Prerequisites and stages of the conquest of Central Asia tsarist Russia... Colonial policy of tsarism in Turkestan.

Regular contacts of the Moscow tsars with Central Asia, more precisely, with Khiva and Bukhara, began in the era of the Sheibanids. They began with the journey of the English merchant Jenkinson in 1558-1559. From 1565 to 1619, a number of embassies were sent to Moscow from Khiva and Bukhara in order to achieve free trade in the cities of the Russian state. In 1619, the first official embassy of the Bukhara khan Imamkuli, received by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, arrived in Moscow. In response, a Russian embassy was sent, headed by the nobleman Ivan Danilych Khokhlov, who visited Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand and returned in 1621. there was a lively exchange of embassies, but the establishment of any regular relations on an official basis could not be achieved. New stage the development of relations between the Russian state and the Central Asian khanates begins with the accession of Peter I to the Russian throne. In 1700, the Khiva embassy from Khan Shah-Niyaz arrived to Peter. In 1717, Peter I equips the expedition of Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky to Khiva. A part of the detachment sent by land died in full force, and Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky himself was also killed.

The conquest of Central Asia by tsarist Russia was due to a number of reasons.

1. One of the most important reasons was the establishment in 1764 of the complete domination of England over India. It was from this period that the confrontation between England and Russia in Central Asia can be considered. Since the beginning of the 19th century, many English missions have visited the Central Asian khanates: in 1824 - Moorcroft, in 1831 - Burns, in 1843 - Captain Abbott and others.
2. Russia at that time lagged behind many advanced countries in terms of economic development, including Britain and the United States. So, in 1860, it lagged behind in the production of industrial goods: from France - 7.2 times, from Germany - 9 times, from England - 18 times. In addition, the manufactured goods were not of high quality and low prices. Therefore, the way to European markets for Russian goods was closed, which in turn forced Russia to look for new markets for their sale and new sources of cheap raw materials.
3. The defeat of Russia in the Crimean War of 1855-1857 and the further weakening of its influence in the Balkans spurred Russia in its desire to realize its plans in Central Asia. On the other hand, England participated in this war on the side of Turkey, which prompted tsarism to strike back.
4. Civil War 1864-1865 in the United States was the reason for the undersupply of American cotton to European markets, including the Russian one. By this time, the rapidly growing Russian textile industry was buying cotton worth 100 million rubles from abroad, and America was its main supplier.

Russia directed its first blow at the Kokand Khanate. In 1847, the tsarist troops captured the mouth of the Syrdarya and built the Aral fortress here. In 1852, Russian troops led by Blamberg tried to capture the military fortress Ak-mosque (Kyzyl-Orda), but failed. The following year, General Perovsky repeated this attempt. The siege of the fortress, where there were only 400 defenders, lasted almost a month (22 days). On July 28, 1853 the fortress was occupied and renamed into the Perovsky fort. In the same year (1853) the Kazalinsk front was founded.

At the same time, the advance of the tsarist troops from Western Siberia from Semipalatinsk began. During 1850-1854. the entire Trans-Ili region was annexed to Russia and in 1854. the settlement of Vernoe (now Alma-Ata) was founded - the military and administrative center of this region.

In 1860, after stubborn resistance, Tokmak was taken, and then Pishpek. An important result of this expedition for Russia was the elimination of the influence of the Kokand khans on the nomadic Kyrgyz tribes in the upper reaches of the Chu River and Lake Issyk-Kul.

In May 1864, preparations for a campaign against the Kokand fortifications were completed. General Chernyaev on July 4, after a two-hour battle, captured Aulie-Ata. On June 12, Colonel Verevkin's detachment took the city of Turkestan, and on September 21, Chimkent was taken by storm. Chernyaev also made an attempt to capture Tashkent, but failed, losing 78 people. killed, he retreated to Chimkent (from September 27 to October 4).

On April 27, 1865, Chernyaev with 2,000 soldiers and 12 guns again set out from Chimkent to Tashkent. After the siege and storming of the city, he captures Tashkent on June 17. In the summer of 1865, a tsarist decree was issued on the annexation of the city to Russia, and on August 27 the inhabitants of Tashkent accepted Russian citizenship. During the capture of Tashkent, the losses among its inhabitants amounted to 12 thousand people.

On January 25, 1865, a decision was made to form the Turkestan region as part of the Orenburg governor-general. Major General M.G. Chernyaev was appointed the first military governor of the Turkestan region. In March 1866, Major General D.I. Romanovsky was appointed to this position.

In 1866 the tsarist troops launched an offensive against the Bukhara Emirate. In May 1866, a major battle took place in the Irdzhar tract, in which the Bukhara troops suffered a major defeat. Following this, the Russian troops of the city of Khojent and the fortress of Nau. After the Irdzharian battle, Romanovsky presented the terms of peace to the emir. The Bukhara Emir agreed with these conditions, but asked to exclude from them the clause on the payment of indemnity. On September 13, during negotiations, Romanovsky demanded from the Bukhara ambassador the impossible: to pay an indemnity in 10 days in the amount of 100 thousand Bukhara till. On September 23, Russian troops invaded the borders of the Bukhara Emirate and stormed the cities of Ura-Tyube, Dzhizak, Yangi-Kurgan.

On July 11, 1867, the Turkestan General Government was formed from the conquered territories. Baron von Kaufmann was appointed the first governor-general. He was given broad powers. He received the right to personally solve all political, economic and border issues in the region, to exchange embassies with neighboring countries, to conclude agreements with them without the consent of the central government.

Continuing the offensive on the Bukhara Emirate, on May 1, 1868, Kaufman ordered to force the Zeravshan and took the city of Samarkand by storm. Pursuing the emir, on May 2, the tsarist troops took Urgut, a few days later Katta-Kurgan - the last large city on the steps towards Bukhara. On June 2, on the Zirabulak heights between Bukhara and Katta-Kurgan, a major battle took place, in which the Bukharians were defeated. On June 23, 1868, a peace treaty was concluded between the Russian Empire and Bukhara, according to which part of the territory from Chinaz to Zirabulak with the conquered cities was torn away from the Bukhara Emirate and the Zeravshan district was formed on it, which became part of the Turkestan governorate-general. The Bukhara emir pledged to pay 500 thousand rubles in indemnity, to provide Russian merchants with the right to free trade on the territory of the emirate. In 1873, a new agreement was signed, according to which Bukhara was deprived of the right to conduct an independent foreign policy, i.e. The Bukhara Emirate became a Russian protectorate.

In February 1873, a campaign against the Khiva Khanate began, led by Kaufman himself. After the defeat of the Khiva troops and the capture of Khiva (May 29, 1873), he forced the Khiva Khan to sign (August 12, 1873) the Treaty of Gandemy. According to the agreement, the Khiva Khan recognized himself as "the humble servant of the All-Russian Emperor." The entire right bank of the Amu Darya went to Russia (in 1874 the Amu Darya department was formed here). The Khiva Khan pledged to pay a huge indemnity (2 million 200 thousand rubles over 20 years) for military expenses. Russian merchants were exempted from paying zakat and received the right to transport their goods duty-free through the Khiva possessions to all neighboring countries.

By this time, a popular uprising began in the Kokand Khanate under the leadership of Pulat Khan, Abdurahman Aftobachi against the khan's power and colonial oppression (1873-1876). After it was suppressed by Russian troops under the command of General M.D. Skobelev. On February 19, 1876, the tsar's decree announced the liquidation of the Kokand Khanate and the annexation of its territory to Russian Empire... Instead of the abolished khanate, the Fergana region was formed, General Skobelev M.D. was appointed the first military governor.

In general, more than 500 thousand inhabitants of Central Asia gave their lives in the struggle against the invaders.

The order of governing Turkestan was created gradually. In 1865, a temporary regulation was issued on the management of the newly formed Turkestan region. Its purpose was "to establish peace and security in the new Russian possessions." Basic management principles:

• the fusion of military and civilian power;
• concentration in the same administrative, judicial,

Household and other functions.

All power in the new area was concentrated in the hands of the military commanders:

• the administration was entrusted only with general supervision of the local

By population;

• the administration did not make any attempts to interfere with the internal life of the population, land and legal relations.

In 1867, the "Draft Regulation on Administration in the Syrdarya and Semirechye Regions" was adopted in order to strengthen the positions of the colonial administration of the Turkestan Territory by granting broad powers to the Governor-General. Features of the control system:

- "the inseparability of administrative and military power and its combination in common hands";

Granting the governor-general immense power.

The next "Regulation on the management of the Turkestan Territory" was approved in 1886. According to this "Regulation" the colonial policy and the colonial regime were legislatively enshrined. , at the same time, it would serve the purposes of firmly securing the region for Russia, reducing the treasury expenditures for its management and increasing income. " It confirmed "the indivisibility of military and administrative power and its unification in the same hands"; regulated all aspects of the political and economic life of the local population in order to further strengthen the colonial regime.

On its basis, the tsarist authorities seized a large amount of land belonging to the nomadic population of the Turkestan region, and created a land fund for the distribution of land to Russian settlers. Taxes were increased, a land tax was introduced in the amount of 10% of the gross income of peasants and a zemstvo tax in the amount of 35% of total taxes. To implement the measures stipulated by the "Regulations", a large number of police chiefs, governors, clerical officials arrived in Turkestan, who, with their harsh measures and disdainful attitude to national customs and traditions, deeply insulted the local population.

Tsarism underestimated the power and influence of Islam and worshipers in Turkestan. The tsarist government proceeded from the belief that the local population in Turkestan respects only strength, and therefore cared primarily about preserving in it a sense of fear and servility. Under K.P. Kaufman, the position of Kazi-Kalyan was destroyed. The clergy was greatly displeased by the announcement of the liquidation of the vakuf lands, and the abolition of zakat (1874), which, as you know, is one of the five pillars of Islam provided for in the Koran.

The entire region, unlike the center of Russia, was subordinate not to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but to the Minister of War. A strong military administrative apparatus was formed, which testifies to the colonial position of the region.

Under the governor-general, there were his assistants and a council of 7-10 people (from military and civilian officials of the region), the regions were ruled by military governors and regional boards.

A number of old institutions were kept intact by tsarism or were somewhat reformed. These institutions were seen as a means to preserve the economic, political and cultural backwardness of the region. One of these slightly renovated institutions was the so-called people's court.

Local authorities were governed by elected administrators and judges. "People's election" was based on "bribery and bribery." Only male householders enjoyed the right to vote; only the rich, who managed to bribe voters and higher authorities, could be elected.

The system of tsarist government created a wide scope for abuse by the administration. In the field of water management, the tsarist administration acted in the interests of the baysko-feudal elite, which seized all water resources into their own hands. The industrial policy was carried out in the interests of Russian capital.

The order of governing Turkestan, created by tsarism, was based on the oppression of local workers, on complete disregard of their rights.

The conquest of Central Asia by tsarist Russia contributed to its inclusion in the sphere of influence of Russian National economy and introduction to the world market. Capitalist relations, albeit slowly, but began to cover various sectors of the economy, the feudal foundations were destroyed from within, new methods of production were introduced. New classes were formed in the country: the proletariat and the capitalist bourgeoisie. However, the development of capitalism in Turkestan took an ugly form in connection with the economic policy of the tsarist government.

The economic policy of the tsarist government in Central Asia reflected primarily the interests of the Russian bourgeoisie, and was aimed at turning the region into a source of raw materials and a market for products of Russian industry. Russian commercial banks were the conductors of the policy of Russian capitalism in Central Asia. The most profitable for the investment of banking capital in Central Asia was the cotton business. Capital began to penetrate especially intensively into cotton growing from the 1890s.

During the colonial period, a rapid growth in industrial construction was observed in Turkestan. So, from the time of the conquest of Central Asia by Russia until 1900, 171 enterprises were built, in 10 years (1900-1910) - 223, and over the next four years - 179 enterprises.

The peculiarity of the industry of Turkestan consisted in its colonial character, and its main branches entirely served the export of products. Such industries were cotton-ginning, coconut drying, leather, silk-winding, etc. Branches of industry serving export were entirely associated with agriculture.

The railways built by the Russian authorities were of great importance for the development of Central Asia. The construction of railways to Central Asia was caused by economic and military-strategic considerations. In November 1880, work began on the construction of the Trans-Caspian railway, which was brought to Samarkand through Kzyl-Arvat and Askhabad, and on May 15, 1888 the first train arrived here. In 1900, the construction of the Orenburg-Tashkent railway began, and on July 1, 1905, the first train passed along it. Railways connected Central Asia with the central regions of Russia, making it an inseparable part of the all-Russian market. From now on, Central Asia also entered the world market - a necessary condition for any industrial development.

A clear expression of economic and social development Central Asia was characterized by urban growth. The population of eight cities (Tashkent, Kokand, Andijan, Jarkent, Samarkand, Osh, Khojent and Verny) for 13 years from 1897 to 1910. increased from 440 thousand to 613 thousand, an increase of more than 40%. Moreover, the population of cities grew almost twice as fast as the entire population as a whole.

For Agriculture in the first period, the dominance of food crops and weak specialization of agricultural regions were characteristic. The marketability of agricultural products, with the exception of sheep breeding, was low. Agriculture and water management were equipped with primitive technology. The main branches of agriculture were agriculture and animal husbandry. The growing textile production in Russia showed an increasing demand for cotton and from the end XIX v. began to turn Turkestan into its own cotton field, i.e. main source of cotton supply. The economic integration of the Russian and Central Asian economies took place, with cotton growing as the basis of this integration. For the period from 1888 to 1916. cotton sowing increased almost 10 times (from 68.5 thousand dessiatines to 680 thousand 911 dessiatines), and the gross cotton harvest increased by almost 7 times (from 2.27 million poods in 1879 to 14.9 million poods - in 1916). The main base for cotton growing was the Fergana Valley, which supplied 85% of all cotton produced in the Russian lands. Turkestan ensured the cotton independence of Russia.

One of the motives for the subjugation of Central Asia was the desire of tsarism to turn it into a colonization area for the resettlement of peasants from the central provinces of Russia. However, there was no free irrigated land, so the resettlement of Russian peasants was often accompanied by a violent seizure of the lands of the indigenous population. By 1910, there were 124 Russian settlements on the territory of the Turkestan general-governorship belonging to modern Uzbekistan (Syrdarya, Samarkand and Fergana regions), where about 70 thousand people lived. Together with the urban population, the Russian population amounted to more than 200 thousand people. Among them are railway, construction, factory workers, engineering and technical personnel, the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie, a small stratum of the intelligentsia and educators.

During the tsarist regime, religious schools of two types survived: maktabs (primary schools) and madrasahs (secondary and higher schools). Boys studied in them. There were also women's schools, but girls from wealthy families studied in them. Programs and educational plans were developed in the 12-13th centuries. The first time after the conquest of Central Asia, the tsarist authorities did not interfere in the system of public education. Under Alexander III (1881-1894), the implementation of the policy of Russification began, the weapon of which was the school. In 1884, Russian-native schools began to appear. Here the pupils spent half the time with Russian teachers in the Russian language, arithmetic, and the other half with a Muslim teacher, just like in a traditional school.

In Central Asia, in the 90s, the first new method schools appeared in the Fergana Valley; these maktabs were subjected to reforms under the influence of modernity. The pedagogy of the new methodology maktabs set the following tasks: 1) to give the young generation the knowledge necessary for modern life; 2) to apply forms of education that are more modern than in the old Muslim maktabs. New method schools have geographic Maps, globes and other visual aids; pupils sat on desks, corporal punishment was abolished, etc. In 1908 there were only 35 of them in Turkestan, and by 1917 there were already 92 new-method maktabs.

The old education system was preserved until 1917. In 1912 there were 7,665 maktabs and madrasahs.

In the second half of the 19th century, an important event took place in the cultural life of Uzbekistan: in 1868, book printing appeared. In 1874, the Turkestan Public Library (now the A. Navoi Library) was opened, which laid the first foundations of bibliographic work in the region, conducted scientific research. During the period under review, science and knowledge began to revive and develop. Special schools were created, a chemical laboratory was opened in Tashkent, astronomical institutions, an observatory, museums and libraries were built. Great contribution to development modern sciences Uzbekistan was introduced by Russian scientists: geographer P.T. Semyonov Tien-Shansky, geologists and anthropologists of the wife of L.P. and O.A. Fedchenko, geologist and geographer I.V. Mushketov, historians V.V. Bartold and V.L. Vyatkin and others.

The conquest of Central Asia by Russia was a violent colonial act, not much different from the colonial conquests of other countries. It was predatory in nature and established a colonial regime in Central Asia, which, however, differed in some peculiarities. Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. turned into a "prison of peoples", and Central Asia was part of it. The principle of "people's military administration", which was steadily implemented, meant that tsarism actually established a military-bureaucratic system of government in Turkestan, which left a military-bureaucratic imprint on the colonial policy of tsarism as a whole.

140 years ago, on March 2, 1876, as a result of the Kokand campaign under the command of M. D. Skobelev, the Kokand Khanate was abolished. Instead, the Fergana region was formed as part of the Turkestan General Government. The first military governor was General M.D. Skobelev. The liquidation of the Kokand Khanate ended in Russia's conquest of the Central Asian khanates in the eastern part of Turkestan.

The first attempts of Russia to gain a foothold in Central Asia date back to the time of Peter I. In 1700, an ambassador from the Khiva Shahniyaz-khan arrived to Peter, who asked to be accepted into Russian citizenship. In 1713-1714 two expeditions took place: to Malaya Bukharia - Buchholz and to Khiva - Bekovich-Cherkassky. In 1718, Peter I sent Florio Benevini to Bukhara, who returned in 1725 and delivered a lot of information about the region. However, Peter's attempts to establish himself in this region were unsuccessful. This was largely due to the lack of time. Peter died early, not realizing the strategic plans for the penetration of Russia into Persia, Central Asia and further to the South.

Under Anna Ioannovna, the Younger and the Middle Zhuz were taken under the tutelage of the "white queen". The Kazakhs then lived in a tribal system and were divided into three unions of tribes: Younger, Middle and Senior zhuz. At the same time, from the east, they were subjected to pressure from the Dzungars. The clans of the Elder Zhuz came under the rule of the Russian throne in the first half of the 19th century. To ensure the Russian presence and protect Russian subjects from the raids of neighbors, a number of fortresses were built on the Kazakh lands: Kokchetav, Akmolinsk, Novopetrovskoe, Ural, Orenburg, Raimskoe and Kapalskoe fortifications. In 1854 the Vernoe (Alma-Ata) fortification was founded.

After Peter, until the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian government was limited to relations with subordinate Kazakhs. Paul I decided to support Napoleon's plan for joint actions against the British in India. But he was killed. Russia's active participation in European affairs and wars (in many respects it was Alexander's strategic mistake) and the constant struggle with the Ottoman Empire and Persia, as well as the Caucasian war that lasted for decades, made it impossible to pursue an active policy towards the eastern khanates. In addition, part of the Russian leadership, especially the Ministry of Finance, did not want to bind themselves with new spending. Therefore, Petersburg sought to maintain friendly relations with the Central Asian khanates, despite the damage from raids and robberies.

However, the situation gradually changed. First, the military is tired of enduring the raids of nomads. Fortifications and punitive raids were not enough. The military wanted to solve the problem in one fell swoop. Military-strategic interests outweighed financial ones.

Secondly, St. Petersburg feared British advancement in the region: the British Empire held strong positions in Afghanistan, and British instructors appeared in the Bukhara troops. The Big Game had its own logic. A holy place is never empty. If Russia refused to take control of this region, then Britain would have taken it under its wing, and in the future, China. And given the hostility of England, we could get a serious threat in the southern strategic direction... The British could strengthen the military formations of the Kokand and Khiva khanates, the Bukhara Emirate.

Third, Russia could afford to start more active operations in Central Asia. The Eastern (Crimean) War was over. The long and exhausting Caucasian War was drawing to a close.

Fourth, the economic factor must not be forgotten. Central Asia was an important market for Russian industrial goods. The region, rich in cotton (in the long term and in other resources), was important as a supplier of raw materials. Therefore, the idea of ​​the need to curb the robbery and provide new markets for Russian industry through military expansion found more and more support in various strata of society in the Russian Empire. It was no longer possible to tolerate archaism and savagery on its borders, it was necessary to civilize Central Asia, solving a wide range of military-strategic and socio-economic problems.

Back in 1850, the Russian-Kokand war began. At first, these were small skirmishes. In 1850, an expedition was undertaken across the Ili River, with the aim of destroying the Toychubek fortification, which served as a stronghold for the Kokand Khan, but they managed to capture it only in 1851. In 1854, the Vernoe fortification was built on the Almaty River (today Almatinka), and the entire Zailiysky Territory became part of the Russian Empire. In 1852, Colonel Blaramberg destroyed two Kokand fortresses Kumysh-Kurgan and Chim-kurgan and stormed Ak-Mosque, but did not achieve success. In 1853, Perovsky's detachment took the Ak-Mosque. Ak-Mosque was soon renamed Fort-Perovskiy. Attempts by the Kokand people to recapture the fortress were repelled. The Russians erected a number of fortifications along the lower reaches of the Syrdarya (Syrdarya line).

In 1860, the West Siberian leadership formed a detachment under the command of Colonel Zimmerman. Russian troops destroyed the Kokand fortifications of Pishpek and Tokmak. The Kokand Khanate declared a holy war and sent 20 thousand army, but it was defeated in October 1860 at the fortification of Uzun-Agach by Colonel Kolpakovsky (3 companies, 4 hundred and 4 guns). Russian troops took Pishpek, restored by the Kokand people, and the small fortresses of Tokmak and Kastek. Thus, the Orenburg line was created.

In 1864 it was decided to send two detachments: one from Orenburg, the other from western Siberia. They had to go towards each other: the Orenburg one - up the Syr Darya to the city of Turkestan, and the West Siberian one - along the Aleksandrovsky ridge. In June 1864, the West Siberian detachment under the command of Colonel Chernyaev, who left Verny, took the Aulie-ata fortress by storm, and the Orenburg detachment under the command of Colonel Verevkin moved from Fort Perovsky and took the Turkestan fortress. In July, Russian troops took Chimkent. However, the first attempt to take Tashkent failed. In 1865, from the newly occupied territory, with the annexation of the territory of the former Syrdarya line, the Turkestan region was formed, the military governor of which was Mikhail Chernyaev.

The next serious step was the capture of Tashkent. A detachment under the command of Colonel Chernyaev undertook a campaign in the spring of 1865. At the very first news of the approach of Russian troops, Tashkent residents turned to Kokand for help, since the city was under the rule of the Kokand khans. The actual ruler of the Kokand Khanate, Alimkul, gathered an army and headed to the fortress. The garrison of Tashkent reached 30 thousand people with 50 guns. There were only about 2 thousand Russians with 12 guns. But in the fight against poorly trained, poorly disciplined and worse armed troops, this did not have of great importance.

On May 9, 1865, during the decisive battle outside the fortress, the Kokand forces were defeated. Alimkul himself was mortally wounded. The defeat of the army and the death of the leader undermined the fighting efficiency of the garrison of the fortress. Under cover of the night on June 15, 1865, Chernyaev began an assault on the city's Kamelansky gates. Russian soldiers secretly approached the city wall and, using the factor of surprise, burst into the fortress. After a series of skirmishes, the city capitulated. A small detachment of Chernyaev forced to lay down their arms a huge city (24 miles in circumference, not counting the suburbs) with a population of 100 thousand, with a garrison of 30 thousand with 50-60 guns. The Russians lost 25 killed and several dozen wounded.

In the summer of 1866, a royal decree was issued on the annexation of Tashkent to the possessions of the Russian Empire. In 1867, a special Turkestan general-governorship was created as part of the Syrdarya and Semirechye regions with the center in Tashkent. Engineer-General K.P. Kaufman was appointed the first governor.

In May 1866, 3 thousand detachment of General D.I. Romanovsky defeated 40 thousand army of Bukharans in the battle of Irdzhar. Despite their large numbers, the Bukharians suffered a complete defeat, having lost about a thousand people killed, while the Russians - only 12 wounded. The victory at Ijar opened the way for the Russians to cover the access to the Fergana Valley, Khujand, the fortress Nau, Jizzak, which were taken after the Irjar victory. As a result of the campaign in May-June 1868, the resistance of the Bukhara troops was finally broken. Russian troops occupied Samarkand. The territory of the khanate was annexed to Russia. In June 1873 the Khiva Khanate suffered the same fate. Troops under the general command of General Kaufman took Khiva.

The loss of independence of the third large khanate - Kokand - was postponed for some time only thanks to the flexible policy of Khan Khudoyar. Although part of the territory of the khanate with Tashkent, Khujand and other cities was annexed to Russia, Kokand, in comparison with the treaties imposed on other khanates, was in a better position. The main part of the territory was preserved - Fergana with the main cities. Dependence on the Russian authorities was felt weaker, and in matters of internal government Khudoyar was more independent.

For several years, the ruler of the Kokand Khanate, Khudoyar, obediently carried out the will of the Turkestan authorities. However, his power was shaken, the khan was considered a traitor who made a deal with the “infidels”. In addition, his position was worsened by the most severe tax policy in relation to the population. The incomes of the khan and the feudal lords fell, and they taxed the population. In 1874, an uprising began, which engulfed most of the khanate. Khudoyar asked Kaufman for help.

Khudoyar fled to Tashkent in July 1875. His son Nasreddin was proclaimed the new ruler. Meanwhile, the rebels were already advancing to the former Kokand lands, annexed to the territory of the Russian Empire. Khujand was surrounded by the rebels. The Russian communications with Tashkent were interrupted, to which the Kokand troops were already approaching. In all mosques, calls for a war with the "infidels" were heard. True, Nasreddin sought reconciliation with the Russian authorities in order to gain a foothold on the throne. He entered into negotiations with Kaufman, assuring the governor of his loyalty. In August, an agreement was concluded with the khan, according to which his authority was recognized on the territory of the khanate. However, Nasruddin did not control the situation in his lands and was unable to stop the unrest that began. Detachments of the rebels continued to raid Russian possessions.

The Russian command correctly assessed the situation. The uprising could spread to Khiva and Bukhara, which could lead to serious problems. In August 1875, in the battle of Mahram, the Kokands were defeated. Kokand opened the gates to Russian soldiers. A new agreement was concluded with Nasreddin, according to which he recognized himself as "the humble servant of the Russian emperor", refused diplomatic relations with other states and from military action without the permission of the governor-general. The lands on the right bank of the upper reaches of the Syr Darya with Namangan went to the empire.

However, the uprising continued. Its center was Andijan. Here 70 thousand items were collected. army. The rebels proclaimed a new khan - Pulat-bek. Trotsky's detachment, which had moved to Andijan, was defeated. On October 9, 1875, the rebels defeated the Khan's troops and took Kokand. Nasreddin, like Khudoyar, fled under the protection of Russian weapons to Khujand. Soon, the rebels captured Margelan, and a real threat hung over Namangan.

The Turkestan Governor-General Kaufman sent a detachment under the command of General M.D.Skobelev to suppress the uprising. In January 1876 Skobelev took Andijan, and soon suppressed the rebellion in other regions. Pulat-bek was captured and executed. Nasruddin returned to his capital. But he began to establish contacts with the anti-Russian party and fanatical clergy. Therefore, in February Skobelev occupied Kokand. On March 2, 1876, the Kokand Khanate was abolished. Instead, the Fergana region was formed as part of the Turkestan General Government. Skobelev became the first military governor. The liquidation of the Kokand Khanate ended in Russia's conquest of the Central Asian khanates.

It is worth noting that the modern republics of Central Asia now also face a similar choice. The time that has passed since the collapse of the USSR shows that living together in a single, powerful empire-power is much better, more profitable and safer than in separate “khanates” and “independent” republics. For 25 years, the region has been steadily degrading, returning to the past. The Great Game continues and Western countries, Turkey, Arab monarchies, China and the network structures of the "army of chaos" (jihadists) are actively operating in the region. All of Central Asia can become a huge "Afghanistan" or "Somalia, Libya", that is, an inferno zone.

The economy in the Central Asian region cannot develop independently and support the life of the population at a decent level. Some exceptions were Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan - due to the oil and gas sector and smarter government policies. However, they are doomed to a rapid deterioration in the economic and then socio-political situation, after the collapse of energy prices. In addition, the population of these countries is too small and cannot create an "island of stability" in the raging ocean of world turmoil. Militarily, technologically, these countries are dependent and doomed to defeat (for example, if Turkmenistan is attacked by jihadists from Afghanistan), if they are not supported by the great powers.

Thus, Central Asia again faces a historic choice. The first way is further degradation, Islamization and archaization, disintegration, civil strife and transformation into a huge "inferno" zone, where most of the population simply will not "fit" into the new world.

The second way is the gradual absorption of the Celestial Empire and Sinification. First, the economic expansion, which is happening, and then the military-political. China needs the resources of the region and its transport capabilities. In addition, Beijing cannot allow jihadists to establish itself at its side and carry the flames of war to the west of China.

The third way is active participation in the reconstruction of the new Russian Empire (Union-2), where the Turks will be a full and prosperous part of the multinational Russian civilization. It should be noted that Russia will have to fully return to Central Asia. Civilizational, national, military-strategic and economic interests are above all. If we do not do this, then the Central Asian region will collapse into turmoil, become a zone of chaos, inferno. We will get a lot of problems: from the flight of millions of people to Russia to attacks by jihadist detachments and the need to build fortified lines ("Central Asian Front"). China's intervention is no better.

Russia has long gazed at the Muslim countries that lay behind the vast steppes south of the Ural Mountains. Bukhara, Samarkand, Kokand and Khiva were often visited by Russian merchants. Traders from Central Asian states were regular guests at Russian fairs. Rumors about the fabulous riches of exotic countries hidden behind the steppes and deserts sparked the eyes of many Russians.

The first attempt to grab these fabulous lands was made by Peter I. The Tsar was impressed by the stories of the Turkmen guest Khoja Nefes about the gold-bearing sands of the Amu Darya and about the malefic Khivans, who, in order to hide their wealth, diverted the river bed to the Aral Sea. In 1716, Peter ordered to send troops to Khiva under the command of Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky. The task seemed simple: the Kokand, Khiva and Bukhara khanates did not have regular armies. In case of military necessity, forcibly driven farmers, artisans and slaves were added to the permanent horse detachments. These formations were extremely weakly armed. No more than a quarter of the personnel had firearms.

In June 1717, Bekovich's four thousand army moved from Guriev towards Khiva. A month later, the Russians reached the Karagach tract, where their way was blocked by the Khiva army, six times the force of the invasion. A three-day battle ensued, which showed the difference in class between the Asian horde and the Russian army, which already had victories over Sweden. Bekovich lost no more than a dozen soldiers and Cossacks, and the Khivans, according to his report, left more than a thousand corpses on the battlefield.

Bekovich entered Khiva, where the khan began peace negotiations. However, under the pretext that Khiva was unable to feed the entire Russian corps, the khan asked to divide the army into five parts and send them to stand in five different cities. The naive Bekovich agreed. As soon as the units of the Russian army withdrew a hundred versts from Khiva, they were attacked by the natives who were waiting in ambushes. Most of the Russians were slaughtered, the rest were sold into slavery. The khan of Khiva sent the head of Bekovich as a gift to his Bukhara colleague. Only a few dozen elderly former soldiers managed to return to Russia 23 years later: in 1740, the Persian Shah defeated Khiva in another war and sent all Russian slaves home, endowing them with money and horses.

After the unsuccessful expedition of Bekovich for almost 150 years, Russia more or less peacefully coexisted with the Central Asian states. In the 1740s, nomadic Kazakhs recognized the Russian protectorate. This did not change the general situation in the region much. The Russians have studied the Central Asian monarchies well. The largest was the Bukhara Emirate, in which three million people lived. The Kokand Khan had one and a half million subjects, and the Khiva Khan half a million. These three rather backward countries, even by Asian standards, were constantly at odds with each other. Cities and villages burned in strife, peasants perished and suffered.

By the middle of the 19th century, Russia began to pay more and more attention to the Central Asian issue. For a huge power, the state of affairs looked almost humiliating. “Today, the power and influence of our administration extends almost no further than the border line of the Urals and does not inspire any special respect for the Kaisaks or the regions of Central Asia. Our so-called subjects (Kirghiz-Kaisaks), being freed from any tax on our part and at the same time being exposed, out of their defenselessness, to all arbitrary oppression and extortions of the Khivans, involuntarily obey them more than we do, and consider themselves more or less subordinate to the Khiva Khan ”- wrote Vitkevich, adjutant of the Orenburg governor-general in 1836. Russia was interested in Central Asia primarily as a market for its goods. For example, Russian metal could hardly withstand competition in Europe, and 60% of the iron smelted was sent to the south and east. Cotton was brought to Russia from the south - a necessary raw material for the Russian textile industry.

In the 19th century, the British actively tried to penetrate into Central Asia. They, also interested in new sales markets, operated from the south, from British India. Many English goods appeared in the markets of Kokand, Khiva and Bukhara. The authorities of these states clearly sympathized with British merchants: they were subject to lower duties than Russian merchants. The Russian government saw no other way to change the current situation other than a military solution to the problem. On November 26, 1839, 6,650 soldiers and Cossacks moved south from Orenburg. The expedition was headed by the military governor of Orenburg Vasily Perovsky. The winter steppe campaign ended in failure: the Russians suffered from cold and disease, the Khivans attacked uninvited guests on marches and bivouacs, the Kirghiz guides did not want to help the troops fighting against their co-religionists. Having lost more than two thousand people killed and captured, Perovsky returned to Orenburg in early 1840.

Vasily Perovsky (Karl Bryullov, 1837). (wikipedia.org)

Thirteen years later, Perovsky tried again. Now he was acting more circumspectly. Numerous fortifications grew in the Kazakh steppe, between which Russian troops could freely maneuver. In 1853 Perovsky moved south again. The large Kokand fortress Ak-Mechet (now Kyzyl-Orda) was taken by storm. The next year, in Semirechye, Perovsky founded the Verny fort (now Alma-Ata), which he was going to make a stronghold for the conquest of Kokand. These plans were thwarted by the outbreak of the Crimean War. The Russians hastily signed an armistice that was beneficial to themselves with the Kokand Khan and transferred most of the troops to the fronts of a new war.

The next stage of the struggle for Central Asia began in May 1864, when the detachments of Colonels Verevkin and Chernyaev from both sides invaded the Kokand Khanate. Immediately they managed to take the cities of Turkestan and Aulie-Ata, for which both were promoted to generals. The Kokand khan Alimkul moved the army towards the aggressors, but then a fellow believer hit him in the back - the Bukhara emir, on the sly, decided to chop off Tashkent. Alimkul rushed about, trying to repulse all the enemies, but not having time anywhere. The Russians occupied Chimkent, and in Tashkent clashes began between the supporters of the annexation of the city to Russia (merchants and artisans advocated for this) and the clergy, who liked the Bukhara emir more. Alimkul suppressed these riots, but allowed Chernyaev's detachment approaching Tashkent. On May 9, 1865, a battle took place, in which the Kokand Khan died, and his army was defeated. Building on his success, Chernyaev immediately began an assault on Tashkent. After two days of street fighting, the city authorities expressed their readiness to fully submit to Emperor Alexander II. In the same year, Tashkent and most of the territory of the Kokand Khanate became part of the Russian Empire.

Taking advantage of the neighbor's misfortune, the Bukhara emir captured Kokand. The Russians, who already considered the new khan as their vassal, did not like this, and they declared war on Bukhara. The Emir's army turned out to be rather weak against the Russian bayonets. And soon Khojent and other cities of the Fergana Valley became part of the Turkestan General Government, formed in 1867, with the center in Tashkent.

In March 1868, the angry Bukhara emir declared a holy war on Russia - ghazavat. Attacks began on Russian border posts. In response, the soldiers razed several villages to the ground. The Emir took this as an excuse, and in April Bukharian troops crossed the border and took up a position near the Zeravshan River, not far from Samarkand. The Russians who arrived in time in a battle that lasted all day, utterly defeated the Bukharians. The people of Samarkand opened the gates in front of the Turkestan Governor-General Konstantin Kaufman and asked for Russian citizenship. Russian troops moved towards Bukhara. On June 2, a decisive battle took place on the Zirbulak hills, after which the Bukhara army ceased to exist. A couple of weeks later, Emir Muzafar signed a peace treaty with Russia. He recognized his vassal dependence on Russia, pledged to pay an indemnity of half a million rubles and gave the cities of Khujand, Ura-Tyube and Jizzak.

"They attack by surprise" (Vasily Vereshchagin, 1871). (wikipedia.org)

The Khiva Khanate remained the last independent state in Central Asia. In 1873, the Russians reached him. In February, 12 thousand soldiers under the command of General Kaufman moved across the sands to Khiva. The poorly armed Khiva army did not offer worthy resistance. On May 26, the Russians approached the walls of Khiva. After a three-day assault, the city fell. Khan Seyid Mohammed-Rahim II with several courtiers managed to escape into the desert. The Russians captured the fugitive monarch, returned him to his own capital and forced him to sign a peace treaty. Khiva recognized its subordination to Russia and agreed to pay an indemnity of 2,200,000 rubles. Slavery was prohibited throughout the khanate, and Russian merchants received the right to duty-free trade. In addition, the entire right bank of the Amu Darya became Russian, which almost halved the territory of the Khiva Khanate.

"Khiva Campaign of 1873" (Nikolay Karazin, 1888). (wikipedia.org)

In 1875, the conquered Kokand seethed. Khan Khudoyar, who recognized his vassal dependence on Russia, fled, and his son Nasreddin, who was placed on the throne by the mullahs, did not want to obey the empire. Calls for the ghazavat were heard again. In response, Russian troops entered the Khanate and occupied Kokand. Nasreddin signed another peace agreement, gave the Namangan bekstvo to Russia and agreed to pay another indemnity. Nevertheless, the unrest in the khanate did not calm down on this. To avoid further difficulties, on February 19, 1876, Russia abolished the Kokand Khanate, including its territory.

Only the Turkmen tribes that inhabited oases in the Caspian deserts and did not have centralized power remained unconquered in Central Asia. England buried itself on their territory, actively supporting the Turkmens and Tekins, who lived mainly by plundering the neighboring regions. In 1878, England captured Afghanistan and was going to occupy the territory of Turkmenistan. In response, Russian troops moved from Krasnovodsk to the Akhal-Teke oasis. Their goal was the Geok-Tepe fortress, the main Turkmen citadel. The assault was unsuccessful. Having lost 200 people killed and 250 wounded, the Russians retreated to Krasnovodsk.

Defense of the Geok-Tepe fortress. (Nikolay Karazin). (wikipedia.org)

The new Akhal-Teke expedition was led by General Mikhail Skobelev, a hero of the just-ended war with the Turks in the Balkans. He approached the matter thoroughly. To supply the army from Krasnovodsk, rails were laid deep into the desert. Railway communication with distant oases was established. Russian troops again approached Geok-Tepe in December 1880. British agents spread rumors among the Tekins that the Russians were coming only to dishonor all the wives and daughters of the defenders of the fortress. Not surprisingly, the citadel fiercely resisted. The siege and assault lasted three weeks. On January 12, 1881, after a mine explosion under the fortress wall, Russian soldiers rushed inside, where heated battles began for every house. Skobelev lost one and a half thousand people, the losses of the defenders are unknown. In May 1881, the Akhal-Teke oasis became the Trans-Caspian region with the center in Askhabad. After tearing down the walls of Geok-Tepe, the Russians, proving the falsity of the English propaganda, began to be emphatically friendly towards the local population. It had an effect. The inhabitants of the Tezhensky, Mervsky and Pendinsky oases, which remained independent so far, have forgotten about their former hostility towards the Russians, despite the incitement of the British. In January 1884, the inhabitants of Merv decided to become a Russian citizen and on January 31 in Askhabad their representatives took the oath of oath to Emperor Alexander III. The conquest of Central Asia was completed.

A huge new territory had to be managed. The emperor appointed Konstantin Kaufman, an active participant in the Central Asian campaigns, at the head of the Turkestan general-governorship. The new lands, which were actually colonies, were demarcated along the lines of the metropolis. Central Asia was divided into five regions: Syrdarya, Samarkand, Fergana, Semirechensk and Trans-Caspian. Each was headed by a military governor. The regions were divided into counties, and the counties into volosts. Muslims were allowed to rule only at the lowest, volost level. In addition, the indigenous population had much less political rights than the inhabitants of the rest of the empire.

Konstantin Kaufman (Artist K.O. Brozh). (wikipedia.org)

Konstantin Kaufman turned out to be a skillful administrator. As Georgy Fedorov, manager of his office, recalled, “he was truly the king's governor in the East, and the natives did not call him Yarym-Padsha (Half of the Tsar) for nothing. Equipped with tremendous powers, surrounded by a brilliant halo of almost limitless power (which he never abused), Kaufman was more than a king's governor; he was really half a king. " Under the leadership of Kaufman, Turkestan began to develop rapidly. True, even in the middle of the second decade of the 20th century, it was noticeably lagging behind the rest of Russia in all economic indicators. But Kaufman liked to constantly emphasize the inviolability of the Russian power over Central Asia and the fact that this power has certain traditions. When he sent troops to pacify the rebellious Yomut tribe, he announced that the punitive action was carried out in memory of Bekovich's expedition destroyed almost 200 years ago: it was allegedly the Yomuts who massacred the detachment of the Russian prince.

The Bukhara Emirate and the Khiva Khanate remained formally independent enclaves within Turkestan. The Russian government was in no hurry to liquidate these monarchies, considering their vassal dependence quite sufficient. “The best head of the district for me is the emir of Bukhara,” said Kaufman. Most likely, the annexation of the territories of Bukhara and Khiva would have happened anyway sooner or later: their subjects differed too clearly in terms of living standards from the inhabitants of the neighboring regions of the governor-general. It was only Soviet power in the 1920s that finally liquidated the emirate and the khanate. But that's a completely different story ...

Conquests in Central Asia and the Caucasus

CENTRAL ASIA - a region that occupies the territory between the Caspian Sea in the west to the border with China in the east and borders on the Kazakh steppes in the north and Iran and Afghanistan in the south.

Until mid. 19th century in Central Asia, in addition to the Bukhara Emirate, the Khiva and Kokand khanates, there were several other independent possessions. All of them were constantly at war with each other and with neighboring countries. The ancient centers of irrigated agriculture were inhabited by sedentary Uzbeks and Tajiks, desert areas were inhabited by nomadic tribes of herders of Turkmens, Kirghiz, and Karakalpaks. Remnants of the tribal system were preserved under feudal relations. Back in mid. 19th century slave labor was used, especially in Khiva, the slave trade was carried on. In Central Asia, there were a large number of cities with developed handicraft production: Bukhara, Gissar, Kokand, Ura-Tyube. The largest of them was Tashkent.

The ties between Russia and Central Asia were especially strengthened after the annexation of Kazakhstan to Russia, since the caravan routes became safer. Cotton was supplied to Russian factories, and cotton fabrics and metal were sold to Central Asia. Trade was hampered by the lack of guarantees for the safety of merchants and high taxes for Russians in the Central Asian states. In order not to pay the duties imposed on Christians, Russian merchants preferred to send Tatar clerks to Central Asia.

In the 1860s. due to civil war in the United States, supplies of American cotton to Russia decreased.

In this regard, the question arose about the subordination of Central Asia in order to provide the textile industry, the most developed in Russia, with raw materials. In addition, Russia sought to outstrip the penetration of England into this region. The Russian government was not unanimous on the issue of the conquest of Central Asia, and the last word remained with the commanders of the Russian detachments - M.G. Chernyaev, M.D.Skobelev, K.P. the backward Central Asian armies could not offer strong resistance.

Part of the territory of Central Asia with the least developed state traditions in 1865-1885. became part of the Russian Empire. In 1885 the Kokand Khanate was conquered, in 1886 - the Bukhara Emirate. In 1873 the Khiva Khan recognized himself as a vassal of Russia. As a result of the Akhal-Teke expeditions in 1880-1881. Turkmenistan was conquered. In 1885 Tejen, Merv and the Pendan oasis voluntarily became part of Russia. On their territories, the Turkestan Territory and the Trans-Caspian Region were formed.

The Russian authorities freed the slaves, stopped ruinous wars and mutual predatory raids of neighbors, and limited the arbitrariness of the local nobility. After joining Russia, local artisans could not compete with Russian industrial goods and went bankrupt. However, many new ginning factories appeared in Central Asia, and then other industrial enterprises. Attempts to create large cotton plantations were unsuccessful, cotton was still bought from peasants. More valuable American cotton varieties have appeared in the fields. His crops displaced wheat, so bread began to be imported from Russia. In Central Asia, the land occupied by vineyards, orchards and melons has increased. Everything grown there was sold on the huge Russian market.

Since 1852, steamers began to sail along the Aral Sea and the Syr Darya, and later along the Amu Darya. The construction of railways played an important role in the economic development of Central Asia. The first of them - Transcaspian - was built from 1880 from Krasnovodsk. In 1888 it reached Samarkand, and in 1899 - to Tashkent. Already at the beginning. 20th century Orenburg highway

Tashkent connected Central Asia with Central Russia. D. N.

KOKAND KHANATE - a state in Central Asia in the 18-19th centuries. centered in the Fergana Valley.

The Kokand Khanate stood out at the beginning. 18th century from Bukhara Emirate. It was founded by the leader of the Uzbek tribe Mingi Rakhim-biy. Under Khan Muhammad-Omar (1809–1822), the borders of the khanate expanded far beyond the Fergana Valley. All R. 19th century the Kokand and Russian possessions began to touch in the Kazakh steppes. Russian merchants and entrepreneurs could not calmly engage in trade: they were killed, their goods were robbed. On the territory of Central Asia, there were no Russian cities where it was possible to develop trade, there were no explored roads for the transport of goods. In the 30s. 19th century the Russian government began advancing deep into Central Asia.

In response to the raids of the Kokand residents, Orenburg Governor-General V.A.Perovsky took the Ak-Mechet (now Kzyl-Orda) in 1853. In 1854, the Vernoe fortification (now Alma-Ata) was laid. From there, Russian detachments conducted military sorties against the Kokand Khanate. From its territory it was possible to begin the struggle against the Khiva Khanate and the Bukhara Emirate. In 1860, E. A. Kolpakovsky defeated the Khan's army at Uzun-Agach near the town of Verny and in 1861 occupied Pishpek (Bishkek).

In 1864 the Russians took the Kokand fortresses of Aulie-Ata, Turkestan, Chimkent. In 1865 General M.G. Chernyaev besieged and took Tashkent. Tashkent was defended by the 6,000-strong army of Khan Alimkul, which had 40 cannons. Chernyaev's detachment consisted of 1,300 men and 18 cannons. After a stubborn battle in May 1865, the Kokand people left Tashkent. The actual ruler of Kokand, Alimkul, was killed in the battle. General Chernyaev feared that the Muslim clergy of Tashkent would turn to the Emir of Bukhara for help. To prevent the raids of the Bukharians, in 1865 Tashkent was incorporated into Russia. In 1867, Tashkent became the capital of the Turkestan governor general, which also included the Syrdarya and Semirechensk regions.

According to the treaty of Khudoyar Khan with Russia in February 1868, the possessions of Kokand were limited to the Fergana Valley, he recognized his dependence on Russia. The stay of Russian merchants and the transit of Russian goods through it were allowed in the khanate.

In 1873, an uprising broke out in the Fergana Valley, led by the self-proclaimed Pulat Khan. Khudoyar fled to Russian possessions. His son Nasreddin in September 1875 managed to conclude a new treaty with Russia, promising the city of Namangan and 600 thousand rubles as an indemnity, but in October Pulat Khan had already taken Kokand. The city of Andijan also opposed Russia, and then Namangan. There was a danger that detachments from Khiva, Bukhara and Afghanistan would come to the aid of Kokand. Then the Russian government decided to include the Kokand Khanate in the empire. The troops of General M.D.Skobelev defeated the rebels near Andijan. In February 1876, the khanate was abolished, and in its place the Fergana region was formed as part of Russian Turkestan. Skobelev became the military governor of the region. D. N.

BUKHARA EMIRATE - a state in Central Asia in the 16th – 20th centuries. with the center in the valley of the Zeravshan river.

The state of Bukhara Emirate appeared on the ruins of the Timurid state, the descendants of the Central Asian conqueror Timur. It got its name after the con. 16th century the capital was moved from Samarkand to Bukhara.

In the beginning. 18th century due to internal strife, the emirate split into several fiefdoms. In 1741 the territory of the emirate was conquered by the Iranian shah Nadir. After his death in 1747, power in Bukhara was seized by the leader of the Uzbek tribe of Mangyts, Muhammad Rakhim, who served in the Persian army. In 1753 he officially took the Bukhara throne, laying the foundation for the emir dynasty of Mangyt.

The ruler of "sacred Bukhara" personified both the highest secular and spiritual power. Emir Shokhmurod (1785-1800) held a tax and military reform, created a powerful mercenary army. She broke the resistance of local rulers and began campaigns of conquest. The Bukhara Emirate reached its greatest power during the reign of Emir Nasrullah, who ruled in 1826-1860.

In 1865, when Russian troops entered the Kokand Khanate, the Bukhara emir Muzzafar intervened in the war. In 1866, Russian troops defeated the Bukhara army at Irdzhar and transferred the hostilities to the territory of the emirate.

In May 1868, a 3.5 thousand detachment of the Governor-General of Turkestan KP Kaufman occupied Samarkand and moved to Bukhara. In June, Kaufman won a victory at Zerabulak, but because of the uprising in Samarkand, he turned back. Under the agreement of June 23, 1868, the Bukhara emir gave up the Samarkand and Katta-Kurgan districts, paid an indemnity of 500 thousand rubles and recognized the supremacy of Russia. Russian subjects in Bukhara received equal rights with Muslims. On September 28, 1873, a new Russian-Bukhara treaty was signed. Russian merchants were completely exempted from taxes and duties. Slavery was abolished in Bukhara. The Bukhara Emir received part of the lands that had ceded from the Khiva Khanate. In the future, the emirate existed under the protectorate of Russia. D. N.

TASHKENT is an ancient city in Central Asia on the river. Chirchik (tributary of the Syrdarya).

In the beginning. 18th century Tashkent was subordinate to the khans of the Senior zhuz. In 1723 it was ruined by the Dzungars, then it became the capital of an independent khanate. In 1809 Tashkent became part of the Kokand Khanate. He was largest city(about 80 thousand inhabitants) and the trade center of Central Asia.

From here 15-18 thousand loaded camels were sent annually with caravans.

In the fall of 1864, a Russian detachment of 1,500 men, headed by M.G. Chernyaev, tried to seize Tashkent, but was forced to retreat. In April 1865 Chernyaev with 1300 soldiers and 12 cannons besieged Tashkent, cut off the supply of grain and diverted water from the city. The Tashkent garrison consisted of 30 thousand soldiers, armed with 60 cannons. Another 6 thousand Kokands with 40 guns came to the aid of the city, but were defeated. On June 15, Russian soldiers broke into the city. After two days of street fighting on June 17, 1865, the Tashkent elders "expressed their full readiness to submit to the Russian government."

In 1867 Tashkent became the center of the Syrdarya region and the Turkestan general government. A new city of the European type has sprung up behind the Ankhor Canal. Population of Tashkent by the end. 19th century reached 156 thousand people, of which 85.8% were "Mohammedans", Russians accounted for 9.6% of the population. In 1892, there was an uprising due to the ban on washing the dead during a cholera epidemic.

If before joining Russia in Tashkent there were 300 dyeing and 341 tanneries, then by 1892 there were 20 and 66, respectively, since the local industry could not compete with the Russian. In 1897 g. Railway connected the city with Krasnovodsk, in 1905 - with Orenburg, Tashkent became the main transport hub in Central Asia. D. N.

SHAMIL (26.06.1797-03.02.1871) - Imam of Dagestan and Chechnya, leader of the Highlanders in the Caucasian War of 1817-1864.

Shamil was born in the Dagestani village of Gimry. He was a native of the Avar Uzdens (military-service class), a student and son-in-law of one of the first preachers of Muridism in Dagestan, Jamaletdin Kazikumukhsky. The murids made the spiritual development of Muslims dependent on strict observance of Sharia, the Islamic code of moral laws.

Since 1829, Shamil took part in the struggle against the Russian troops, became famous as a brave warrior and passionate orator. In September 1834, in the village of Ashilt, he was proclaimed imam after the death of Imam Gamzat-bek. He united the rebellious highlanders of Dagestan and Chechnya into a state based on religious norms - the imamate and created in it a unified system of administration and justice. He subjugated the local feudal lords, and all power in the imamate belonged to him. Shamil liquidated the clan nobility of the mountain peoples, instead of the previous feudal possessions, he established the division of his state into wisdom and naibism. He abolished personal dependence and slavery, feudal duties, carried out land reform, established fixed taxes, banned the use of wine and tobacco, and an idle lifestyle.

Shamil showed himself to be an experienced commander and diplomat. When in 1839 the Russians surrounded his headquarters in the aul of Akhulgo, he held the defense for three months, lost one of his wives, lost his youngest son and many relatives. When Shamil left Akhulgo, he was accompanied by only 7 people. Shamil had to go to the mountains. He moved to Chechnya and gathered his forces there. Using the transition to his side of Hadji Murad, Shamil subdued Avaria and other mountainous regions of Dagestan. Shamil avoided battles with numerous Russian punitive detachments. He lured them into the mountains, into the gorges and fired at them, waiting in ambushes. In 1845 the Russian governor in the Caucasus M.S.Vorontsov ravaged the capital of Shamil, aul Dargo, but he himself suffered heavy losses.

1845-1855 were the heyday of Shamil's state. In its new capital - Vedeno - gunpowder and arms factories, a cannon yard were set up. Shamil negotiated with the Russian authorities, concluded an armistice and violated them.

However, the Russian troops gradually learned to use their numerical superiority in the mountains. In 1858 they took Vedeno. Some of the highlanders left him. Shamil retreated to Dagestan. There he and the remaining 400 soldiers took refuge in the village of Gunib, a natural mountain fortress. After much deliberation, he agreed to negotiations with the Russian commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, Prince A. I. Baryatinsky. Baryatinsky promised to save the life of the brave highlander and his family, honor, respect and the opportunity to make the hajj to Mecca. On August 26, 1859, Shamil stopped fighting.

The trip of the captive imam across Russia was accompanied by solemn receptions with music and fireworks. In Chuguev, Shamil was introduced to Alexander II. The honorary prisoner was shown the sights of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the metropolitan public showed great attention and sympathy to Shamil.

Since October 1859, Shamil lived in Kaluga, receiving a pension from the Russian government of 10 thousand rubles and another 20 thousand - for the maintenance of his family and retinue. On August 26, 1866, he swore allegiance to Russia and accepted her citizenship. He received permission to go on a pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam. In 1869 Shamil left for Turkey and visited Medina. Shamil was greeted with respect in the Muslim world. However, he did not succeed in performing the sacred Hajj. On the way to Mecca, the aged imam died after falling from a camel.

Shamil's son Gazi-Magomed went to Turkey, where he became a divisional general. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. he led the siege of Bayazet. Another son of Imam Magomed-Shefi remained in Russia, served in the Caucasian Life Guards squadron, and in 1885 retired as Major General. D. N.

BARYATINSKY Alexander Ivanovich (01.25.1815-25.02.1879) - Prince, military leader, Field Marshal General (1859).

Graduated from the School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. In 1833 he was promoted to the cornet of the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment. He distinguished himself in battles with the highlanders in the Caucasus, and he was awarded a golden saber.

From 1836 to 1845 was in the retinue of the heir to the throne, the future emperor Alexander II. In 1845 he was again sent to the Caucasus, where he led the suppression of the uprisings of the mountaineers. Baryatinsky successfully fought in Chechnya, in 1853 he defeated the Turkish troops at Kyuryuk-Dara.

In 1856 he was appointed commander of the Caucasian separate corps and governor of the Caucasus, where he was in charge of the military-administrative structure of the region. Since 1857, he is the commander-in-chief of the Caucasian army. Baryatinsky broke the resistance of Shamil's detachments and took him prisoner on August 25, 1859. Out of respect for the mountaineer, he saved his life.

Since 1860 he was a member of the Council of State, soon dismissed due to illness. Last years life he lived abroad and opposed the military reforms of the 1860-1870s. O. N.

AKHALTEKINSKY EXPEDITIONS 1879, 1880-1881 - campaigns of Russian troops against the Turkmen tribe of Tekins in the Akhal-Teke oasis.

In 1879 the second Anglo-Afghan war began. A threat arose of the penetration of the British into Central Asia, and the Russian government began to move more actively into the depths of Turkmenistan.

In the summer of 1879, with a detachment of 3,000, General I.M. Lomakin set out from Chikishlyar on the Caspian coast up the Atrek River to the main fortress of the Teke people, Geoktepe. The assault on August 28, 1879 ended in failure, the Russians lost approx. 500 people and retreated.

The second expedition in May 1880 was headed by M. D. Skobelev. The new campaign was carefully prepared, a more convenient route from Krasnovodsk was chosen. Support bases were created along the route of the troops, and a railway was built. 8 thousand camels were hired for the Russian army. In December 1880, the troops of General M.D.Skobelev - 8 thousand soldiers, 72 cannons and 11 rocket launchers - laid siege to Geoktepe. 30 thousand Tekins had 5 thousand rifles (of which 600 were modern) and one cannon.

For three weeks Geoktepe was subjected to brutal shelling. The Tekinians' night outings on December 28 and 30, 1880 and January 4, 1881 did not bring any success. Detachments from Merv and Ashgabat left the fortress. On January 12, 1881, the fortress wall was blown up by an underground mine, and the assault began. In the evening, the Tekins left Geoktepe and retreated into the desert. 6-8 thousand Turkmens and 400 Russians were killed in the battles. On January 18, 1881, a Russian detachment occupied Ashgabat, which soon became the center of the Trans-Caspian region within the Russian Empire. D. N.

This text is an introductory fragment.

After the overthrow of the Tatar rule, gradually increasing, the Russian sovereigns turned their attention to the East, where endless plains were spread, occupied by hordes of Mongols, and behind them was the fabulously rich Indian kingdom, from where caravans came, bringing silk fabrics, ivory, weapons, gold, etc. gems... In this mysterious country, under the bright rays of the sun shining all year round, the waves of the huge blue sea splashed, into which the high-water rivers flowed, flowing through fertile lands with fabulous harvests.

The Russians who fell into full and taken to the distant cities of Central Asia, if they managed to return to their homeland, were reported a lot interesting information about those places. Among our people there were also those who were carried away by the idea of ​​visiting new places of the blessed, distant, but also mysterious south. For a long time they wandered around the world, penetrating into the neighboring present Central Asian possessions, often experiencing terrible hardships, endangering their lives, and sometimes ending it in a foreign country, in heavy slavery and in chains. Those who were destined to return could tell a lot of interesting things about distant, unknown countries and about the life of their peoples, dark-skinned pagans, so little like the subjects of the great white king.

The fragmentary and sometimes fabulous information of adventurers about the lands they visited, about their wealth and natural wonders involuntarily began to draw attention to Central Asia and were the reason for the sending of special embassies to the Central Asian states in order to establish trade and friendly relations.

The striving to the East, to Central Asia, and after it to distant, full of miracles, India could not be realized immediately, but demanded first the conquest of the Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberian kingdoms. From two sides, from the Volga and from Siberia, the conquest of the Central Asian lands began. Step by step, Russia advanced deep into the Caspian steppes, conquering individual nomadic tribes, building fortresses to fence off its new borders, until it advanced to the southern part of the Ural ridge, which for a long time became the border of the Russian state.

The Cossacks, having settled on the Yaik River, erected fortified settlements, which were the first stronghold of Russia against the nomads. Over time, Yaitskoe was established, later renamed the Ural and Orenburg Cossack troops to protect the eastern possessions. Russia has established itself in a new land, the population of which has joined the special, peculiar life of farmers, cattle breeders, who can turn into Cossack warriors every minute to repel the raids of their warlike neighbors; the Kyrgyz, who roamed all over the northern part of Central Asia, feuding among themselves almost constantly, caused a lot of disturbance to their Russian neighbors.

The Cossack freemen who settled along the Yaik River, in their way of life, were not able to calmly wait for the Russian authorities to recognize it as timely to announce an order for a new campaign deep into Asia. And therefore, enterprising, courageous Cossack chieftains, remembering the exploits of Yermak Timofeevich, at their own peril and risk, gathered gangs of daredevils, ready to follow them at any time to the ends of the world for glory and prey. Flying on the Kirghiz and Khivans, they fought off the herds and, laden with prey, returned home.

The memory of the people retained the names of the Yaik atamans Nechai and Shamai, who went on a campaign to distant Khiva with strong detachments of Cossacks. The first of them with 1000 Cossacks at the beginning of the 17th century, crossing the waterless deserts with terrible speed, suddenly, like a snow on his head, attacked the Khiva city of Urgench and plundered it. Ataman Nechai with his detachment moved back with a huge bag of booty. But apparently not in good hour the Cossacks set out on a campaign. The Khiva Khan managed to hastily assemble his troops and overtook the Cossacks, who were walking slowly, burdened with a heavy baggage train. For seven days Nechai fought off the numerous khan's troops, but the lack of water and the inequality of forces nevertheless led to a sad end. In a cruel battle, the Cossacks died, with the exception of a few, weakened by wounds, taken prisoner and sold into slavery.

But this failure did not stop the daring atamans; in 1603 ataman Shamai with 500 Cossacks, like a whirlwind of a hurricane, flew into Khiva and destroyed the city. However, just like the first time, the daring foray ended in failure. Shamai stayed behind because of the gulba for several days in Khiva and did not manage to leave in time. Coming out of the city, pursued by the Khivans, the Cossacks lost their way and ended up in the Aral Sea, where they had no provisions; hunger reached the point that the Cossacks killed each other and devoured corpses. The remnants of the detachment, exhausted, sick, were captured by the Khivans and ended their lives as slaves in Khiva. Shamai himself, several years later, was brought by the Kalmyks to Yaik to receive a ransom for him.

After these campaigns, the Khivans, convinced that they were completely protected from the north by waterless deserts, decided to protect themselves from surprise attacks from the west, from the Caspian Sea, where the Amu Darya river flowed from Khiva. To do this, they erected huge dams across the river, and a huge sandy desert remained in place of the high-water river.

Russia slowly continued its forward movement deep into Central Asia, and it became especially clear under Peter, when the great tsar set out to establish trade relations with distant India. To implement his plan, he ordered in 1715 to expel from Siberia to the steppes from the Irtysh side of the detachment of Colonel Bukhgolts, who reached Lake Balkhash and built a fortress on its shore; but the Russians could not firmly establish themselves here, only over the next five years Bukhgolts managed to subdue the nomadic tribes of the Kirghiz and secure the entire valley of the Irtysh River for more than a thousand versts for Russia by building the fortresses of Omsk, Yamyshev, Zhelezinskaya, Semipalatinsk and Ust-Kamenogorsk. Almost simultaneously with the departure of Buchholz from the Caspian Sea, another detachment, Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky, was sent, among other things, with instructions to let the waters of the Amu Darya, which fell into the Caspian Sea, along its old channel, blocked by dams a hundred years ago by the Khivans.

“To dismantle the dam, and turn the water of the Amu Darya River to the side ... to the Caspian Sea ... it is absolutely necessary ...” - this was the historical words of the tsar's order; and on June 27, 1717, a detachment of Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky (3,727 infantrymen, 617 dragoons, 2,000 Cossacks, 230 sailors and 22 guns) moved to Khiva through arid deserts, suffering terrible hardships from a lack of water and the scorching rays of the southern sun, withstanding almost daily skirmishes with the Khivans and littering the path covered with their bones. But, despite all the obstacles, two months later Bekovich had already reached Khiva, the main city of the Khiva Khanate.

The Khivans blocked the way for the Russian detachment, surrounding it on all sides near Karagach. For four days, Prince Bekovich fought back until he inflicted a complete defeat on the Khivans with a bold onslaught. Having expressed feigned obedience, the Khiva Khan let the Russians into the city, and then convinced the trusting Prince Bekovich to divide the detachment into small parts and send them to other cities for their most convenient placement, after which he unexpectedly attacked them, defeating and destroying each part separately. The planned campaign failed. Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky laid down his head in Khiva; his comrades-in-arms died in heavy captivity, sold into slavery in the Khiva bazaars, but the memory of this unsuccessful campaign was preserved for a long time in Russia. “He died like Bekovich near Khiva,” every Russian said, who wanted to emphasize the uselessness of some loss.

They attack by surprise. From a painting by V.V. Vereshchagin

Although this first attempt, which ended so tragically, delayed the fulfillment of the grandiose plan of the great Russian Tsar by a hundred years, it did not stop the Russians; and in the following reigns, the offensive continued along the same two paths outlined by Peter I: western - from the Yaik River (Ural) and eastern - from Western Siberia.

As if huge tentacles, our fortresses stretched from both sides into the depths of the steppes, until we established ourselves on the shores of the Aral Sea and in the Siberian region, forming the Orenburg and Siberian lines; subsequently promoted to Tashkent, they enclosed the three Kyrgyz hordes in a strong iron ring. Later, under Catherine II, the idea of ​​a campaign into the depths of Central Asia was not forgotten, but it was not possible to implement it, although the great Suvorov lived for almost two years in Astrakhan, working on the organization of this campaign.

In 1735, having built the fortress of Orenburg, which served as a base for further military operations, Russia established itself in this remote region inhabited by Kyrgyz and Bashkir tribes; to stop their raids 19 years later (in 1754), it was necessary to build a new outpost - the Iletsk fortress; it soon gained special importance due to the huge deposits of salt, the development of which was carried out by convicts, and the salt was exported to the inner provinces of Russia.

This fortress with the Russian settlement founded around it was later called the Iletsk defense and together with the Orsk fortress built in 1773 it formed the Orenburg line; further movement into the interior of Central Asia gradually began from it, which continued continuously. In 1799, sharing the plans of Napoleon I and recognizing the coming political moment as convenient for fulfilling the cherished goal of conquering India, Paul I, having concluded an agreement with France, moved the Don and Ural Cossacks to Central Asia, giving his famous order: go to India and conquer it. "

A difficult task then fell to the lot of the Urals. Gathering hastily on a campaign on the tsar's order, poorly equipped, without an adequate supply of food, they suffered heavy losses in both men and horses. Only the imperial command of Alexander I, who had come to the throne, which overtook the detachment, brought back the Cossacks, who had lost many of their comrades.

Near the fortress wall. "Let them come in." From a painting by V.V. Vereshchagin

During this period, the Siberian and Orenburg defensive lines, protecting the Russian borders from the raids of nomads, were interconnected by a number of small fortifications extended into the steppe. Thus, Russia moved even closer to the Khiva Khanate, and on the new line there were all the time petty skirmishes with the Kirghiz and Khivans, who made raids to steal cattle, take people prisoner and sell them in captivity in the Khiva bazaars. In response to such raids, small detachments of daring men set out in pursuit of the robbers and, in turn, seized cattle at the first opportunity in the Kyrgyz nomad camps; sometimes small detachments of troops were sent to punish the Kirghiz.

At times, the more frequent raids of the Kirghiz attracted the attention of the highest authorities in the region, and then larger military detachments were sent out. They traveled considerable distances across the steppes, took hostages from the noble Kirghiz, imposed indemnities and beat off cattle from those clans that raided the Russian line. But during this period, the offensive movement temporarily ceased, and only in 1833, in order to prevent the Khivans from raiding our northeastern limits of the Caspian Sea coast, on the order of Nicholas I, the Novoaleksandrovskoe fortification was built.

Military operations in Central Asia from 1839 to 1877

By the end of the 30s. unrest began throughout the Kyrgyz steppe, causing an urgent need to take measures to calm them down and establish order among the Kirghiz. Major General Perovsky, appointed with special powers by the Orenburg Governor-General and Commander of the Separate Orenburg Corps, arrived in Orenburg and found the Kirghiz in full swing.

Already long ago pressed by Russian detachments, the border Kyrgyz began to move away from the Russian line into the depths of the steppes, and at the same time, among the Russian subjects of the Kyrgyz and the Bashkirs of the Orenburg Territory, the supporters of the former liberties made turmoil, inciting them to evict them from the Russian borders.

At the head of the Kyrgyz clans, roaming in the Semirechye and on the Siberian line, was the Sultan Keynesary Khan Kasymov, who by origin belonged to one of the most noble and influential Kyrgyz families, who quickly subjugated the rest of the Kyrgyz. Under the influence of agitation, the Russian Kirghiz planned to leave Russia, but were detained by force on the border line and for the most part returned back; only a small number of them managed to break through and unite with the advanced gangs of Keynesary Khan, who had already declared himself an independent ruler of the Kyrgyz steppes and threatened Russian settlements along the Siberian line.

In view of the growing unrest for pacification, a detachment under the command of Colonel Gorsky was sent from Siberia in 1839, consisting of half a Cossack regiment with two guns; This detachment, having met the congregations of the Kirghiz near Dzheniz-Agach, scattered part of them, occupying this point.

From the side of Orenburg, in order to stop the robberies of the Kirghiz and free the Russian captives captured by them and the Khivans at different times and who were in slavery in the Khiva limits, a large detachment was moving to Khiva, under the command of General Perovsky, consisting of 15 infantry companies, three regiments of Cossacks and 16 guns ...

Unfortunately, when discussing the issue of this new campaign, the lessons of the past and previous failures were already firmly forgotten.

Having previously built fortifications on the Emba River and in Chushka-Kul and wishing to avoid the summer heat, General Perovsky set out from Orenburg in the winter of 1839 and went deep into the steppe, keeping the direction to Khiva, to the Emba River. The guides were the Cossacks who were in captivity in the Khiva possessions, and the peaceful Kyrgyz, who used to go to Khiva with caravans. With a large pack and wheeled convoy, provided with significant food supplies and equipped in winter, the troops moved briskly across the steppes, covered in that year with huge snowdrifts. But from the very beginning of the campaign, nature seemed to have rebelled against the Russian troops. Snowstorms and blizzards howled, deep snows and severe frosts interfered with the movement, greatly tired of people even on small transitions. The infantrymen, exhausted from their strength, fell and, immediately carried by a snow blizzard, fell asleep in eternal sleep under a fluffy cover. The chilling breath of winter affected people and horses alike. Scurvy and typhus, along with the frost, came to the aid of the Khivans, and the Russian detachment began to rapidly decrease. The awareness of the need to fulfill his duty to the sovereign and the homeland and deep faith in the success of the enterprise led Perovsky forward, and this faith was passed on to people, helping them to overcome the difficulties of the campaign. But soon the supplies of food and fuel were almost exhausted.

In the endlessly long winter nights, under the howling of a storm, sitting in the middle of the steppe in a wagon, General Perovsky was tormented by the obvious impossibility of achieving his goal. But, having given the detachment a rest in the fortification built in advance in Chushka-Kul, he managed to withdraw the remnants of the troops from the steppe and return in the spring of 1840 to Orenburg.

Unsuccessful campaign of 1839-1840. clearly showed that flying expeditions deep into the Asian steppes without firmly consolidating the traversed space by the construction of strong points cannot give useful results. In view of this, a new plan of conquest was worked out, which assumed a slow, gradual advance into the steppe with the construction of new fortifications in it. The latter were caused by the need to take measures against the Sultan Keynesary Khan, who united under his rule all the Kyrgyz families and constantly threatened the peaceful life of Russian settlers.

In 1843, it was decided to put an end once and for all with the Sultan Keynesary Khan, who made constant raids and even captured the Russians in captivity under the walls of our fortifications. To accomplish this task, two detachments were sent from the Orsk fortress: military foreman Lobov (two hundred and one gun) and Colonel Bazanov (one company, one hundred and one gun), whose joint actions managed to disperse the swarms of Kirghiz and take the Sultan himself in battle. Keynesary Khan, who was subsequently executed.

In 1845, it became possible to build fortresses along the line of the Irgiz and Turgai rivers: on the first - the Ural, and on the second - the Orenburg, at the same time the Novoaleksandrovskoye fortification was transferred to the Mangyshlak peninsula and renamed it Novopetrovskoye; thanks to this, almost half of the western coast of the Caspian Sea began to actually belong to Russia.

Two years later, a detachment of General Obruchev (four companies, three hundred and four guns) was moved to occupy the northeastern coast of the Aral Sea and the mouths of the Syr Darya, on the banks of which Obruchev built the Raimskoye fortification. At the same time, the Aral military flotilla was established, and the steamers "Nikolay" and "Constantine" began to cruise the sea, thereby annexing it to the Russian possessions; later they served as a transport service, transporting military supplies and troops up the Syr Darya.

At the same time, the entire Kyrgyz steppe to the advanced fortifications was divided into 54 distances, at the head of which they put Russian commanders, and to resolve controversial matters that arose between individual clans, congresses of Kyrgyz elders were established, which streamlined the management of the nomads.

Meanwhile, the occupation of the mouths of the Syr Darya by Russian troops, along which native ships sailed, led to constant clashes with a new enemy - the Kokand Khanate, through whose possessions this huge Central Asian river flowed for the most part. The Khivans and Kokands could not come to terms with the strengthening of the Russians, who prevented them from robbing and robbing caravans on the roads to Orenburg. To prevent raids, they began to send out special units. So, the detachment of Colonel Erofeev (200 Cossacks and soldiers with two guns), overtaking the Khiva crowd, defeated them and on August 23 occupied the Khiva fortress of Dzhak-Khoja. In the next year, 1848, the Khiva fortification of Khoja-Niaz was captured and destroyed.

Gradually settling the lands around the steppe fortifications with Cossacks and settlers, Russia had to take measures to protect them, as well as prevent the Khiva bands from breaking through to the Orenburg steppe, where the Kyrgyz population suffered from their raids; for this it was necessary to advance even further south and push back the Kokand and Khivans, inflicting a thorough defeat on them.

The offensive plan was developed, and from 1850 began simultaneous movement Russian troops from the Siberian and Orenburg lines. A detachment was moved from Kapal to the Ili River in order to arrange crossings, build fortifications and reconnoitre the Kokand fortress Tauchubek. On the Orenburg line, Major Engman's detachment (one company, one hundred and one gun), emerging from the Raim fortification, scattered the Kokand crowd, taking the fortress of Kash-Kurgan from the battle. The next year, a strong detachment of Colonel Karbashev (five companies, five hundred, six horse guns and one rocket machine) crossed the Ili River again, defeated the Kokand people and completely destroyed the Tauchubek fortress.

The detachment of Major Engman (175 Cossacks and one unicorn), having met the Kokand troops under the command of Yakub-bek near Akchi-Bulak, utterly defeated them, putting them to flight.

At the same time, for the final consolidation of the entire steppe for Russia, adjacent to the Siberian line, the organization of Cossack villages was started and a Cossack line was established, on which a detachment was advanced to the Chinese city of Chuguchak beyond Anchuz (Sergiopol) and two hundred Siberian Cossack troops were settled in the fortified villages; from them subsequently the Semirechenskoe Cossack army was formed.

Appointed again as Governor-General of Orenburg, General Perovsky, having familiarized himself with the state of affairs in the region, made sure that the main stronghold of the Kokand people was the strong Ak-Mechet fortress, behind the strong walls of which the Kokand congregations found refuge and from where gangs of robbers who raided our fortifications were sent ; in view of this, in 1852, a detachment of Colonel Blaramberg (one and a half companies, two hundred and five guns) was sent to carry out reconnaissance of Ak-Mechet.

The detachment, having passed a considerable space and withstood several attacks of the Kokand people, destroyed the Kokand fortifications: Kumysh-Kurgan, Chim-Kurgan and Kash-Kurgan, having reconnoitred the Ak-Mechet fortress.

Thanks to this, the next year the opportunity presented itself to send significant forces (4.5 companies, 12.5 hundred and 36 guns) to the conquest of the fortress under the general command of General Perovsky himself. Having passed with a detachment in the heat about 900 miles in 24 days, having repulsed several attacks of the Khivans, General Perovsky approached the walls of the Ak-Mosque, which was considered impregnable, and sent the commandant a proposal to surrender the fortress. But the Kokand people met the envoys with shots, and therefore had to abandon the negotiations and take her in battle.

The high walls and the strong garrison of Ak-Mosque were such an impressive force that they decided to blow up part of the walls first. They carried out siege work, which lasted seven days, and then, after the explosion on June 27, which caused great destruction, they began the assault, which lasted from 3 hours to 16 hours 30 minutes. During the assault, the brave commandant of the Ak-Mosque, Mukhamet-Vali-khan, was killed, and the Kokand people, after a desperate defense, were forced to surrender. Ak-Mosque was renamed into Fort Perovsky.

The difficult campaign, which resulted in the capture of Ak-Mechet, was appreciated by the sovereign, and General Perovsky for the capture of this important point, which had already withstood several sieges before, was elevated to the count's dignity, and the troops were generously rewarded.

At the same time, a new Syrdarya line was established from the fortifications: Aral (Raim), Fort No. 1, Fort No. 2, Fort Perovsky and Fort No. 3 (Kumysh-Kurgan). Thus, the entire steppe from Orenburg to the Aral Sea and the Syrdarya River was finally secured for Russia, and the fortifications of the former Orenburg line, having lost the importance of the advanced ones, turned into strongholds and stage points and fortified trading posts, under whose protection new settlers began to arrive.

Kokand residents could not come to terms with the loss of the Ak-Mosque, which was considered impregnable and withstood whole line sieges in the past. Huge accumulations of them, up to 12 thousand, with 17 guns, suddenly on December 18 approached the Perovsky fort, in which there were 1055 people of the Russian garrison with 14 guns and five mortars. Although the fort itself was not completed at that time, the head of the left flank of the Syrdarya line, Lieutenant Colonel Ogarev, realizing the disadvantage of the siege, decided, despite the inequality of forces, to send a detachment of 350 infantrymen, 190 Cossacks with four guns and two rocket launchers under the command of Shkup to meet the Kokand people. ... Taking advantage of the fog and carelessness of the Kokand people, the Russians approached the Kokand camp at a distance of 400 yards at dawn, occupying the sandy hills, and at 6 o'clock in the morning opened a cannonade at it.

After a short tumult caused by surprise, the Kokand people soon came to their senses and first began to respond with cannon shots, and then, going on the offensive, surrounded the detachment and made several attacks from the front and from the flanks. But all these attacks with great damage were repulsed by grapeshot and rifle fire. Then, having decided to cut off the detachment from the fortress, the Kokand people sent part of the troops of their center and reserves bypassing them.

Fortunately, Lieutenant Colonel Ogarev, noticing the enemy's coverage of the flanks, sent in reinforcements two teams, 80 men and 10 guns in each, under the command of Staff Captain Pogursky and Warrant Officer Alekseev. At this time, Captain Shkup, having figured out the significant weakening of the enemy troops and seeing our reinforcements approaching, covering his rear, left three infantry platoons and a hundred Cossacks in position, and he himself, with one hundred and six infantry platoons, rushed forward swiftly, overthrew the enemy riflemen and captured the entire Kokand artillery and camp.

Although the remaining three platoons withstood a strong onslaught, the Kokands were finally brought down by the attack of Pogursky and Alekseev, as a result of which, pursued by four hundred Cossacks and Bashkirs, they retreated in disarray, losing up to 2000 killed in this battle. Our losses were 18 killed and 44 wounded. The trophies were four bunchuk, seven banners, 17 guns and 130 pounds of gunpowder. Lieutenant Colonel Ogarev for this glorious deed was promoted directly to major general, and captain Shkup - to the next rank.

Despite such a terrible defeat and loss of artillery, the Kokand people almost immediately in the city of Turkestan began casting new artillery pieces, collecting all the copper dishes from the residents for this, and new troops began to concentrate in Kokand.

The conquest of the Trans-Ili region (Semirechye). The movement from Siberia was carried out with great success, and in 1854 in the tract of Alma-Ata on the Almaty river, the Verny fortification was built and the valley of the Ili river was occupied, with the establishment of the Trans-Ili department for the administrative management of the population of this region. The Faithful became the base for further military operations, which began the following year, in order to protect the Kirghiz subordinate to Russia.

During the reign of Alexander II, the advancement of Russia into the interior of Central Asia proceeded at an accelerated pace due to the fact that the talented, strong-willed leaders - Kolpakovsky and Chernyaev - were at the head of the Russian troops operating on this outskirts. The activities of Lieutenant Colonel Kolpakovsky were extremely fruitful in the sense of consolidating the conquests of Russia within the Semirechye, where the Russian troops under his command conquered the Kirghiz who roamed in the regions adjacent to their borders with China. By the mid 60s. Russian troops advanced from Orenburg to Perovsk, and from Siberia advanced to Verny, firmly securing the entire traversed space with a number of fortifications.

But between the extreme points of this border line there was still a significant space where the Kokand people firmly held on, relying on a number of their strong fortresses - Azret, Chimkent, Aulieata, Pishpek and Tokmak - and constantly arousing the nomadic Kyrgyz to hostile actions against the Russian. Due to this, it was urgently required to close our front lines and in this way finally cut off the Kirghiz subject to Russia from the influence of Kokand. The urgency of fulfilling this plan was highly appreciated, and from 1836 the non-stop movement of Russian troops began again in order to close the Syrdarya and Siberian lines with the construction of one common line of fortresses. The detachment of Colonel Khomentovsky (one company, one hundred and one rocket machine) conquered the Kirghiz of the Big Horde of the Topai clan, and the head of the Syrdarya line, Major General Fitingof (320 infantrymen, 300 Cossacks, three guns and two rocket launchers), took from the battle the Khiva fortification Khoja-Niaz and on February 26, the congregations of Khivans were defeated, supported by the Kirghiz who did not submit to Russia.

The following year, the head of the Zailiysky Territory, Lieutenant Colonel Peremyshl, with a detachment of one company, one hundred and two mounted guns, conquered all the other rebellious families of the Kirghiz and threw a 5-thousandth detachment of Kokands across the Chu River.

In 1859, a reconnaissance was carried out on the upper reaches of the Chu River and the Kokand fortresses of Tokmak and Pishpek, and on the Syrdarya line - Yanidarya (a branch of the Syrdarya). Colonel Dandeville's detachment surveyed the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea and the routes from the sea to Khiva. In the same year, the management of the Kyrgyz of the Orenburg steppe was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The entire Trans-Ili region became part of the newly established Alatau district, which had borders from the north: the Kurty and Ili rivers (Lake Balkhash system); from the west of the Chu and Kurdai rivers (the Issyk-Kul lake system); in the south and in the east, a definite border was not established, since military operations with Kokand, Khiva and Bukhara continued. No distinction was made between the possessions of these khanates and the Russians, just as no borders were defined with the border regions of western China, with which at that time no agreements or treatises were concluded in this respect.

The population of the new Alatau district and the Trans-Ili region consisted of nomadic Kyrgyz of various clans, numbering about 150 thousand, officially considered Russian subjects, a small number of Cossacks, Russian settlers and Sarts, who made up the settled part of the population of the region, in which the Verny fortification was the administrative center.

Wishing to avoid the harassment of the Kokand officials, the Kyrgyz, who recognized the power of Russia over themselves, although they roamed mainly within the Russian borders, often moved to the Kokand territory, mainly due to the fact that its border was determined only approximately along the course of the Chu River along the spurs of the Tien Shan.

The Kokand authorities, who lost significant incomes with the transition of the prosperous Kyrgyz population to Russian citizenship, collected taxes from them by force, and the Kokand emissaries, who mainly belonged to representatives of noble Kyrgyz families, incited the Kyrgyz to revolt against the Russians. To protect their new subjects, the Russian authorities had to send expeditions to the Kokand possessions all the time.

Gradually, due to the concentration of the Kokand troops near the Russian line, the situation became rather difficult, especially by 1860, when the Kokand people, having strengthened at the expense of Bukhara, in addition to collecting tribute from the Kirghiz - Russian subjects, began to prepare for an invasion of the Trans-Ili region in direction to strengthen Verny. They hoped, having produced indignation among the Kirghiz, to cut off the communication of the region with Kapal, the only point connecting it with Russia, and to destroy all Russian settlements.

To impede the implementation of the plans of the Kokand people, a detachment was formed consisting of six companies, six hundred Cossacks, two hundred Kirghiz, 12 guns, four rocket launchers and eight mortars, and two large detachments were sent to Lake Issyk-Kul under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Shaitanov and centurion Zherebyatiev. forced the Kokand people, after several skirmishes, to retreat from the lake to the foothills of the Tien Shan.

At the same time, the detachment of Colonel Zimmerman, moving to the Kostek pass at the Kostek fortification, utterly defeated the troops of the Kokand, who invaded the Russian borders among 5,000 people. Then crossing the pass in August and September of the same year, the detachment occupied and destroyed the Kokand fortresses of Tokmak and Pishpek, which served as the main strongholds of the Kokand people. But the Kokand people began to concentrate their forces again, having restored the Pishpek fortress, and in early October their flocks had already approached the Chu River.

At that time, Lieutenant Colonel Kolpakovsky, a man of rare willpower, ability to work and energy, was appointed the head of the Alatau district and the commander of the troops of the Zailiysky region. Quickly assessing the situation and recognizing it as extremely serious, he immediately took a number of measures to counter the invasion of the Kokand people. Strengthening the garrisons of fortifications everywhere, he completed some of them, and then armed all the Russian settlers and trustworthy natives. The total number of troops under his command barely reached 2,000 people, including mainly Siberian Cossacks, who did not differ at that time with special fighting qualities, but he collected from local residents the militia consisted of completely untrained settlers.

The unrest among our Kirghiz had already become so serious that most of them went over to the side of the Kokand people, whose forces numbered up to 22 thousand people. In view of these reasons, the position of the Russians in the Trans-Ili region had to be recognized as critical.

Fortunately, the Kokand troops consisted of a small number of regular sarbaz, and the rest were militia. The main commander was the Tashkent bek Kanaat-Sha, who was famous for his successful actions against the Bukharians. Going on the offensive, the Kokand people moved from Pishpek along the Kurdai river valley to the Dutrin-Aigir river, in the direction of Verny, using the support of the Kyrgyz, who began to cross over to their side in masses.

Hastily advancing to meet the Kokand men, Kolpakovsky placed in Kostek the 8th battalion of the line, four hundred and seven guns (Major Ekeblad); on the Skuruk mound - one company with a rocket launcher (Lieutenant Syarkovsky); at Uzunagach - one company, one hundred and two guns (Lieutenant Sobolev); in Kasselen - fifty; in Verny - two companies and fifty and, finally, the rest of the troops - in the Ili and Zailiysk fortifications.

The first offensive on April 19, numbering 10 thousand people under the command of Alim-bek, bypassing Uzunagach, ended unsuccessfully for them, and they were repulsed with great damage, retreating under heavy Russian fire, but immediately launched a new offensive along the valley of the Kara-Kastek river. Having received news of this, Lieutenant Colonel Kolpakovsky managed by the evening of October 20 to collect most of his forces (three companies, two hundred, six guns and two rocket launchers), which approached lightly, and on October 21, not expecting an attack from the Kokand people, the Russian detachment quickly went out to meet the enemy , moving through the terrain, indented by ravines and a number of parallel heights. As soon as the Kokand troops appeared, the four guns that had gone ahead, ahead of the Cossacks, forced the Kokand people to retreat behind the next ridge with grape-shot fire. Pressing the enemy, the detachment reached Kara-Kastek, where it was unexpectedly attacked from the flanks and rear by horse flocks of Kokands, and the company of Lieutenant Syarkovsky was almost captured, but, fortunately, two companies sent by Kolpakovsky managed to rescue it.

Unable to withstand the volleys, the Kokands fled back and at that time were attacked by the whole detachment: from the left flank - by the company of Shanyavsky, from the right - by the company of Sobolev, and artillery opened fire in the center. Syarkovsky's company with a hundred and a rocket launcher, taking a position at an angle, guarded the right flank and rear of the detachment.

Rushing into the attack, Shanyavsky's company knocked over the Sarbazes with bayonets, and after them, after several attempts to go on the offensive, they turned all the Kokand forces. Despite fatigue, the detachment pursued the enemy at a distance of more than two versts, at the same time fighting off the gangs of the Kirghiz, who rushed to the detachment from the rear and flanks. During the day, the detachment overcame 44 versts, withstanding a fierce eight-hour battle. The Kokand people lost up to 1000 killed and wounded at Uzunagach and hastily retreated across the Chu River.

According to the general conclusion, in all our wars in Central Asia up to 1865, the interests of Russia were never exposed to such a terrible risk as before the battle at Uzunagach. If Kolpakovsky did not take decisive measures and did not take the initiative to attack himself, it is difficult to say how the attack of the 20-thousandth mass of Kokand residents would have ended, especially if we take into account that the slightest success could have attracted all the Kirghiz of the Ili and Ili regions to their side. Moral meaning the victory at Uzunagach was enormous, since it clearly showed the strength of Russian weapons and the weakness of the Kokand people.

Emperor Alexander II appreciated the significance of the Uzunagach battle and wrote on the news: “Glorious business. Colonel Kolpakovsky promoted to colonel and gave Georgy 4 degrees. On those who distinguished themselves, enter with a presentation, and declare favor to all the headquarters and chief officers, send the insignia of the military order to Gasford, according to his desire. "

In 1862, Colonel Kolpakovsky, having established order in the management of the Kyrgyz nomads, made a new reconnaissance, crossing the Chu River (four companies, two hundred and four guns), and took the Kokand fortress of Merke. Having then received reinforcements, on October 24, already with a detachment of eight companies, one hundred and eight guns, he again took the Pishpek fortress restored by the Kokand people.

On the Syrdarya line, hostilities continued, and in 1861 a detachment of General Debu (1000 lower ranks, nine guns and three rocket launchers) captured and destroyed the Kokand fortresses of Yani-Kurgan and Din-Kurgan.

Thus, the offensive of Russian troops on the Kokand possessions continued non-stop, and at the same time, our borders with China in the east were expanded in the Zailiyskiy Territory, and in 1863 Berukhudzir, Koshmurukh and Altyn-Emel Pass were occupied, and the detachment of Captain Protsenko (two companies , one hundred and two mountain guns) inflicted severe defeats on the Chinese.

At the end of the 60s, almost simultaneously with the military operations against Bukhara, the movement continued towards Chinese Turkestan and the conquest of the Trans-Ili region. The restless nomadic population of Chinese Turkestan, which consisted of Kalmyks, has long worried the Russian subjects of the Kirghiz with their constant raids. At the same time, the Chinese subjects of the Dungans (Muslim Chinese) rose up against the Chinese, who, seeing the complete impossibility of coping with their own forces, turned to the Russian authorities for help.

Considering such a situation on the borders of the recently conquered region unacceptable and dangerous and finding it necessary to take measures to pacify the population of the adjacent Chinese regions, General Kolpakovsky, with a detachment of three companies, three hundred and four guns, moved in 1869 to Western Chinese possessions. Here, near Lake Sairam-Nor, meeting huge swarms of Taranchians, he entered into battle with them and scattered them, and then on August 7 took the Kaptagay fortress from the battle.

But the Taranchians and Kalmyks began to gather again near Borakhudzir, as a result of which the Russian detachment headed to this point and, inflicting a terrible defeat on these assemblies, occupied the fortification of Mazor and Khorgos. However, he was soon forced to leave the first of them due to the small number of the Russian detachment, and in addition, incited by the Chinese authorities, the nomads and sedentary Taranchins began to threaten the Russian possessions.

In 1871, General Kolpakovsky with a large detachment (10 companies, six hundred and 12 guns) again entered the Chinese borders, occupying the fortress and the city of Mazor with a battle on May 7, and pushing the Taranchians back to the Chin-Chakhodze fortress, took it by storm on June 18, and on the 19th - the Saidun fortress, approaching the main city of the Trans-Ili region, Gulja, which took 22 June.

Along with the occupation of Gulja, hostilities in Semirechye ended, and this region, formed from the Alatauvsky district and the Zailiysky region, received the opportunity to develop peacefully, being part of Russia. Later, Gulja and the surrounding area, occupied solely for the purpose of pacifying the population, after complete pacification, were returned back to China.

From the conquered lands, one of the richest regions of Russia was formed - Semirechenskaya, with the main city of Verny, where the Cossacks of the newly established Semirechensk Cossack army stood guard over the Russian border with China. With the appointment of Colonel M.G. Chernyaev as the chief of the West Siberian line in 1864 and with the strengthening of the troops of the Zailiysk Territory, a faster movement forward began thanks to the special energy and enterprise of the new chief, who recognized it necessary to close the Zailiysk and Syrdarya lines as soon as possible. Between their extreme points, there was already an insignificant space, into which gangs of Kokands penetrated, making unexpected attacks and agitating the Kyrgyz nomadic population, which obediently obeyed the Russians until the first appearance of the Kokands. Wild desert riders found this position especially convenient, as it gave them the opportunity to carry out raids and robberies of hostile clans with impunity.

Having recognized it necessary, moving even further, to push back the Kokands, Colonel Chernyaev with a detachment of five companies of the 8th West Siberian battalion, the 4th company of the 3rd West Siberian battalion, rifle companies of the 3rd West Siberian battalion, a half-battery of Cossack artillery and the 1st Siberian Cossack The regiment moved from Pishpek towards Aulieat and, appearing unexpectedly under the walls of this fortress, located on a significant hill, on June 4 took it by storm. Two weeks later, they sent a flying detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Lerhe (two companies, fifty, two guns and one rocket launcher), which, having crossed with terrible difficulties the snowy ridge of Kara-Bura, descended into the valley of the Chirchik River, attacking the Kokand people, smashed their flocks and conquered the Karakirgiz who roamed the Chirchik valley. The main detachment of Chernyaev again moved forward to Yas-Kich, occupying Chimkent on July 11, and marched from July 13 to 15 with a battle to Kish-Tyumen.

On July 16, the detachment of Colonel Lerhe (three companies of infantry, one company of mounted riflemen and two mounted guns) was already sent to the Akbulak tract against the Kokand people to join the troops of the Orenburg detachment, which left Perovsk under the command of Colonel Verevkin (consisting of 4.5 companies, two hundred, 10 guns, six mortars and two rocket launchers) and on July 12, taking the Kokand city of Turkestan with a battle and fortifying in it, sent a flying detachment of Captain Meyer (two companies, one hundred, three guns and one rocket machine) to Chimkent and further to the Akbulak tract towards Chernyaev's troops.

The Kokand people, having received information about the movement of Russian detachments from both sides, pulled over 10 thousand people to Akbulak; With these masses, on July 14 and 15, the detachment of Captain Meyer had to enter into battle, which was soon helped by the approaching detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Lerche. After the connection, both detachments, under the general command of Lieutenant Colonel Lerhe, who had taken over the command, having withstood several attacks by the Kokands on July 17, went to the Kish-Tyumen tract, where the main forces of General Chernyaev were located.

Five days later, after giving the people a little rest, on July 22, Colonel Chernyaev went to Chimkent, making reconnaissance of this strong fortress, but, having met huge masses of Kokand people - up to 25 thousand people - and having withstood a fierce battle with them, his detachment, due to the inequality of forces, retreated to Turkestan.

Only two months later, bringing the units in full order and waiting for the arrival of reinforcements, on September 14, General Chernyaev again went to Chimkent (three companies, one and a half hundred and two horse guns); at the same time, under the command of Colonel Lerche, a detachment consisting of six companies of infantry, one company of mounted riflemen and two guns was moved in the same direction. Having united on September 19, both detachments met the Kokand troops and, having entered into battle with them, overturned them, taking the Sairam fortress in battle.

On September 22, despite the strong garrison of Chimkent, an assault was launched on this fortress, considered impregnable by the Kokand people, located on a significant elevation that dominated the surrounding area. The brutal artillery and rifle fire of the Kokand people did not stop the assault column, led by Colonel Lerhe, who burst into the fortress and knocked out the desperately defended Kokand people.

The news of the Russians taking Chimkent by storm quickly spread around, and all the Kokand detachments hastily began to retreat to Tashkent, seeking protection behind its strong walls. General Chernyaev, wishing to use the moral impression of our successes, on September 27, that is, on the sixth day after the capture of Chimkent, went to Tashkent with a detachment of 1,550 men with 12 guns - a total of 8.5 companies and 1.5 hundred Cossacks. This movement, thanks to the speed and surprise, promised success, especially since among the inhabitants of Tashkent there were many supporters of the Russians who wanted an end to the war, ruinous for the merchants.

On October 1, remaining under the walls of Tashkent, which numbered up to 100 thousand people with a 10-thousand-strong garrison and was surrounded by walls for 24 miles, Chernyaev, choosing the weakest point, began to bombard the walls in order to create a gap in them; this, apparently, was done, but when they moved the assault column under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Obukh, it turned out that only the top of the wall was shot down, and the wall itself, closed by a fold of terrain and invisible from a distance, stood unshakable, so that you could climb it without assault stairs were unthinkable.

Having suffered significant losses, including Lieutenant Colonel Obukh, General Chernyaev was killed, due to the impossibility of taking the fortress without siege work, he was forced to retreat back to Chimkent. The troops were eager to undertake a new assault, believing that they were repelled not by the Kokand people, but by the height of the Tashkent walls and the depth of the ditches, which was fully confirmed by the absence of any persecution from the Kokand people when the detachment retreated to Chimkent.

After the unsuccessful assault on Tashkent, the Kokand people perked up, believing that victory remained on their side. Mulla Alim-Kul, spreading the rumor about his departure to Kokand, in fact, having gathered up to 12 thousand people, went, bypassing Chimkent, straight to Turkestan, suggesting that he would seize this fortress by surprise attack. But the commandant of Turkestan, Lieutenant Colonel Zhemchuzhnikov, wanting to check the rumors that had reached him about the movement of the Kokand people, immediately sent a hundred of the Urals under the command of Esaul Serov for reconnaissance. Not expecting to meet the enemy close, the hundred set out on December 4, taking one unicorn and a small supply of food. Only on the way from the oncoming Kirghiz did Serov learn that the village of Ikan, located 20 versts from Turkestan, was already occupied by the Kokand people.

Considering it necessary to check this rumor, he led his detachment at a trot and, not reaching 4 versts to Ikan, noticed lights to the right of the village. Assuming that this was the enemy, the detachment stopped, sending one of the Kyrgyz who were with the detachment to collect information, who almost immediately returned, meeting the Kokand patrol. Not knowing yet anything definite about the forces of the enemy, Serov decided, just in case, to retreat for the night to the position he had chosen, but before the detachment had time to pass a mile, he was surrounded by crowds of Kokand people.

Ordering the Cossacks to dismount and arrange cover from the bags with provisions and fodder, Serov met the Kokands with unicorn and rifle shots, which instantly cooled the ardor of the attackers.

Their subsequent attacks were also repulsed with great damage to the attackers. The Kokand people, having moved three miles away, in turn opened fire from three guns and falconets, which lasted all night and caused a lot of harm to both people and horses.

On the morning of December 5, the fire intensified. Many Cossacks suffered from grenades and cannonballs. Meanwhile, the main forces of Alim-Kula approached, totaling up to 10 thousand people. Counting on help from Turkestan, where two Cossacks were sent with a report, who made their way through the enemy's location at night, the brave Urals continued to shoot back behind their shelters all day. Although the wheel in the unicorn was crumbled by noon from the shots, the Sin fireworks attached the box and continued firing nonstop, and the Cossacks helped the gunners, many of whom were already wounded. The people of Kokand, irritated by this steadfastness and fearing to attack openly, began to launch attacks, hiding behind carts loaded with reeds and thorns.

At about noon, from the direction of Turkestan, dull cannon and rifle shots were heard, which for a while encouraged the Cossacks, who suggested that help was not far away, but by evening the Kokands sent Serov a letter in which they reported that the troops, which were marching from the fortress to the rescue, had been defeated by them. Indeed, a detachment of 150 infantrymen sent to the rescue with 20 guns under the command of Lieutenant Sukorko came quite close, but, meeting the masses of the Kokand people, retreated back.

Despite this news, Serov decided to hold on to the last extreme, making new rubble out of the dead horses, and at night again sending the Cossacks Borisov and Cherny with a note to Turkestan. Having made their way through the troops of the Kokand people, the brave men fulfilled their instructions.

On the morning of December 6, the Urals were already in a very bad time, and the enemy, having prepared 16 new shields, apparently intended to rush into the attack. Without losing hope for help and wanting to gain time, Serov entered into negotiations with Alim-Kul, which lasted more than an hour. After the termination of negotiations, the Kokand people rushed to the rubble with even greater ferocity, but the first and three subsequent attacks were repulsed. By this time, all the horses had been killed by the shots of the Kokands, and 37 killed and 10 wounded were knocked out of the people. Serov saw that it was impossible to hold on any longer, and therefore decided on the last resort - to break through the ranks of the thousandth enemy cavalry at all costs. a cloud that surrounded the detachment, and in case of failure, everyone will fall in this battle, remembering the behest of Prince Svyatoslav: "The dead have no shame."

The Cossacks, having riveted the unicorn, rushed to the Kokand people with a cry of "hurray". Stunned by this desperate determination, they parted, letting the daring men pass and seeing them off with strong rifle fire.

The Urals walked more than 8 versts, firing back, every minute losing their comrades in killed and wounded, whose heads, who immediately jumped up, were chopped off by the Kokand people. The wounded, some with five or six wounds, walked, supporting each other, until they fell completely exhausted, immediately becoming the prey of enraged enemies. It seemed that the end was near and that all this handful of brave men would lie down in the wilderness. But at that last moment, a movement occurred among the attackers, and they immediately fled, and from behind the hills a Russian detachment finally appeared, sent from Turkestan to the rescue. The wounded and exhausted Cossacks, who had not eaten for two days, were put on carts and taken to the fortress. For three days of the battle, a hundred lost: 57 killed and 45 wounded - only 102, only 11 people survived, including four shell-shocked.

The Icahn affair clearly confirmed the invincibility of the Russians and prevented Alim-Kul from attacking Turkestan. All the participants in the Ikan battle, who survived, were awarded the insignia of the military order, and the Esaul Serov - the order of St. George and the next rank for exploits, which are an example of rare stamina, courage and bravery.

Gradually, the Kokand people cleared the entire area, General Chernyaev, considering it necessary to seize the main stronghold of the Kokand people - the Tashkent fortress, approached its walls a second time. After reconnaissance of Tashkent, which made it clear that the most convenient place for the assault was the Kamelansky Gate, a military council was assembled, at which Chernyaev discussed with his subordinates the procedure for storming this strong fortress.

After the bombardment of the city walls, Chernyaev at 2 am from 14 to 15 July moved three assault columns under the command of Colonel Abramov, Major de Croa and Lieutenant Colonel Zhemchuzhnikov. A special detachment of Colonel Kraevsky was instructed to demonstrate with opposite side fortress in order to divert the attention of the Kokand people from the Kamelansky gate. Taking the assault ladders and wrapping the wheels of the guns with felt, the assault column approached the wall.

Standing at the very wall outside the fortress, the Kokand guard at the sight of the Russians rushed to run through a small hole in the fortress wall, closed with a felt mat. In their footsteps, non-commissioned officer Khmelev and cadet Zavadsky were the first to break into the fortress, climbed the fortress walls and, having split the servants with bayonets, threw down their guns. A few minutes later the gates were already open, and the soldiers, company after company, entered the fortress, capturing the neighboring gates and towers; then drawing in along the narrow streets inside the city, they took one fortification after another, despite the rifle and artillery fire opened from all sides by the Kokand people. Finally, the citadel was taken by the columns of Zhemchuzhnikov and de Croa. But from behind the fences, there was continuous shooting.

It was extremely difficult to knock out the enemy riflemen from the shelters, since the exit from the citadel was subjected to brutal shelling. Then the military priest, Archpriest Malov, wishing to motivate people to carry out a dangerous enterprise, raised the cross high and with a shout: "Brothers, follow me," he ran out the gate, and the arrows followed him, who quickly ran across the dangerous place, pierced with bayonets those who sat behind fences in gardens and nearby buildings of Kokand residents.

Meanwhile, a detachment of Colonel Kraevsky, noticing the enemy cavalry approaching Tashkent, rushed into the attack and quickly scattered it, and then began to pursue the crowd of Kokandians fleeing from Tashkent. In the evening, having assembled a detachment near the Kamelansky Gate, General Chernyaev sent small teams from here through the streets of the city, knocking out the entrenched Kokand residents; as the latter continued to fire, artillery was brought forward, reopening fire on the city, in which fires soon began. At night, the troops disturbed small parties, but the next day the detachment of Colonel Kraevsky again went around the whole city and, taking in battle and destroying the barricades, blew up the citadel. On July 17, a deputation from the inhabitants appeared and asked for mercy, surrendering to the mercy of the winner. Trophies were 63 guns, 2100 poods of gunpowder and up to 10 thousand shells. The centurion Ivasov and the lieutenant Makarov distinguished themselves especially during the capture of Tashkent.

The occupation of Tashkent finally strengthened the position of Russia in Central Asia, in which this city was one of the largest political and trade centers; retaining its significance in the future, it became the main city of the newly formed Syrdarya region.

Conquest of the Bukhara Khanate. Russian actions in 1864 and 1865 with regard to the conquest of the region was especially successful. In a short time, having seized a vast territory from Perovsk and Verny to Tashkent, Russia unwittingly began to threaten directly Kokand and Bukhara, who directed all their forces to contain the Russian movement. Their attempts in this direction were paralyzed by General Chernyaev, who was forced to go over to the offensive again as a result of the attack of the Bukharians on the new Russian line. Having reached the Bukhara fortress of Jizzakh, he inflicted several defeats on the Bukhara troops, and then General Romanovsky, appointed after him as the military governor of the Syrdarya region, took this fortress.

However, despite the defeats suffered, the Bukhara emir still did not believe that the Russians had forever occupied the areas beyond the Syr Darya River, which used to belong to Bukhara. The dignitaries surrounding him hid the true state of affairs, and therefore the emir's confidence in his forces was so great that, negotiating with the Russians in order only to gain time, he at the same time gathered troops, encouraging at the same time the attacks of the Kyrgyz gangs on the new Russian borders ...

As a result of this situation, General Romanovsky with a detachment of 14 companies, five hundred, 20 guns and eight rocket launchers moved to the Irjaru tract, where the 38,000-strong Bukharian militia and 5,000 sarbaz with 21 guns were concentrated.

Major General D.I. Romanovsky

The appearance of the Russian detachment on May 8 was a big surprise for the Bukharians, and, attacked by the detachments of Colonel Abramov and Pistolkors, the Bukharians immediately retreated, losing up to 1000 killed, six guns and the entire artillery park.

After giving a little rest to the troops, General Romanovsky decided to head to the Kokand fortress of Khojent, where he approached on May 18. Located on the Syr Darya River, Khujand was a very strong fortress with a large garrison, which was impossible to take by storm without preparation; consequently, the bombing of the city was scheduled for 20 May, which continued intermittently until 24 May. On that day, the storming of the Khojent walls was launched in two columns under the command of Captain Mikhailovsky and Captain Baranov; although at the same time the assault ladders, unfortunately, turned out to be below the walls, but nevertheless, despite this and the terrible resistance of the Kokand people, the company of Lieutenant Shorokhov climbed them, dropping the defenders' breaks.

At the same time, Captain Baranov, with his companies under a hail of bullets, buckshot, stones and logs thrown from the walls, climbed the walls and broke down the gates. And again, as in the assault on Tashkent, Archpriest Malov walked in the front ranks of the assault column with a cross in his hands, encouraging people with his example. Having smashed the gates of the second inner wall, the troops entered the city, meeting great resistance on the street and knocking out the Kokand people from every house.

Only in the evening did the shooting die down, and the next day the deputies showed up with an expression of complete submission. During the defense of Khujand, the Kokand people lost up to 3500 people killed, whose corpses were buried then for a whole week, while we - 137 killed and wounded. Almost immediately after the capture of Khujand in order to disperse the gatherings of the Bukharans who had gathered in Ura-Tyube and represented a great danger during the movement of the detachment to Jizzak, General Kryzhanovsky approached this city and, after the bombardment, took it by storm at dawn on July 20.

Strong artillery and rifle fire from the walls of the fortress did not stop the assault columns marching under the command of Glukhovsky, Shaufus and Baranov; just as during the capture of Khujand, they, having occupied the fortress, stumbled inside a column of Bukhara troops, with whom they withstood a fierce hand-to-hand combat. The trophies were four banners, 16 guns and 16 pack cannons. The losses of the enemy reached 2,000 people, and ours - 10 officers and 217 lower ranks in killed and wounded.

With the capture of Ura-Tyube, one more point remained in the hands of the Bukhara emir - Jizzak, possessing which, he could still hope to keep the valley of the Syr Darya river due to the location of this fortress at the exit from the gorge on the only road to Samarkand and Bukhara. In view of the fact that by this time the emir had not received a response to the proposed conditions, General Romanovsky sent his troops to Jizzakh, which they approached on October 12.

This fortress, surrounded by three parallel walls, was considered especially strong, and therefore storming it without preparation was an undertaking too risky, especially taking into account that the garrison in it reached 11 thousand people. After reconnaissance and the construction of the battery, the bombing of Jizzak began on October 16, all the receptions and turns of which indicated the presence in it of a large number of Bukhara regular troops, who made repeated sorties.

Having made collapses of walls and gaps, our troops began to prepare for the assault. But since it was noticed that by dawn, when the Russians usually began the assault, the fire among the Bukharians increased, they decided to change the time and storm at noon. On October 18, two columns of Captain Mikhailovsky and Lieutenant Colonel Grigoriev, thanks to surprise, quickly occupied the walls, climbing up the stairs.

The Bukharians, apparently completely not expecting an assault during the day, were taken by surprise and crowded in masses between the inner two walls; despite desperate resistance and strong but indiscriminate fire, the fortress was in our hands within an hour. During the storming of Jizzakh, the Bukhara people lost up to 6,000 killed and wounded, while our losses were expressed in 98 people. The trophies were 43 guns, 15 banners and many weapons. Most of the Jizzakh garrison surrendered, but some of them managed to get out of the fortress and flee towards Samarkand.

But this terrible defeat did not bring the emir to his senses, and attacks on the Russian troops stationed near Jizzakh began again, and the emir himself again began to gather troops, sending small parties to Jizzakh and calling on the population to war with the infidels.

Attacks on the new Russian line soon became so frequent that, seeing no opportunity to persuade the emir to end hostilities, the newly appointed Turkestan Governor-General, General von Kaufmann, decided to put an end to Bukhara, whose defiant behavior required, to strengthen the Russian position in Central Asia , inflicting complete defeat on the Bukhara troops. In view of this, a Russian detachment of 19.5 companies, five hundred and 10 guns, leaving Jizzakh, headed for Samarkand, which was considered not so much the capital of the Bukhara Khanate, but also a holy city in the eyes of all Muslims. Meanwhile, the emir, having collected a huge army, about 60 thousand people, sent it to Samarkand, where the Bukharians occupied the Chapan-Ata heights located in front of the city. The Muslim clergy called on all the faithful to defend the holy city.

On May 1, 1868, Russian troops under the command of General Golovachev began to cross the Zeravshan River. Chest-deep in water, fighting against a strong current, under heavy fire from the Bukharans, the companies crossed over to the opposite bank, attacked the heights of Chapan-Ata and with bayonets knocked the Bukharians out of their positions. Unable to withstand a quick and decisive onslaught, the Bukhara troops began to retreat; most of them rushed to run towards Samarkand, seeking salvation behind the high walls of this strong fortress, but here they were severely disappointed.

The inhabitants of Samarkand, who were engaged in trade and agriculture, had long been burdened by the war, which ruined them with unbearable taxes; therefore, knowing about the complete calm that came in Tashkent with the annexation of this city to the Russian possessions, and about the benefits acquired by the civilian population, they decided to stop the useless bloodshed; closing the gates of Samarkand and not letting the emir's troops in, they sent at the same time a deputation to General Kaufman with a declaration of their desire to surrender at the mercy of the victors. The next day, Russian troops entered Samarkand, the inhabitants of which opened the gates and presented the keys of the fortress to General Kaufman.

But, despite the fact that the main city of the khanate was in the power of the Russians, it was still impossible to recognize the defeat of the Bukharians as complete, since the emir again gathered his troops in Kata-Kurgan, where the units that had failed at Samarkand joined him.

On May 18, Russian troops headed for Kata-Kurgan; they took it by storm and, attacking on June 2, the masses of Bukharians who had occupied the heights near Zerabulak, overthrew them with a quick and decisive onslaught. This bloody battle ended with the complete defeat of the Bukharians, who turned to indiscriminate flight; only now the Bukhara emir, recognizing his cause as completely lost, soon signed peace terms.

Meanwhile, major events took place in the rear of the Russian troops. Taking advantage of the Russian offensive towards Zerabulak, the Shakhrisabz beks gathered a 15,000-strong army and laid siege to Samarkand, which contained a small garrison (up to 250 people) and the sick or weak (up to 400 people) under the general command of the commandant Major von Shtempel. This siege lasted for a whole week.

An insignificant number of guns and the need to protect cartridges created a particularly difficult situation during the repulsion of assaults: our weak fire was not able to stop the enemy, who was advancing to the fortress walls and even climbing them, from where he had to be knocked out with bayonets. The attack followed the attack, and the residents of Shakhrisabz climbed the walls like mad. Only hand grenades thrown by the defenders temporarily stopped these attacks. Several times the enemy tried to light the wooden gates, and also tried, having made a tunnel under the bottom of the walls, to overturn them, thus opening the passage. Seeing his critical situation, the commandant sent a report to General Kaufman through a faithful horseman disguised as a beggar.

The expectation of the gain again raised the spirit of the garrison, all the sick and wounded became its defenders; but on July 4, the enemy, having made a breach in the wall, burst into the fortress, although he was knocked out.

In the first two days, the garrison lost up to 150 people, but, despite this, Major Shtempel firmly decided not to surrender, and in the event of the capture of the fortress walls, lock himself in the khan's palace. To maintain the spirit of the garrison, he constantly made sorties, setting fire to the nearest houses, which were used by the people of Shakhrisabz. Already on the fifth day the position of the besieged became desperate: the meat was eaten, people did not sleep for the fifth day, and there was an extreme shortage of water. Having made a sortie under the command of Colonel Nazarov, the defenders of the city received several sheep and some water.

Finally, on July 7, when it seemed that the surrender of the city was already inevitable, the news came that Kaufman's detachment was approaching Samarkand, and the next morning the Shakhrisabz people quickly retreated from the fortress. Thus, a handful of Russians defended Samarkand, repelling up to 40 attacks and losing a fourth of their strength in battles. Among those who distinguished themselves were the later famous artists Vereshchagin and Karazin, who at that time served as officers in the Turkestan battalions.

On July 28, a peace treaty was concluded with the Bukhara emir, according to which all the lands up to Zerabulak were transferred to Russia, but even after that the hostilities were not over; the uprising of the heir to the Bukhara throne Katta-Tyura and the need to punish the people of Shakhrisabz for the attack on Samarkand forced the sending of a detachment of General Abramov to suppress the outbreak of the uprising. Having first destroyed the Katta-Tyura congregations near the city of Karshi, and then, the next year, having withstood a fierce battle with the Shakhrisabz people near the Kuli-Kalyan lakes, Abramov took the cities of Shakhrisabz and Kitab and deposed the rebellious beks who had fled to Kokand.

These last military actions of the Russian troops completed the conquest of the Bukhara Khanate. With the death of Emir Muzafer Khan, Bukhara finally calmed down, and in 1879 a new treaty of friendship was concluded, according to which the Bukhara Khanate was included in the Russian borders with its recognition of the protectorate of Russia.

Conquest of the Khiva Khanate. After the Russian troops occupied the left bank of the Syr Darya, on which a number of our fortifications were built, the Khiva khan, still believing in the strength of his troops and incited by the clergy, reopened hostilities against the Russians. Gangs of Khiva-Turkmen and Kirghiz began to cross the Syr Darya and attack the nomad camps of the Kirghiz, who were listed as Russian subjects; robbing and taking away their livestock, they created an impossible situation for a peaceful life.

Constantly sowing confusion and inciting Russian subjects of the Kirghiz to revolt against Russia, the Khivans finally achieved their goal: among the Kirghiz of the Orenburg Territory, great unrest and unrest arose.

By the end of 1873, the plunders of the caravans traveling from Orenburg to Persia and other Asian states by the Khiva Turkmens terrified the merchants, and raids on the Russian line and the withdrawal of prisoners became widespread. To put an end to this, the Turkestan Governor-General turned to the Khiva Khan with a written demand to return all Russian prisoners, to prohibit his subjects from interfering in the affairs of our Kirghiz and to conclude a trade agreement with Russia.

The proposals were not accepted, the khan did not even respond to the letter of General Kaufman, and the attacks of the Khivans became so frequent that even Russian post stations began to be subjected to them. As a result of this situation, in the spring of 1873, Russian troops launched a campaign against Khiva simultaneously from four points as part of specially formed detachments:

1) Turkestan (General Kaufman) - 22 companies, 18 hundred and 18 guns - from Tashkent;

2) Orenburg (General Verevkin) - 15 companies, eight hundred and eight guns - from Orenburg;

3) Mangyshlak (Colonel Lomakin) - 12 companies, eight hundred and eight guns;

4) Krasnovodsk (Colonel Markozov) - eight companies, six hundred, 10 guns - from Krasnovodsk.

Khiva campaign in 1873. Transition of the Turkestan detachment through the Adam-Krylgan sands. From a painting by N. N. Karazin

In addition, the Aral flotilla, which consisted of the Samarkand and Perovsky steamers and three barges, was attached to the troops operating against Khiva.

General leadership was entrusted to Adjutant General von Kaufmann.

A difficult campaign lay ahead of the troops across the boundless deserts, where occasionally wells with bitter-salt water met. Loose dunes, sultry winds and scorching heat were allies of the Khivans, whose possessions were separated by a thousand-verst expanse of deserted, dead deserts that stretched all the way to Khiva; not far from it, all the detachments were supposed to unite and at the same time approach the Khiva capital.

The Turkestan and Caucasian troops, which numbered many participants in previous expeditions and steppe campaigns, moved briskly. From the very beginning, the Krasnovodsk detachment had to go deep into the sands, meeting terrible, insurmountable obstacles at every step. Having defeated the Turkmens at the Igdy well on March 16 and pursuing them in the scorching heat for more than 50 miles, the Cossacks took about 300 prisoners and recaptured up to 1,000 camels and 5,000 rams from the enemy.

But this first success was never repeated, and further movement to the wells of Orta-Kuy was unsuccessful. Deep sands, lack of water and a sultry wind were enemies that people could not cope with, and the 75-verst desert to Orta-Kuyu turned out to be an obstacle that could not be crossed; the detachment was forced to return to Krasnovodsk; nevertheless, he brought great benefit to the common cause, keeping the Tekins from participating in the defense of the Khiva possessions.

The Turkestan detachment set out on a campaign in two columns - from Jizzak and Kazalinsk - on March 13, and from the very first transitions difficult days began for him. The spring was especially cold. Heavy rains with winds and snow on the viscous, soggy soil made the movement extremely difficult. Tied up to their knees in viscous clay, soaked through and chilled from the icy wind, people barely wandered to the place of lodging, hoping to warm up there by the fires. But a whirlwind with a snowstorm flew in and at once extinguished the fires, and once the whole detachment almost died from the frost. In place of bad weather, in April, heat began with strong hot winds, which showered with fine sand and made breathing difficult.

On April 21, the Kazaly and Jizzakh columns joined at the wells of Khala-Ata, where the Khivans appeared for the first time in front of the detachment.

The wind blew daily with terrible force, blowing up clouds of sandy dust that covered the horizon. In humans, the skin burst on the face, and, despite the backs, burns appeared on the neck, and later eye diseases developed. During the nights, the wind tore off the tents and covered them with sand.

Especially terrible was the passage to the Adam-Krylgan wells along huge sand dunes, with a scorching 50-degree heat and a complete absence of vegetation. The very name "Adam-Krylgan" in translation means "the death of man."

Horses and camels began to fall from the terrible heat and fatigue, people began to have sunstrokes. With great difficulty the detachment reached these wells, but, having rested and stocked up with water, went on. The edge of the desert adjoined the shores of the high-water Amu Darya, and no more than 60 miles remained to reach it. But even this relatively insignificant distance was beyond the strength of the exhausted people.

The heat was unbearable, and the free-flowing dunes rose higher and higher. Soon the water supplies were used up, and a terrible thirst began to torment people. It seemed that the death of the detachment was inevitable. But fortunately, the horsemen who were with the detachment found buried wells aside from the road.

Step by step, stretching over a huge distance, the detachment walked six miles to the wells, losing a lot of people, horses and camels, who died from sunstrokes and thirst. Reaching the wells of Alty-Kuduk (six wells), everyone rushed to the water at once, creating a terrible mess. There was little water in the wells, and the troops had to wait around them for six days to recover. They had to make a supply of water for the further journey again in the Adam-Krylgan wells, where they sent a whole column with waterskins.

Only on May 9 did the detachment go to the Amu Darya; This passage was again terribly difficult, and the Turkmens suddenly attacked during the nights, obviously deciding at all costs to prevent the Russians from reaching the Amu Darya and the Khiva cities.

On May 11, in the afternoon, huge masses of mounted Turkmens appeared on the horizon, covering the detachment from all sides. Shots of Turkmen rifles were heard continuously. Almost at the Amu Darya, 4,000 Turkmen horsemen tried to block the road again, but, being repulsed by buckshot, they were forced to retreat with great damage. Having crossed the Amu Darya in boats, the detachment immediately took Khoja-Aspa in battle.

Khiva campaign in 1873. Ferry of the Turkestan detachment across the river. Amu Darya. From a painting by N. N. Karazin

The unshakable courage and willpower of General Kaufman helped the Russians overcome all terrible obstacles and go through the dead Khiva deserts, enduring all hardships and hardships with special firmness.

The Orenburg detachment under the command of General Verevkin set out on a campaign in mid-February, when the steppes were still 25-degree frosts and deep snow lay, which made it necessary to clear the road. Beyond the Emba River, the weather changed, and when the snow began to melt, the soil turned into a viscous mess, which impeded movement and caused great losses of horses and camels. Only from Ugra the passage became relatively easy and there was a sufficient amount of water.

Having occupied the city of Kungrad, near which the detachment met insignificant resistance from the Khivans, the troops moved on, all the while repelling unexpected attacks. Outside Kungrad, the wagon train was attacked by 500 Turkmens. Convoying the convoy of a hundred Orenburg Cossacks, Esaul Piskunov dashingly rushed, led by their commander, into the attack, and then, dismounting in front of the enemy, fired several volleys, scattering the attackers.

In Karaboil, the Orenburg detachment on May 14 united with the Mangyshlak detachment, which, under the command of Colonel Lomakin, set out on a campaign against Khiva later than all others. From April 14, he also had to endure all the horrors of the waterless sandy deserts, making transitions in the scorching heat and walking up to 700 miles within a month. But these difficult conditions did not affect the people who remained vigorous, and only a huge decrease in camels, the bones of which were strewn all over the road, indicated the hardships suffered by the troops.

On May 15, both detachments marched under the general command of General Verevkin from Karaboil to Khodjeyli. The Khiva troops tried to block the way for the Russians, first in front of Khodjeyli, and then, on May 20, in front of the city of Mangit. Huge masses of Turkmens at Mangit moved against the Russian detachment, which met the onslaught of the numerous enemy with artillery and rifle fire. The swift attacks of our cavalry forced the Turkmen to retreat, leaving the city, and when Russian troops entered it, they were met with shots from houses. As punishment, Mangit was burned to the ground.

Total loss Khivans in the battles of the last two days reached 3,100 killed, but, despite this, the Khan's 10-thousand army on May 22, when the detachment left Kyat, again attacked the Russians with great ferocity. Strong fire from the head units of the detachment scattered these congregations, and the Khivans, covering the ground with their corpses, quickly retreated, and then sent ambassadors from the khan with peace proposals. General Verevkin, who did not trust the Khiva Khan and did not receive instructions about peace negotiations, did not receive the ambassadors.

On May 26, the detachment approached the capital of the Khiva Khanate - Khiva, under the walls of which until May 28 it began to wait for news from the Turkestan detachment. But the Turkmens intercepted the Russian papers sent with the horsemen, due to which, without receiving any orders, General Verevkin on the morning of May 28 moved towards the city, outside the walls of which the Khivans prepared for a desperate defense.

The Khivans took several guns out of the city and by shooting them prevented the detachment from approaching the gate. Then the companies of the Shirvan and Absheron regiments rushed into the attack and repulsed two guns, and part of the Shirvanians under the command of Captain Alikhanov, in addition, took another gun, which was standing to the side and firing at our flank. During the skirmish, General Verevkin was wounded.

The fire of Russian guns and exploding grenades finally forced the Khivans to clear the walls. A little later, a deputation arrived from Khiva with a proposal to surrender the city, reporting that the khan had fled, and the inhabitants wanted an end to the bloodshed, and only the Turkmens, the Yumuds, wanted to continue defending the capital. The deputation was sent to General Kaufman, who on May 28 in the evening with a Turkestan detachment approached Khiva.

The next day, May 29, Colonel Skobelev, seizing the gates and walls by storm, cleared Khiva of the rebellious Turkmens. After inspecting all the detachments and thanking the people for their service, the commander-in-chief, at the head of the Russian troops, entered the ancient Khiva capital.

The khan who returned at the request of the Russians was again elevated to his former dignity, and all the slaves who languished in captivity, including more than 10 thousand people, were immediately released through the announcement on behalf of the khan of the following order:

“I, Seid-Mukhamet-Rakhim-Bogodur-khan, in the name of deep respect for the Russian emperor, command all my subjects to immediately grant all slaves freedom. From now on, slavery in my khanate is destroyed for ever. Let this philanthropic deed serve as a guarantee of eternal friendship and respect of all my people for the great Russian people. "

At the same time, all the Khiva lands on the right side of the Amu Darya went to Russia with the formation of the Amu Darya department, and an indemnity of 2,200 thousand rubles was imposed on the Khiva Khan for the military costs of Russia, and Russian subjects in the Khiva Khanate were given the right to duty-free trade. But with the occupation of Khiva, military operations on the Khiva land did not end; the Turkmens, who used slaves for field work, did not want to obey the order of the khan to free them and, having gathered in huge masses, intended to migrate, also refusing to pay the indemnity imposed on them.

Finding it necessary to force the Turkmen to recognize the strength of Russia and subject them to punishment for failure to comply with the requirements, General Kaufman sent two detachments against the rebellious, which, having overtaken their flocks on June 14 near the village of Chandir, entered into battle with them. The Turkmens defended themselves desperately: sitting two by two on horses with swords and axes in their hands, they jumped to the Russians and, jumping off their horses, rushed into battle.

But the impetuous attacks of the cavalry, and then rocket and rifle fire, quickly cooled the fervor of the wild riders; turning to indiscriminate flight, they left up to 800 bodies of the dead and a huge cart with women, children and all their belongings. The next day, July 15, the Turkmen made a new attempt to attack the Russians near Kokchuk, but here too they failed, and they began to hastily retreat. While crossing a deep channel, they were overtaken by a Russian detachment, which opened fire on them. More than 2,000 Turkmens were killed, and, in addition, 14 villages were burned down by the Russian detachment as punishment.

Having received such a terrible lesson, the Turkmens asked for mercy. Having sent a deputation, they asked permission to return to their lands and start paying the indemnity, which they were allowed to do.

It is noteworthy that the Russian troops, having inflicted such a terrible defeat on the Turkmens at Mangit, Chandir and Kokchuk, did not know at all exactly what clans they belonged to; But fate itself in this case, obviously, directed the weapon: the descendants of the Turkmens, who treacherously exterminated the detachment of Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky in Porsu, as it turned out later, were almost completely exterminated by Russian troops. This instilled in the Turkmen the unshakable confidence that the Russians knew who their enemies were and for the treacherous attack of their ancestors they avenged their descendants 150 years later.

The Khiva Khanate, although it was left independent under the control of its khans, fulfilling the behests of Peter, Russia assigned to it a special "sentry" in the form of a Petroaleksandrovsky fortification with a strong garrison built on the right bank of the Amu Darya.

The brilliant results of the Khiva campaign consisted, in addition to the abolition of slavery and the return of Russian prisoners, in the final pacification of the Khiva Turkmens and in the complete subordination of the Khanate to Russia; The Khiva Khanate gradually turned into a huge market for the sale of Russian goods.

Conquest of the Kokand Khanate. Near the new Russian regions of the Turkestan Territory, adjoining them directly, were the lands of the Kokand Khanate, during the long wars with Russia in the 60s. lost all its northern cities and regions, which were annexed to the Russian possessions.

Surrounded from the east and southwest by snow ridges, the Kokand possessions occupied a lowland called Fergana, or Yellow Land. It was one of the richest places in Central Asia, which is confirmed by the legend that in ancient times there was a paradise in Fergana.

The large population of the khanate consisted, on the one hand, of sedentary inhabitants of cities and villages engaged in trade and agriculture, and on the other, of nomads who settled in the mountain valleys and mountain slopes, where they roamed with their countless herds and herds of sheep. All nomads belonged to the Karakirgiz and Kipchak tribes, who recognized the khan's power only nominally; quite often, dissatisfied with the management of the khan's officials, they produced unrest, being dangerous even for the khans themselves, who were sometimes deposed, choosing others at their own discretion. Not recognizing any territorial boundaries and considering robbery a special feat, the Karakirgiz were extremely undesirable neighbors for the Russians, with whom they had old scores.

The Kokand Khan himself, having lost a significant part of his territory, stopped military operations against the Russians after the capture of Khojent; but within the khanate, terrible troubles began, especially when the Kipchaks and Karakirgiz opposed Khudoyar Khan. In 1873, a certain impostor Pulat, having declared himself the Kokand khan, attracted all the disaffected to his side. Fearing not to cope with the outbreak of the uprising on his own, Khudoyar Khan turned to the Russians for help, and after refusing it, he gathered his troops, pushing Pulat Khan into the mountains.

Later, the closest dignitaries of Khudoyar joined Pulat; the rebellion flared up with renewed vigor, and the riots in the khanate also began to affect the nomadic Kyrgyz in the border districts of the new Syrdarya region. Gradually, the uprising engulfed the entire khanate, and even the heir to the throne joined the rebels, as a result of which Khudoyar Khan was forced to flee to Tashkent. In order to prevent the movement of the Kokand people into the Russian borders, Russian troops were pushed to the borders of the khanate.

Not content with plundering within the khanate, the Kyrgyz, according to a premeditated plan, launched a series of attacks on Russian post stations between Khojent and Ura-Tyube, burned or destroyed them, apparently wanting to interrupt communication between these cities.

One of the Kyrgyz gangs suddenly attacked the Murza-Rabat station, the head of which was Stepan Yakovlev, a reserve rifleman of the 3rd rifle battalion. The Kirghiz coachmen, when the Kokands approached, immediately galloped off, and Yakovlev was left alone to defend the state property entrusted to him. The post station looked like a small fortification with two towers at the corners. Locking and blocking the gates and blocking the windows, Yakovlev loaded two guns and a rifle and positioned himself on the tower, from where the surroundings could be seen. For two days the brave shooter fired back, striking the Kirghiz who besieged the station with well-aimed shots and covering the ground with their bodies.

Finally, seeing the complete impossibility of breaking into the station, the Kyrgyz threw a dry clover at its walls and set it on fire. Shrouded in smoke, Yakovlev decided to make his way to the tower standing not far away above the spring.

Rushing through the gate, he laid down several people with a bayonet, but not having reached the target fifteen paces, he himself fell under the blows of the attackers. At the place where the glorious shooter died, a monument was subsequently erected with the inscription: "To the shooter Stepan Yakovlev, who valiantly fell on August 6, 1875 after a two-day defense of the Murza-Rabat station against the Kokand people."

On August 8, up to 15 thousand Kokand residents unexpectedly approached the city of Khojent, but were repulsed by the Russians with great damage. The need to throw back the swarms of Kokands forced General Kaufman at the same time to move troops to the Kokand limits from Tashkent and Samarkand, which was done on August 11. General Golovachev defeated a 6-thousand-strong crowd at Zulfagar, and on August 12, the Russian main forces under the command of Kaufman himself set out in the direction of Khujand; forward was sent a flying detachment of Colonel Skobelev of two hundred with a rocket launcher, which survived a series of small skirmishes until all Russian troops gathered near Khujand, including 16 infantry companies, eight hundred, 20 guns and eight rocket launchers. The commander of the cavalry was Colonel Skobelev.

On August 22, the Kokand cavalry near Karochkum attacked a Russian detachment in a bivouac, but, repulsed with great damage, was forced to retreat. When the troops withdrew from the bivouac and moved from their place, huge swarms of Kokand people appeared from all sides, striving to cover the Russian cavalry units, which they feared incomparably less than the infantry. Firing back in all directions, the detachment approached the bank of the Syr Darya, where the Kokand fortress Makhram was located with a well-fortified position adjoining it, from which it was necessary to knock out the enemy.

To prepare for the assault on the fortress, fire was opened from 12 guns, to which the Kokand cannons from the embrasures began to respond. Well-aimed artillery soon silenced the enemy, after which two battalions were moved under the command of General Golovachev to storm the fortified position; The 3rd Company of the 1st Rifle Battalion of Staff Captain Fedorov, having crossed the moat with water, jumped into the fortification and, splitting the defenders with bayonets, took 13 guns; and three companies of Major Renau's 2nd Infantry Battalion captured eight guns.

The 1st rifle battalion, sent to storm the Makhram fortress itself, withstood heavy rifle fire from the fortress walls. Rushing to the gates and breaking them down, the companies of this battalion quickly occupied the front of the fortress and opened frequent fire along the crowds of Kokand residents who fled to the river bank. An hour later the fortress was in our hands and the badge of a rifle battalion fluttered over it. The trophies were guns taken in battle: 24 - in a fortified position and 16 - in a fortress, 40 guns in total.

Simultaneously with the movement of the infantry to storm the position to cover its right flank, cavalry was brought forward, firing at the enemy position from the flank, and the cavalry crowd of Kokandians that appeared with missiles. After that, Colonel Skobelev went to the rear of the enemy location to cut off the retreat path for the Kokand units. Leaving fifty to cover the artillery, Skobelev and his battalion quickly approached the Makhram gardens, crossing a wide and deep ravine.

At this time, a mass of retreating Kokands with guns and badges appeared on the banks of the Syr Darya. Without a moment's hesitation, Skobelev, at the head of the division, rushed into the attack on these huge crowds, cutting himself first into the middle of the Kokand infantry together with the military sergeant major Rogozhnikov and the senior sergeant-major Krymov. This dashing raid caused a terrible panic in the ranks of the Kokand people, who fled in disorder. Taking two guns in battle, the Cossacks drove the Kokands for more than ten miles, but, suddenly stumbling upon new assemblies, numbering up to 12 thousand people, Skobelev, launching several missiles at them, returned to Makhram, since the forces were unequal, and the people and horses were too tired. The trophies of the battle near Mahram were 40 guns, 1,500 rifles, up to 50 bunchuk and banners and a lot of gunpowder, shells and food supplies.

Subsequently, it turned out that all the forces of the Kokand people were concentrated under Makhram, with a total number of up to 60 thousand people. Abdurahman-Avtobachi himself, who commanded the troops, having suffered such a terrible defeat, fled with insignificant forces.

The moral significance of the Makhram battle was extremely great and clearly showed the Kokand people the strength of the Russian troops. The Mahram fortress was turned into a stronghold and storage point, and a Russian garrison of two companies and 20 Cossacks was left in it.

The defeat of the Kokand troops opened the way to Kokand, and on August 26, General Kaufman moved to the capital of the khanate, which was occupied on August 29; Khan Nasr-Eddin, having expressed complete obedience, during the entire stay of General Kaufman, appeared to him every day with a report on the complete calmness that had come among the urban population. At the same time, extremely disturbing news came from the eastern part of the khanate, confirming that rebels under the leadership of Abdurahman-Avtobachi again gathered in the cities of Margilan, Asaka and Osh. With the arrival of a transport with supplies in Kokand, General Kaufman went to Margilan, whose residents not only sent a deputation, but also brought nine cannons.

On the same night, Abdurakhman left Margilan, abandoning his entire camp. A detachment of six hundred, two infantry companies and four guns under the command of Colonel Skobelev was sent to pursue him. Strong in spirit and distinguished by insane courage, the future commander pursued the rebels non-stop along the valleys and mountain gorges to the Ming-Bulak tract; here the first skirmish with the troops of Abdurahman-Avtobachi took place. Unable to withstand the onslaught, the Kokand people retreated, and the Cossacks, pursuing them at a distance of more than 10 versts, captured many rifles and cart with property. Only the extreme fatigue of the horses and people, who had previously overcome up to 70 miles, forced Skobelev to temporarily suspend the pursuit and, after rest, move to Osh.

This decisive raid made a huge impression on the natives, in whose eyes Avtobachi fell at once and his impotence was sharply revealed; from the cities of Andijan, Balykchi, Sharykhan and Asaka, one after another, deputations began to arrive to General Kaufman with an expression of complete obedience. The general peaceful mood of the inhabitants and the transition to our side of the main assistants of the Autobachi served as proof that the uprising was almost over; recognizing the goal of the campaign had already been achieved, General Kaufman concluded an agreement with the Kokand Khan, according to which the entire area along the right bank of the Naryn River with the city of Namangan went to Russia with the formation of the Namangan Department, where the Russian troops were moved.

But this decision turned out to be premature, and as soon as the Russian troops left, even greater unrest began again in the khanate, especially in Andijan, where ghazavat was declared, that is, a holy war against the infidels. In view of this situation, it was necessary to send Russian troops under the command of General Trotsky to Andijan; here outside the city were the 70-thousandth army of Abdurahman-Avtobachi and 15 thousand Kyrgyz under the leadership of Pulat Khan. Having instructed Skobelev to make reconnaissance, Trotsky approached Andijan on October 1, and with a quick, decisive onslaught, his vanguard, despite terrible rifle fire and desperate defense, occupied the nearby hills, and three assault columns under the command of Colonels Skobelev, Aminov and Meller-Zakomelsky to the city, where they beat out the defenders with bayonets.

This circumstance was immediately taken advantage of by Pulat Khan, who rushed with his Kirghiz to the defenseless, in his opinion, Wagenburg. Met with shots from two guns, and then with rifle volleys of soldiers left to protect the convoy under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Travlo, the Kyrgyz, unable to bear it, dispersed for a while.

Skobelev himself rode at the head of the first assault column. Powder smoke swirled in the streets, as a result of which the column, due to poor visibility, quite unexpectedly found itself in front of a blockage, from where the Kokand residents showered the fighters with grape-shot. With a shout of "hurray", the riflemen rushed to the blockage and, having split the defenders with bayonets, took up the gun, opening the way to the fortress.

Andijan residents fought with terrible ferocity, taking advantage of every closure and shooting from rooftops, from behind trees, from mosques, defending every courtyard and garden. This stubborn resistance aroused the soldiers even more.

Colonel Aminov's column also made its way with great difficulty, and under the constant onslaught of the enemy cavalry, attacking from the rear.

The column of Meller-Zakomelsky, after taking several heaps made of carts and beams, had to beat out the Andijan residents for a long time, who occupied a large mosque that stood separately.

At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, all three columns converged to the khan's palace, and then, leaving the city, General Trotsky bombarded it, which made large fires in it and destroyed a significant part of its defenders. The entire neighborhood was lit up by a blaze of fire, and the bombardment continued throughout the night, forcing the last remnants of the Andijan residents to flee, especially after a Russian grenade detonated at a meeting near Abdurakhman-Avtobachi, killing many of the participants.

The prisoners later said that almost all the troops of the khanate were assembled in Andijan, called upon to defend Islam against the infidel Uruses, and that all participants before the battle took an oath to defend Andijan to the last drop of blood, as a result of which the Kokand people fought with such enthusiasm and perseverance.

But this pogrom did not bring the Andijan people to their senses, and after the withdrawal of the Russian troops, a new revolt against the Kokand khan, led by Pulat Khan, flared up with terrible force. Appointed as the head of the Namangan department, General Skobelev was forced to approach the city, crushing the congregations of the Kokand people near Asaka; Pulat Khan himself managed to escape, and then again gathered many supporters. At this time, the Kyrgyz, taking advantage of the turmoil, attacked the Russian Kuroshinsky district.

Skobelev, recognizing the need to put an end to Pulat Khan at all costs, set out from Namangan towards the city of Chust on October 24 with three companies, one and a half hundred and four guns. With the departure of the Russian troops, a popular uprising began in Namangan itself, and its inhabitants, with the help of the approaching Kipchaks, besieged the Namangan fortress from all sides. For three days the Russian troops repelled the attacks of the enemy on the fortress, which was not yet fully defended, making constant sorties.

Fortunately, General Skobelev returned on October 27, learning about the uprising that had begun. Approaching Namangan, he bombarded the rebellious city, the inhabitants of which, having suffered great damage (up to 3000 killed and wounded), asked for mercy.

But even this lesson had little effect on the Kipchaks, and they again soon concentrated in the number of up to 20 thousand people near the city of Balykchi, under the command of Vali-Tyura-khan. Fording the Naryn River, General Skobelev set out with the 2nd company of the 2nd rifle battalion and fifty horse-drawn riflemen to storm the Balykchin rubble; artillery opened fire, and cavalry was sent to bypass the city to block the retreat of the enemy. Quickly taking three blockages in battle, the assault column occupied the bazaar, where it stumbled upon mounted Kipchaks detained by their own blockage. Under the fire of the riflemen in this cramped situation, the Kipchaks fell in rows, blocking the entire street. The total loss of the enemy was up to 2,000 killed and wounded.

Having cleared the region of the gangs of troublemakers, Skobelev went to Margilan, where the mass of Kipchaks again concentrated. Wanting to take out their defeat on our prisoners, they were taken to the square in Margilan, demanding to accept Islam, but since the Russian soldiers remained firm, they were brutally stabbed to death. Non-commissioned officer of the 2nd Rifle Battalion Foma Danilov was subjected to prolonged painful torture: his fingers were chopped off, belts were cut from his back, and he was roasted over coals. Despite the terrible pain, the martyr remained adamant and died, leaving a long memory of his unshakable courage even among enemies.

At this time, Pulat Khan, having solemnly entered Kokand, began to gather new adherents there.

Having destroyed on the way all the villages abandoned by the inhabitants, Skobelev sent a strong detachment to the mountains, where their families were taken by the rebels. Seeing then their desperate situation, some of the Kipchaks sent out a deputation asking for mercy. Having imposed an indemnity and demanded that the leaders of the gazavat be handed over, Skobelev again approached Andijan on 4 January and, having reconnoitred the approaches, decided to storm the city, for which assault ladders, battering rams, axes and incendiary material were prepared. Before the assault, the Andijan people were twice asked to surrender, but of the deported envoys, the first returned without an answer, and the second was stabbed to death and his head was put on the wall.

On the morning of January 8, after a prayer service and a volley of 12 guns, the forward detachment of Esaul Shtakelberg (one company and fifty Cossacks) stormed the suburban village of Yekimsk, and then began bombing Andijan, during which up to 500 shells were fired. Exactly at noon, huge horse masses of Kipchaks suddenly attacked our Wagenburg from behind, but Major Renau, who commanded them, repulsed this attack with rifle fire. At the same time, under the roar of flying shells, the columns of Colonels Baron Meller-Zakomelsky and Pischemuki and Captain Ionov set out for the assault.

The enemy, apparently, was expecting an attack from the side of the Andijan-Sai ravine, along which Russian troops were attacking three months ago, and therefore strengthened his position especially strongly in this place. Noticing their mistake, the Andijan residents began to hastily build new rubble and fortifications, at the same time showering the Russian troops with a hail of bullets. Columns of Captain Ionov were directed to the Gul-Tyube height, strongly fortified, dominating the city and being like a citadel. Taking one blockage after another, the arrows of the 1st battalion dashingly climbed to the height and, after breaking through its defenders, affirmed their badge on it.

But the city itself had to be taken with a battle, since each saklya, and especially madrasahs and mosques, surrounded by high walls and occupied by the Andijan people who sat behind them, were something like small fortresses. From the evening and all night long our batteries sent their shells to the places from where the shots were fired. The mass of shells, howling through the air and showered the courtyards, causing fires, forced most of the Kipchaks, together with Abdurakhman, to seek safety in flight.

On January 9, the streets of the city were cleared of blockages by sent companies, and on January 10, Andijan was finally in our hands, and Skobelev occupied the khan's palace, in front of which a thanksgiving prayer service was served. At the height of Gul-Tyube, a redoubt for 17 guns was arranged and a Russian garrison was placed. An indemnity was imposed on the Andijan residents.

But even after the occupation of Andijan, it was still far from the complete pacification of the region. The gangs of Kipchaks scattered throughout the khanate agitated the civilian population, attacking at the same time Russian detachments, as a result of which a purely partisan war began.

Having decided to finally clear the khanate of the rebels, Skobelev with a detachment of two companies, hundreds of horse riflemen, five hundred Cossacks, four guns and a rocket battery headed for the city of Asaka, near which up to 15 thousand Kipchaks were concentrated under the command of Abdurakhman-Avtobachi, apparently in the last time he decided to engage in battle with the Russian troops. Having fired at Asaki and the heights occupied by the enemy, the detachment, having crossed a deep ravine, climbed to the heights and with a quick onslaught knocked out the enemy, and the Cossacks with a dashing attack scattered the 6-thousandth column of sarbazes, which constituted a reserve. Having suffered complete defeat, Abdurahman-Avtobachi on January 28 surrendered at the mercy of the winners.

On February 12, Russian troops again occupied the city of Kokand, and it was announced to the Kokand khan Nasr-Eddin Khan that the khanate would join Russia forever.

Having managed to escape with a small part of his adherents, Pulat Khan still tried to continue the uprising, going into the mountains, until he was caught and executed by order of the governor-general in Margilan, at the place of his brutal massacre of Russian prisoners. Former Kokand khan Nasr-Eddin-khan and Abdurakhman-Avtobachi were sent to Russia.

But the Karakirgiz, accustomed to self-will in the khan's times, could not calm down for a long time. To end the unrest, Skobelev set out in the direction of Gulcha with three hundred and one rocket launcher. Then, having occupied the exits from the mountains to the Fergana Valley in small detachments and formed several flying detachments under the command of Colonel Meller-Zakomelsky, he himself with two companies of riflemen, fifty Cossacks, one mountain gun and two rocket launchers moved from the city of Osh to the Alai ridge, sending bypassing two columns - Major Ionov and Colonel Prince Wittgenstein.

The Karakirgiz, who initially showed strong resistance, began to retreat quickly, having suffered great damage. During one of the searches by the detachment of Prince Wittgenstein, the Alai queen Marmonjok-Datkha, who ruled the Alai Kirghiz, was taken prisoner. Since the Alai queen, who enjoyed great influence, recognized the power of Russia, the Karakirgiz soon expressed complete obedience. Thus, the actual annexation of the Kokand Khanate to the Russian possessions ended.

From Fergana with its suburbs, the Fergana region was formed with the appointment of the first military governor of the region of its conqueror, General M.D.Skobelev. In memory of him, the main city of Novomargilan was subsequently renamed Skobelev.

Together with the conquest of the Kokand Khanate, the conquest of Turkestan was completed, which gave Russia the opportunity to finally and firmly establish itself in Central Asia.

Characteristics of the main figures in the conquest of the Turkestan region

Adjutant General of Infantry M.D.Skobelev. There are happy names that, having gained fame during the life of the figures themselves, after their death are passed from one generation to another, rising in the people's memory in all their gigantic growth, and the exploits of such persons, surrounded by legends, are especially strongly emphasized in the perception of the people; these are some kind of heroes, not only standing head and shoulders above their contemporaries, but also having special properties that distinguish them from all other people who have received fame. Among them is undoubtedly the name of Adjutant General M.D.Skobelev.

As a young staff captain, after graduating from the academy, having arrived in the Turkestan region in the midst of hostilities, he soon, even among the shelled Turkestanis who were in battles, stood out for his amazing self-control and courage. The ability to take initiative, great willpower, quick decision-making made themselves felt in the early years of the young officer's service. For his outstanding courage and daring reconnaissance from Khiva to the wells of Igda and Ortakuyu, on the territory occupied by hostile Turkmen, he was awarded the insignia of brave men - the Cross of St. George of the 4th degree.

Either being the chief of the cavalry, now carrying out important orders, Skobelev, with the advance of Russian troops on the Kokand Khanate, already commands a separate detachment. In a number of cases in which he participated, the talent of the future commander had already begun to unfold, and the constant success that accompanied them served as a clear confirmation of the correctness of his views and decisions. Defeating the enemy with a quick and decisive blow, Skobelev made a special impression with his insane courage not only on his troops, but also on his enemies.

On a white horse, invariably in a white tunic, Mikhail Dmitrievich was always ahead in battle, encouraging everyone with his personal example, amazing calmness and complete contempt for death. The soldiers idolized their boss and were ready to follow him into fire and water.

Adjutant General M.D.Skobelev. From a photograph taken in Geok-Tepe on February 12, 1881.

Amazing happiness, thanks to which Skobelev, who had been under fire hundreds of times, was never wounded, gave rise to a legend in the Turkestan troops that he was spellbound by bullets. And this legend, growing, surrounded his name with a special aura. He loved military affairs with all his heart, the conqueror of the Kokand Khanate subsequently participated in the Russian-Turkish war, and even later conquered the Trans-Caspian region to Russia.

Awarded with the Orders of George 3rd and 2nd degree, having reached the rank of full general, he suddenly died at the age of 38, plunging the whole of Russia into deep sorrow, leaving behind a vivid memory in the army and the Russian people. Was short military activity Mikhail Dmitrievich. Like a meteor, he flashed his bright exploits and disappeared into eternity. But the memory of him will not die in the Russian troops, and his name is written in golden letters on the pages of the history of the Russian army.

Guerrilla war, a series of major uprisings, the holy war declared in the Kokand Khanate, forced Mikhail Dmitrievich to wage a long and tireless struggle for the annexation of Central Asia to Russia. The militant Kipchaks, Karakirgiz and Kokand fanatics represented an entirely armed people, which could only be conquered thanks to quick and terrible blows, which only M.D.Skobelev was able to deliver with incomparable skill.

Surrounded by a haze of mystery, the stories about the military exploits and life of M.D.Skobelev, passed down from generation to generation, have long distinguished him from among ordinary people and ranked among the heroes of the Russian land, which he was in reality in spirit, exceptional courage, courage and remarkable military talents.

There are legendary people. You can’t think of them as an everyday measure. It is difficult to judge them up close. Both their prowess and their weaknesses do not fit into the usual framework. These giants in comparison with the rest of humanity, and such, in all fairness, one must admit M.D.Skobelev, who won himself immortal glory. And the monument erected in Moscow to perpetuate his name is only a modest tribute of descendants to the exploits of this hero, who was crowned with glory during his lifetime and left about himself eternal memory.

Adjutant General K.P. Kaufman. General Kaufman is one of the few people who have earned honorable fame for their labors for the benefit of Russia in the conquest and development of Central Asian possessions. Richly gifted by nature, Konstantin Petrovich was an outstanding military leader, a thoughtful administrator and a kind and sympathetic person.

The newly conquered Turkestan Territory required a lot of labor and skill to cope with the difficult situation in which he found himself, being between Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand, subsequently conquered by the instructions of Kaufman and with his direct participation by the Russian troops.

As an all-round educated person, he, ruling the Turkestan region, paid great attention to the study and scientific research of its territory.

Persistent, he always brought the work he had begun to the end, despite the obstacles, thanks to which even such an extraordinary campaign as the Khiva campaign, where the troops had to fight against nature itself, was ended with complete success. By his personal example, General Kaufman supported the cheerful mood of the troops, who saw his indestructible energy and readiness to endure all adversity in order to achieve the set goal.

The long, almost 30-year period of his administrative activity in Turkestan gave great results and brought to this country, which for a long time was in a state of almost complete anarchy, after the despotic rule of the khans, constant civil strife and wars for the khan throne, the beginning of civic consciousness, allowed the large population to calmly engage in peaceful labor without fear for their lives and well-being.

Adjutant General K.P. Kaufman

The fruitful activity of General Kaufman helped to firmly establish Russia in its new possessions, turn Central Asia into an integral part of the Russian state and raise the halo of Russian power to an unattainable height.

Lieutenant General M.G. Chernyaev. Among the names jealously preserved in the memory of not only the army, but also the Russian people, the name of the conqueror of Tashkent M.G. Chernyaev occupies a prominent place.

Despite the relatively short period of his stay in Central Asia, General Chernyaev left a bright mark on this distant land.

Modest, but who knew his own worth, extremely independent, with indestructible willpower, M.G. Chernyaev was especially close to the heart of the Russian soldier. Separated from Russia by thousands of miles, left to himself, he led his troops to the intended goal, removing all obstacles, and managed to conquer most of Central Asia in a few years with a small number of troops and surprisingly low costs. Having learned the nature of the Central Asian peoples and seeing that in order to achieve success, their imagination must be amazed with the courage, steadfastness and indefatigability of the Russian troops, he uncontrollably went forward, quite definitely aware that in his position one could either win or die. And this amazing determination yielded tremendous results, creating a charm for the Russian name and making it easier for subsequent leaders to conquer the region. It is impossible not to note an exceptional trait in the character of Mikhail Grigorievich - a special concern for his troops, thanks to which he sometimes preferred, as it was near Jizzakh, to sacrifice his glory, endure the grumbling and disgruntled glances of his subordinates, even more displeasure from his superiors than putting the lives of fighters on the line in a difficult situation.

M.G. Chernyaev enjoyed the special love of his troops, who were proud of their commander, and gradually the glorious name of the Chernyaevites was assigned to the participants in his campaigns, which included people of proven courage who gained experience during the Central Asian wars. “The general who was sent by the Russian tsar is Ak-Padishah,” - this is how the Bukharians spoke of Chernyaev, and the Bukhara emir later recalled this glorious name with special reverence.

Lieutenant General M.G. Chernyaev

Too much independence, a broad understanding of Russia's tasks made General Chernyaev dangerous for British policy in Central Asia, and fear for his Indian possessions and influence in Afghanistan led to the fact that by the intrigues of British diplomacy Chernyaev was recalled from Central Asia at a time when he had conquer only one valley of the Zerafshan river.

Having retired, General Chernyaev soon became the head of the Serbian army, defending its independence against Turkey, as a result of which he gained even more popularity and fame in Russia.

It was only during the reign of Alexander III that General Chernyaev was again appointed to Central Asia to the post of the Turkestan Governor-General.

The monument in Tashkent and the Chernyaevsky house near the Tashkent fortress, in which he lodged during the conquest of this city, were carefully guarded by his admirers. His memory was jealously guarded in the troops of Turkestan, and among the Muslim population of Central Asia, the brave, decisive, Russian military leader who firmly kept his word was remembered with special respect.

General G.A.Kolpakovsky. The conqueror of Semirechye and the Trans-Ili region, General Kolpakovsky spent almost his entire life in the steppe Turkestan campaigns.

As the first organizer of the Semirechinsk region, Kolpakovsky left a memory in all Semirechye. Severe in appearance, but soft-hearted, resolute, with an unyielding will, a man who, while doing a great state matter, was able to take on his responsibility decisions caused by an exceptional situation and recognized by him as necessary. He was revered in the army for his courage, the ability to find a way out of the most difficult situation and amazing tirelessness.

General G. A. Kolpakovsky

Left to himself, being thousands of miles away from Russia, and therefore without support, surrounded by a hostile population, he realized that conquering the natives who inhabited the Semirechye and the Trans-Ili region could only be done by courage and willingness to die, but not to retreat and not surrender to the enemy. ... With courage and endurance that amazed even the nomadic Kyrgyz, General Kolpakovsky combined the talents of a military leader and the broad outlook of a statesman. Calm in battle, cold-blooded in moments of terrible danger, he led the troops to victories, conquering for Russia the vast Trans-Ili region, Semirechye and Kuldja, which was later returned to China.

Without special connections and patronage, he reached the highest ranks only by his own merits and was awarded the highest Russian orders, among which the most prominent place is occupied by the cross of St. George, received by him for the Uzunagach case. General Kolpakovsky gave all his strength to his beloved Turkestan Territory, and with Semirechensky Cossack army an inextricable bond was established in him for life until his death.

Gerasim Alekseevich Kolpakovsky died in 1896 and was buried in St. Petersburg.

The nature of the wars in Central Asia. Organization and tactics of troops. All wars and campaigns of Russian troops in Central Asia have many characteristic features making them completely different from the wars in the European theater.

Russian troops quite often had to fight not only with enemies, but also with nature itself. Lack of roads, horse feed, settlements and wells made these campaigns in the scorching heat, on loose sands and saline deserts extremely difficult. It was necessary to carry and carry with them supplies of food, water, firewood and fodder for the horses.

The innumerable number of camels for the transport of military supplies unwittingly turned the Russian detachments into huge caravans. It was necessary to constantly be on the alert, in readiness to repel the sudden attack of the nomads, hiding behind every fold of the terrain. Small parties of natives in the vast steppes were positively elusive. Climatic conditions, unusual for Russians, made the steppe campaigns extremely difficult at all seasons. In summer, the heat was tormenting, heating the soil to the degree of a blazing furnace, which, in the absence of water, made the thirst unbearable. In winter, snowstorms rushed towards them, sweeping huge drifts of snow.

Looking out. From a painting by V.V. Vereshchagin

To all this must be added the lack of good guides, little acquaintance with the country and the language of its population. Sharp fluctuations in temperature, combined with poor water quality, contributed to epidemics among the troops; the mass of people who fell ill with typhoid, malaria and scurvy were out of action, in addition to numerous cases of defeat sunstroke... There were so many sick among the soldiers on the front line that, for example, in 1868 in Jizzak, out of two battalions stationed here, it was hardly possible to assemble a company of healthy ones. In addition, there were very few doctors, and with constant malaria, there was often a shortage of quinine. The average death rate per month exceeded 135 people; so, out of 12 thousand patients who were admitted to the infirmary within eight months in 1867, 820 died.

The Turkestan troops were greatly weakened by the need to carry out work on the construction of fortresses, and later barracks for housing. Sending people to medical and economic institutions, post stations and orderlies to various civilian officials put a lot of people out of action.

The constant, from year to year, movement into the depths of the Central Asian steppes developed special methods of warfare among the Turkestan troops and tempered the soldiers in campaigns, and the inability to move large military units forced them to take action in small detachments. In all wars in Central Asia, military units were counted not for regiments and battalions, but for companies and hundreds, which, due to the superiority of weapons, were tactical units that were quite sufficient in numerical strength to perform independent tasks.

In Central Asia, it was adopted as the main principle of close formation against the enemy by a poorly disciplined, acting alone or in small groups, not obedient enough to the will of the leader, unable, despite its overwhelming numbers, to unity of action and maneuver by the masses. Friendly well-aimed volleys and a bayonet strike in a closed formation always had a paralyzing effect on the nomads. The sight of the closed companies of infantrymen and riflemen in white caps with back caps and white shirts made a strong impression on the wild riders, and the horsemen, often even very numerous crowds of Turkmen and Kirghiz, struck by well-aimed volleys, were forced to retreat immediately, covering the ground with the bodies of the dead and wounded. ...

For operations against the irregular cavalry with the Turkestan troops, missile teams were formed, attached to the Cossack units and firing missiles from special machine tools. The noise of rockets creeping in the form of huge fiery snakes made an overwhelming impression on people and horses. Frightened horses scurried and carried a crowd of riders, crippling and killing them, creating a terrible confusion, which the Cossacks used, pursuing and chopping down the enemy fleeing in panic. The artillery pieces - light and mountain cannons and unicorns - also made a great impression, especially with their destructive effect in the siege of native fortifications.

The storming of cities was a very difficult matter. The crowded buildings, narrow streets and high adobe fences made it possible for residents to defend themselves for a long time; each garden, courtyard or mosque was a separate fortification, from which it was necessary to knock out the enemy, thus occupying the city step by step and waging a battle on every street. When the troops were stationed at rest and on patrol, company dogs, who went out with lower ranks to their posts, played an important role; they often warned the sentries about the appearance of sneaking enemies, who sought to get the head of a Russian soldier for reward with a robe or a gold coin at all costs. During attacks on the native infantry, company dogs rushed furiously at the sarbazes, helping their masters in hand-to-hand combat.

Guides in the steppe were mainly Kirghiz, who entered the service as horsemen and translators, and many of them were promoted to police officers for their faithful service. In addition, in some detachments, special teams were formed from reliable Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Afghans that took part in hostilities. A long, 25-year service life with continuous movement from Orenburg to the depths of Central Asia educated the Turkestan troops, accustoming them to steppe campaigns in the deserts and developing an amazing tirelessness, thanks to which the infantry sometimes made transitions up to 60-70 versts a day.

Some battalions, formed in Orenburg, were on a continuous march for 25 years, moving from place to place, and their composition was hardened and fired upon people, accustomed to the whistle of bullets and sudden attacks by the natives. All these conditions made it possible to create from the Turkestan troops almost the best units of the Russian army in a combat sense. In terms of battle hardening, on the manifestation of a private initiative, these troops were like Caucasian army the times of Ermolov, Vorontsov and Baryatinsky. The need to have everything with you developed special methods of the marching, bivouac and guard service.

The infantry was armed with rifled rifles of the Karle system, and a small part of the shooters had rifles of the Berdan system No. 1 and a fitting.

The lack of sometimes the required number of camel drivers forced the lower ranks to take care of them, and their inability to pack and take care of these animals often led to spoilage and loss of camels, and only a long stay on campaigns taught people to camels, which gradually replaced horses in the Turkestan troops ...

With regard to the enemy's troops, it must be said that the regular troops of the Bukharians, Kokands and Khivans were kept in small numbers; the so-called sarbozes - the infantry, uniformly uniform, was poorly trained. The foot sarboses were armed: the first line - match guns on bipods, but there were also all kinds of samples of flint, shock and hunting double-barreled guns; the second rank - mainly with melee weapons: batiks, axes (ai-balts) and pikes - and only a few had pistols.

Horse sarboses were armed with lances and sabers, and the first rank also had rifles. The artillery consisted mainly of Persian and local cast iron and copper. These troops were trained mainly by fugitive Russian soldiers, of whom the sergeant of the Siberian army, Osman, gained fame.

The main contingent in the native troops was irregular cavalry, sitting on excellent horses, extremely hardy and able to travel great distances, and the riders were excellent with cold weapons. The cavalry, manned by the Kirghiz, Yumud, and Karakirgiz, who knew the area well, greatly disturbed the Russian troops with unexpected attacks, mainly at night, but, having run into the detachment, immediately at the very first volleys scattered across the steppe, leaving quickly from under the shots, and, usually attacking in large masses, it tried to crush small Russian units in numbers.

The Russian cavalry - the Cossacks - due to the inequality of forces, usually preferred to repel the enemy with fire from a closed formation and attack him also in a closed formation; the Cossacks dismounted, batted or hobbled the horses and, having arranged a shelter from them, sacks, forage reserves, with friendly volleys struck the crowd of enemies from their rifled rifles; after the retreat, they began pursuit, although in some battles they famously attacked in horse ranks.

The infantry, on the other hand, always acted in a close formation, building a square, about which, as a result of well-aimed volleys, the attacks of the natives usually crashed.

Defeating in all major battles, the Russian troops sometimes suffered losses only in small skirmishes, mainly due to the lack of security measures, reconnaissance and some carelessness when moving and on vacation among the native population hostile to the Russians.

But nevertheless, firm devotion to duty, unshakable fortitude and courage prevailed, and the Turkestanis, having broken the troops of the Kokands, Khivans and Bukhars one after the other, won victories over them, thanks to which they included the lands of the conquered states in the number of Russian possessions, making it possible for the population under their protection the vast territory of the Turkestan Territory to begin a peaceful life, engage in agriculture and trade, opening at that time the Central Asian markets for Russian goods.

Thus, the conquest of Turkestan, Khiva, Bukhara and Kokand was completed, thereby fulfilling the behests of Peter the Great.

Notes:

In 1925 the city was named Fergana.

Batovat - “to put riding horses in the field, tying each other; so that they stand still, they are placed side by side, with their heads hither and thither, through one ... if they shy away, then, pulling one forward, the other back, they hold each other ”(V. Dal).