The Role and Development of Libraries in Samarkand Region during World War II: A Comparative and Historical Study

This comprehensive article examines the evolution, functions, and ideological mission of libraries in the Samarkand region during World War II (1941–1945), within the broader Soviet context spanning 1917 to 1991. Drawing on more than 100 multilingual scholarly references, including dissertations and academic articles in Uzbek, Russian, English, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Chinese, and Korean, the study addresses the libraries’ role in literacy campaigns, political propaganda, gendered labor, wartime mobilization, and post-war transformations. The focal point is the A.S. Pushkin Regional Library in Samarkand, whose development is compared with institutions across Uzbekistan and Soviet Central Asia. The article also identifies underexplored aspects of Soviet librarianship.