Great Game On: The contest for Central Asia and global supremacy

By Geoff Raby

by Reg Naulty 7th February 2025

What is the ‘Great Game’? It started in the nineteenth century as a struggle for Central Asia. Its foremost protagonist was Britain, and the country it conceived to be its antagonist was Russia. Then, Russia’s power had expanded into Central Asia, and in 1865 Russian troops attacked and captured Tashkent, generally regarded as the capital of Turkestan. In 1877-78 Russia led a coalition army which defeated the Ottomans, long a power in Central Asia.