OnAridGroundfocusesontherelationshipsbetweenempireandenvironmentinCentralAsia,usingenvironmentalhistorytoexaminethepracticeofRussianimperialisminTurkestanattheendofempire,fromthe1860suntil1916.ItrevealsforthefirsttimeacomprehensiveassessmentoftheenvironmentalimprintofRussiancolonisation,andshowshowlocalecologiesfittedintobroaderrepertoiresofimperialrule,accommodation,andresistance.RangingwidelyaboveandbelowthesurfaceinTurkestan,fromthedesertsofTranscaspiatothehighlandsandlowlandsofruralFerganaandSemirech’e,JenniferKeatingexploresinfrastructuredevelopment,migrantsettlement,landreclamationanddispossession,thecommodificationofnature,andenvironmentalviolencetorevealthewaysinwhichecologicalchangewascentraltothebuildingandbreakingofempire.Attentivetoconnections,synchronicitiesandscale,OnAridGroundmakesthecaseforlookingbeyondcottonandwaterinCentralAsiancontext,forthepowerfulmaterialroleplayedbyanimalsandplants,sand,silt,andsaltinhumanhistories,andforthelessvisiblerelationshipsbetweenfar-flungpeopleandthingswithinandbeyondTurkestan’sborders.Layingbarethepoliticalrootsandrepercussionsofenvironmentalchange,thevolumebringsfreshperspectivesbothtothehistoryofCentralAsiaandtothatofthewiderRussianempireacrossEurasia.
