Dr Reinhard Eisener (born 1956), deceased in 2020, was a specialist in Central Asia and Ibadite studies. Between 1989 and 1993, he collected extensive and rich material in archives and libraries in St. Petersburg (until 1991 Leningrad), Moscow and Dushanbe on political, military and economic developments in the Emirate of Bukhara (1917-1920, located in the present-day states of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). He began his research as a habilitation project at Humboldt University in Berlin and continued it as a freelance author. The work was completed by 2018.
The book ‘Bukhara in the Whirlpool of the Russian Revolution. Prelude and Revolutionary Environment 1917-1919’ could only be published after his death with the help of Dr Thomas Loy.
The Reinhard Eisener collection was donated to the ZMO by Dagmar Scheibert in summer 2021 and contains copies of primary sources and research literature as well as documents for a planned second volume.
The Eisener Collection has been cataloged in the ZMO institutional repository, comprising 50 archival boxes and 1,611 titles. Throughout this process, great care was taken to preserve the original structure established by the researcher. As a result, the collection is organized into a two-level system. The first level consists of archival boxes, each containing between 10 and 60 source materials, along with general information about their contents. The second level includes the source materials themselves, which encompass articles, archival documents, books, photographs, handwritten notes, and other records.
Some smaller portions of the Eisener Bequest, including newspapers in Tajik and Russian from the 1990s, microfilms, and digitally born materials such as secondary sources like journal articles, have not yet been cataloged.
The collection primarily focuses on the formation of Central Asian republics under Soviet rule, with particular emphasis on the establishment of Tajikistan. The collector adopted both an interdisciplinary and transregional approach, drawing from linguistics, historical science, and political science. The transregional aspect is evident in the inclusion of sources from various countries within the region and beyond, providing a broader context for understanding these historical developments.
The provided links below direct users to various source materials from the Eisener Collection in the ZMO repository. This structured approach is designed to facilitate easier access and navigation for researchers. A significant portion of the materials is available in open access, while some remain in restricted access. To request access to restricted materials, please complete the application form and submit it to repositorium(at)zmo.de
Works and source materials compiled or created by Reinhard Eisener
Source Materials in Open Access
Journals:
Primary Source materials:
Collection of Source Materials 27
Collection of Source Materials 29
Collection of Source Materials 31: Criminal case files, interrogation transcripts, and investigative documents related to Ibrahim Bek.
Collection of Source Materials 32
Collection of Source Materials 33
Collection of Source Materials 34