Conducting Land Reform
The issue of land use became urgent. Based on the law on the socialization of land adopted by the Soviet government, work began on the expropriation of land from former landlords and non-working elements. Steam, water, mills, sawmills, brick, leather, cheese-making, and oil factories were transferred to the jurisdiction of the volost and district councils or handed over to agricultural communes and cooperatives. At this time, the land department of the Pishpek district council in 1918 was undergoing an organizational period, and its management was transferred to the administration of state property of the former resettlement administration. The department faced a severe shortage of technical personnel: specialists in land surveying, hydraulic engineering, economics, water use, and statistical data on land and population. The activities of the department did not meet the new requirements of the land use law. Meanwhile, there were numerous requests from the landless population for seed loans and land allocation. Relations between the Kyrgyz and Russian populations were exacerbated due to the unresolved land use issue. These issues could be resolved through the implementation of land reform.
In 1918, the Department of Public Education of the Pishpek District City Council achieved significant improvements in public education. All old schools and gymnasiums were transformed into primary and secondary schools. New Soviet programs were introduced in them. In the district and city, there were: 5 first-grade primary schools in Pishpek, 2 second-grade secondary schools, 2 Tatar primary schools, and 2 first-grade Dungan schools. Additionally, there were first-grade primary schools in the villages of Lebedinovka, Pavlovka, Vorontsovka, Moldovanka, Vasilyevka, Voenno-Antonovka, Sokuluk, Felbaushka — 2, Belovodsk — 2, Bekbaevka, Petrovka — 2, Nikolaevka, and others. Pishpek had vocational schools and agricultural schools. A total of 115 teachers worked in all these schools.
During the first year of Soviet power in the city and district, the following were created and operated: an extraordinary investigative commission to combat hostile elements, a workers' and peasants' inspection overseeing the activities of economic and public organizations and fighting bureaucratism in the administrative apparatus. The Council of National Economy, which directed handicraft and industrial enterprises. Judicial bodies fought against individuals violating Soviet legality. The survey sheet of the Pishpek City Administration dated August 10, 1918, indicated that Soviet power in the district was on solid ground.
Strengthening Soviet Power in Pishpek