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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «POLITOLOGIYA. RELIGIOVEDENIE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «POLITICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION STUDIES»
ISSN 2073-3380 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Political Science and Religion Studies». 2025. Vol 53

The Image of the Ruler as a “Figure of Memory”: Genghis Khan and Amir Timur

Author(s)

N. V. Dyachenko1

1 Altai State Pedagogical University, Barnaul, Russian Federation

Abstract
This article explores the transformation of the images of two great rulers, Genghis Khan and Amir Timur, in the historical memory of post-socialist Mongolia and Uzbekistan. It analyzes how these figures are employed by contemporary states in the processes of nation-building and the construction of political legitimacy. Using a comparative approach within the logic of «most different cases», the study identifies parallels between two culturally and historically distinct countries that, in the context of redefined identities following the collapse of the USSR, adopt similar strategies of sacralizing the historical past. In Mongolia, Genghis Khan is portrayed as the spiritual founder of the nation and a symbol of cultural and political continuity, while in Uzbekistan, Amir Timur is represented as the architect of imperial power and international influence. The study draws on diverse empirical materials – including museums, monuments, textbooks, academic and official publications – to demonstrate the institutionalization of personality cults in educational, cultural, and state policies. Through the images of these rulers, mass perceptions of national identity, social unity, and historical greatness are shaped, turning memory politics into an effective tool for both internal and external legitimation of power.
About the Authors
Dyachenko Natalia Vladimirovna, Сandidate of Sciences (History), Associate Professor Department of General History. Altai State Pedagogical University 55, Molodezhnaya St., Barnaul, 656031, Russian Federation e-mail: natalia-dyachenko79@yandex.ru
For citation
Dyachenko N.V. The Image of the Ruler as a “Figure of Memory”: Genghis Khan and Amir Timur. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2025, vol. 53, pp. 80-91. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2025.53.80 (in Russian)
Keywords
politics of memory, Genghis Khan, Amir Timur, Mongolia, Uzbekistan.
UDC
342.511:94(517+575.2)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2025.53.80
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