Abstract
Abstract This article examines the evolution of the Uyghur perception of their homeland in the Ili Valley, divided between China and Russia (later the Soviet Union), over a period of nearly 150 years, from the late 19th century to the early 21st century. During this time, following political and socioeconomic changes associated with the transition from traditional to industrial society on both sides of the border, as well as changes in political systems and the emergence of new states, there were shifts in the ethnonational identity of the Turkic-speaking population of the Ili Valley—the Uyghurs—who went through various stages of nation-building. The transformation of ethnic identity is traced through an analysis of notions of homeland reflected in literary works by Uyghur authors from different eras—the imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods. In the border zone of the Ili Valley, changes in identity were also associated with migrations, which influenced notions of homeland.