FROM TRADITION TO CREATION: CENTRAL ASIAN IDENTITIES AND THEIR FATES )Od tradycji do kreacji - wymiary i losy tozsamosci centralnoazjatyckich)

After the collapse of the USSR, Central Asian states together with their independence got the opportunity of reconsidering and redefinition of the vision of national identity that until this time was created through the foreign power. This article considers diverse levels and kinds of local identities in Central Asia and tries to show in what way the contemporary states create a new national and state identity. In new circumstances, a new identity has to be build but it is very often done with old tools, originating from the former system. To understand these countries today one has to discover the meaning of the Soviet rule in this area, the power of the tradition and a particular fusion between these two factors, which lasted through the long time of the Soviet domination. Especially important in the traditional way of living is a framework of a solidarity group. The analysis of the identity dimensions confirms the special role of tribal ties which are a fundamental element of social life and political movements in the past and present.