Document No. 4 (December 1877). Report of the Military Governor of the Semirechye Region to the Turkestan General Governor

REPORT OF THE MILITARY GOVERNOR OF THE SEMIRECHYE REGION TO THE TURKESTAN GOVERNOR-GENERAL JUSTIFYING THE NEED TO MOVE THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER OF THE TOKMAK DISTRICT TO PISHPEK AND REQUESTING PERMISSION TO CONDUCT THIS EVENT IN SPRING 1878

City of Verny, December 17, 1877

The city of Tokmak has long been recognized as an inconvenient location for the district administration, and in 1869 the regional administration made proposals to relocate the administrative center to a more suitable place where a city could be established. These proposals referred to areas in Pishpek, Kochkare, and, at my suggestion, Kutemaldakh, but Your Excellency did not consent to any of them. The question of choosing a site for the establishment of a city has remained unresolved for eight years, causing difficulties for merchants and officials in Tokmak. Meanwhile, no families have settled in Kochkare and Kutemaldakh to this day, and it is impossible to say anything definitive about the prospects for settling these areas in the near future. Russian colonization in the Tokmak district is primarily developing along the major postal route and mainly closer to the location of the district institutions. The more populated areas now include the villages of Malyy Tokmak, Alamedin with Pishpek, and Belovodskoye. Although up to half of the proposed number of peasants have settled in Bolshoy Tokmak, the establishment of a city here is impossible, and even further settlement of this area as a peasant settlement must currently be halted. All habitable places are occupied by the current residents, and there is no room to expand for construction, as the outskirts of the settlement would encroach on marshlands. Meanwhile, Pishpek has all the prerequisites for a future city. This area is located at the intersection of four postal roads from Verny, Karakol, Syr-Darya, and Fergana regions, and on the line of telegraphic communication; there is a post office, a telegraph station, and a fairly significant settlement has emerged. The relocation of district institutions from Tokmak to Pishpek will undoubtedly attract traders and industrialists to this area, who will form the basis of the future urban community. Merchants and craftsmen residing in Tokmak, both local natives and those from other Central Asian cities, as I understand, are only waiting for a decision on the establishment of a city nearby to register in one of the urban estates, and with the transfer of the district administration, they will move to Pishpek.

Officials in Tokmak, being in an uncertain situation regarding a permanent place of residence, do not settle firmly in Tokmak, suffering various inconveniences, in addition to those arising from Tokmak's position away from the main postal route. The site for the city was designated back in 1872, and at that time, the district chief was informed of the rules for allocating land plots for houses. There should be no difficulties in this regard. It will only be necessary to draft a project for the layout of the city and demarcate the grazing land, which can be done later, and in any case, it cannot hinder the transfer of district institutions there.

In view of the proposal to move the district administration to Pishpek, the postal department already has an order to open a post office at the Pishpek station (instead of Tokmak), the final relocation of which is only delayed because the other district institutions remain in Tokmak.

Given all the circumstances outlined, I find it necessary to move the district administration, along with the district doctor and midwife, the district judge, the district treasury, and the post office from Tokmak to Pishpek, leaving the other military institutions and military units with the hospital in Tokmak, excluding the necessary number of people from the local military unit for guard duties. There will be no significant expenses required for the relocation of the mentioned institutions. Currently, funds are being allocated for the rental of premises for all these institutions in Tokmak, excluding the district administration. To rent a house for the district administration, it is sufficient to allocate 300 rubles, and to provide 300 rubles for housing for the district chief in exchange for the state building he occupies in Tokmak, which will be provided for the residence of the military chief and his administration, thereby terminating the allocation of housing funds to him from the treasury, which will not incur additional expenses. Part of the local unit, upon transfer to Pishpek, may be quartered in the nearby village of Alamedin. A portion of the state building in Pishpek occupied by the station can be adapted for housing detainees, which will require up to 200 rubles. The remaining expenses will only be for the transfer of officials, the transportation of offices with documents and state property, which, according to the district chief's closest estimates, will require up to 400 rubles. In total, one-time expenses will amount to up to 600 rubles and ongoing expenses to 800 rubles; part of the latter can be covered by the housing funds of the military chief and his administration, which, upon their placement in the state building, should remain in the treasury.

Therefore, I have the honor to request Your Excellency's permission to relocate the aforementioned district institutions from Tokmak to Pishpek in the spring of 1878 and to allocate 1,200 rubles for this purpose.

Lieutenant General Kolpakovsky

Central State Archive of the Republic of Uzbekistan. F.I.-1.OP.27.D.1011.L.1-4 ob. Original.

History of the capital of Kyrgyzstan in documents