Eastern Question " in European history, encompasses the diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one State or an international Inter-governmental organization (such as the United Nations) present in Year 1878 ( MDCCCLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Sher Ali may refer to Sher Ali Khan, Amir of Afghanistan Sher Ali Khan (general, Pakistan Army general Maulana Muhammad The mission was turned back and in retaliation a force of 40,000 men was sent across the border, launching the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The European influence in Afghanistan refers to political social and sometimes Imperialistic influence various European nations have had on this historical development of the The second war was almost as disastrous as the first for the British, and by 1881, they again pulled out of Kabul. Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common They left Abdur Rahman Khan on the throne, and he agreed to let the British maintain Afghanistan's foreign policy while he consolidated his position on the throne. He managed to suppress internal rebellions with ruthless efficiency and brought much of the country under central control.
Russian expansion brought about another crisis — the Panjdeh Incident — when they seized the oasis of Merv in 1884. The Panjdeh Incident or Panjdeh Scare (Russian Афганский кризис Afghan Crisis or Бой за Кушку Battle of Kushka) was a military In Geography, an oasis (plural oases) or Cienega ( Southwestern United States) is an isolated area of vegetation in a Desert, typically Merv ( Russian: Мерв from Persian: مرو Marv, sometimes transliterated Marw or Mary; cf Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Russians claimed all of the former ruler's territory and fought with Afghan troops over the oasis of Panjdeh. The Panjdeh Incident or Panjdeh Scare (Russian Афганский кризис Afghan Crisis or Бой за Кушку Battle of Kushka) was a military On the brink of war between the two great powers, the British decided to accept the Russian possession as a fait accompli. Here are some examples of French words and phrases used by English speakers. Without any Afghan say in the matter, the Joint Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission agreed the Russians would relinquish the farthest territory captured in their advance, but retain Panjdeh. The agreement delineated a permanent northern Afghan frontier at the Amu Darya, with the loss of a large amount of territory, especially around Panjdeh, however Britain continued to have troubles in the region towards the end of the 1800s. The Siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 Siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region colonial India 's North West
Anglo-Russian Alliance
In the run-up to World War I, both empires were alarmed by Germany's increasing activity in the Middle East, notably the German project of the Baghdad Railway, which would open up Iraq and Iran to German trade and technology. The Anglo-Russian Entente or the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 was an accord signed on 31 August 1907 in St World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Ottoman Empire planned to construct a Baghdad Railway under German control For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The ministers Alexander Izvolsky and Edward Grey agreed to resolve their long-standing conflicts in Asia in order to make an effective stand against the German advance into the region. Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky or Iswolsky (Russian Александр Петрович Извольский, Moscow 16 August, 1919, Paris Edward Grey 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon KG, PC, DL ( 25 April 1862 &ndash 7 September 1933) better The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 brought a close to the classic period of the Great Game. The Anglo-Russian Entente or the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 was an accord signed on 31 August 1907 in St
The Russians accepted that the politics of Afghanistan were solely under British control as long as the British guaranteed not to change the regime. Russia agreed to conduct all political relations with Afghanistan through the British. The British agreed that they would maintain the current borders and actively discourage any attempt by Afghanistan to encroach on Russian territory. Persia was divided into three zones: a British zone in the south, a Russian zone in the north, and a narrow neutral zone serving as buffer in between. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia As regards Tibet, both powers agreed to maintain territorial integrity of this buffer state and "to deal with Lhasa only through China, the suzerain power". A buffer state is a Country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them Lhasa, ( in English l̥ʰásə or in Tibetan; Chinese: 拉萨 Pinyin: Lāsà sometimes spelled Lasa, is the administrative capital of the China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National [3]
Criticism
However interesting the possibility of intrigues as they appear in Kim, it is doubtful that the Great Game unfolded in such dramatic fashion. In fact, the entire concept of the Great Game may have greater root in the British imagination than in the rugged passes of the Hindu Kush. The Hindu Kush is a Mountain range located between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Indian historian J. A. Naik cites several British historians who claim that the Tsarist government never took military operations against India seriously. Gerald Morgan’s “Myth and Reality in the Great Game” approached the subject by examining various departments of the Raj to determine if there ever existed a British intelligence network in Central Asia. Morgan insists that evidence of such a network does not exist. At best, efforts to obtain information on Russian moves in Central Asia were rare, ad hoc adventures. At worst, intrigues resembling the adventures in Kim were baseless rumours and Morgan claims such rumors “were always common currency in Central Asia and they applied as much to Russia as to Britain. ”
Malcolm Yapp’s lecture, “The Legend of the Great Game” offers additional evidence that the popular understanding of Anglo-Russian relations over Central Asia in the 19th century is seriously flawed. Yapp points out that Britons had used the term “The Great Game” in the late 1800’s to describe several different things in relation to its interests in Asia. In addition, the meaning of “The Great Game” that is popular now does not reflect the real concerns of the British in relation to India in the 19th century. Yapp believes that the primary concern of British authorities in India was control of the indigenous population, not preventing a Russian invasion. But however spurious the assumptions regarding the Anglo-Russian rivalry of the 19th and early 20th centuries, they are no less compelling. According to Yapp, “reading the history of the British Empire in India and the Middle East one is struck by both the prominence and the unreality of strategic debates. ” And the prominence of the debates serves to obscure the real challenge the British faced in India which was their internal control, not the external threats from the far side of the Himalayas.
British-Soviet rivalry in Afghanistan
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 nullified existing treaties and a second phase of the Great Game began. The October Revolution (Октябрьская революция Oktyabrskaya revolyutsiya) also known as the Soviet Revolution Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919 was precipitated by the assassination of the then ruler Habibullah Khan. The European influence in Afghanistan refers to political social and sometimes Imperialistic influence various European nations have had on this historical development of the Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Habibullah Khan (1872 – February 20 1919 was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until 1919 His son and successor Amanullah declared full independence and attacked British India's northern frontier. Amanullah Khan (June 1 1892 &ndash April 25 1960 was the ruler of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929 first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. Although little was gained militarily, the stalemate was resolved with the Rawalpindi Agreement of 1919. The Treaty of Rawalpindi (signed on August 8, 1919 and amended November 22, 1921) was a treaty made between the United Kingdom Afghanistan re-established its self-determination in foreign affairs. Self-determination is defined as free choice of one’s own acts without external compulsion and especially as the freedom of the people of a given Territory to determine their
In May 1921, Afghanistan and the Russian Soviet Republic signed a Treaty of Friendship. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The Soviets provided Amanullah with aid in the form of cash, technology, and military equipment. British influence in Afghanistan waned, but relations between Afghanistan and the Russians remained equivocal, with many Afghanis desiring to regain control of Merv and Panjdeh. The Soviets, for their part, desired to extract more from the friendship treaty than Amanullah was willing to give.
The United Kingdom imposed minor sanctions and diplomatic slights as a response to the treaty, fearing that Amanullah was slipping out of their sphere of influence and realising that the policy of the Afghanistan government was to have control of all of the Pashtun speaking groups on both sides of the Durand Line. The Durand Line is the term for the 2640 kilometer (1610 mile Border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 1923, Amanullah responded by taking the title padshah — "king", and by offering refuge for Muslims who fled the Soviet Union, and Indian nationalists in exile from the Raj.
Amanullah's program of reform was, however, insufficient to strengthen the army quickly enough — in 1928 he abdicated under pressure. The individual to benefit from the crisis was Mohammed Nadir Shah, who reigned from 1929 to 1933. Mohammed Nadir Shah (born Mohammed Nadir; April 9, 1883 - November 8, 1933) was king of Afghanistan from October 15 1929 Both the Soviets and the British played the circumstances to their advantage: the Soviets getting aid in dealing with Uzbek rebellion in 1930 and 1931, while the British aided Afghanistan in creating a 40,000 man professional army.
With the advent of World War II came the temporary alignment of British and Soviet interests: in 1940, both governments pressured Afghanistan for the removal of a large German non-diplomatic contingent, which was felt by both governments to be engaged in espionage. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Initially this was resisted. With this period of cooperation between the USSR and the UK, the Great Game between the two powers came to an end.
New Great Game
With the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War, the United States displaced Britain as the global power, asserting its influence in the Middle East in pursuit of oil, containment of the Soviet Union, and access to other resources. The New Great Game is a term used to describe the conceptualization of modern Geopolitics in Central Eurasia as a competition between regional and Great powers World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 This period is sometimes referred to as "The New Great Game" by commentators, and there are references in the military, security and diplomatic communities to "The Great Game" as an analogy or framework for events involving India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and more recently, the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia. The New Great Game is a term used to describe the conceptualization of modern Geopolitics in Central Eurasia as a competition between regional and Great powers In 1997, Zbigniew Brzezinski published "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives" which advocated a 21st century version of the Great Game. Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski (Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzeziński ˈzbigɲev bʐɛˈʑiɲski: (born March 28 1928 Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish-American The Grand Chessboard American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives (ISBN 0-465-02726-1 is one of the major works of Zbigniew Brzezinski, former United States Popular media have referred to the current conflict between international forces and Taliban forces in Afghanistan as a continuance of the Great Game. The Taliban ( طالبان, also anglicised as Taleban; translation "students" is a Sunni Islamist, predominately
The Great Game in popular culture
- Kim (novel) by Rudyard Kipling
- The Lotus and the Wind by John Masters
- Flashman (novel) by George MacDonald Fraser
- Flashman at the Charge by George MacDonald Fraser
- Flashman in the Great Game by George MacDonald Fraser (1999) ISBN 0-00-651299-2
- The Game by Laurie R. King (2004), a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Kim is a novel by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published serially in ''McClure's Magazine'' from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 was an English Author and poet The Lotus and the Wind is a Spy Novel by John Masters. It continues his saga of the Savage family who are part of the British Raj Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO (1914&ndash1983 was an English officer in the British Indian Army and Novelist. Flashman is a 1969 Novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the first of the Flashman novels George MacDonald Fraser, OBE (2 April 1925 &ndash 2 January 2008 was a British Author of both Historical novels and Non-fiction books Flashman at the Charge is a 1973 Novel by George MacDonald Fraser. George MacDonald Fraser, OBE (2 April 1925 &ndash 2 January 2008 was a British Author of both Historical novels and Non-fiction books Flashman in the Great Game is a 1975 Novel by George MacDonald Fraser. George MacDonald Fraser, OBE (2 April 1925 &ndash 2 January 2008 was a British Author of both Historical novels and Non-fiction books Laurie R King (born 1952 is an American Author best known for her Detective fiction. Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887 The word pastiche describes a literary or other artistic Genre. ISBN 0-553-80194-5
- The Great Game is referenced in the song "Pink India" from musician Stephen Malkmus' self-titled album. Stephen Joseph Malkmus (born May 30, 1966, Santa Monica California) is an Indie rock musician and a former member of the band Pavement Stephen Malkmus is the first record by the group Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. The song discusses the political legacy of the Game leading up the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The song refers by name to British civil servant Mortimer Durand, who first proposed the border, known as the Durand Line, dividing English holdings in India and Pakistan from Russian holdings in Afghanistan. Sir Henry Mortimer Durand ( 14 February[[ 850]] Sehore Bhopal, India - 8 June 1924, Polden Somerset, England The Durand Line is the term for the 2640 kilometer (1610 mile Border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- The Great Game is also referenced in the documentary "The Devil's Wind" from documentary maker Iqbal Malhotra. The documentary follows in the footsteps of Kipling's Great Gamers and tries to juxtapose the lessons of the past with the reality of the present. The result is an unusual travelogue about Central Asia set in the backdrop of history and modern politics. 'The Devils Wind' is available at DocsOnline.
See also
- New Great Game
- Anglo-Russian relations
- Iran-Britain relations
- Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
- Geostrategy in Central Asia
References
- General
- Peter Hopkirk. The New Great Game is a term used to describe the conceptualization of modern Geopolitics in Central Eurasia as a competition between regional and Great powers The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran was the invasion of Iran by British and Commonwealth forces and the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Countenance Central Asia has long been a geostrategic location merely because of its proximity to several Great powers on the Eurasian landmass The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia, Kodansha International, 1992, ISBN 4-7700-1703-0, 565p. The timeline of the Great Game is available online.
- Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac,'Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Asia', Counterpoint, 1999 reprinted with new introduction on the Middle East by Basic Books, 2006 ISBN 0-349-11366-1
- Robert Johnson, Spying for Empire: The Great Game in Central and South Asia, 1757-1947', (London: Greenhill, 2006)ISBN 1-85367-670-5 [1]
- Malcolm Yapp, “The Legend of the Great Game,” Proceedings of the British Academy, no. 111, 2001, 179-198
- Gerald Morgan, “Myth and Reality in the Great Game,” Asian Affairs, vol. 60, (February 1973) 64.
- J. A. Naik, Soviet Policy Towards India, from Stalin to Brezhnev, (Delhi: Vikas Publications, 1970) 3-4.
- Vogelsang, Willem. The Afghans, pp. 245-272. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford,2002. ISBN 0-631-19841-5
- von Tunzelmann, Alex, Indian Summer. Henry Holt and Company, LLC, New York, 2007. ISBN-13: 078-0-8050-8073-5, ISBN-10: 0-8050-8073-2
- Inline
- ^ Hopkirk p. 1
- ^ Quoted from Disraeli's letter to the Queen in: Mahajan, Sneh. British Foreign Policy, 1874-1914. Routledge, 2002. ISBN 0415260108. Page 53.
- ^ Quoted from: Hopkirk, Peter. Peter Hopkirk (born December 15, 1930) is a British Journalist and author who has written six books about the British Empire The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia. ISBN 1568360223. Page 520.
External links
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