The Aspiration of the Population of Southern Kyrgyzstan to Accept Russian Citizenship After the Uprising of 1873-1874.
The Incorporation of Kyrgyz into Russia after the Uprising of the Population of Southern Kyrgyzstan
During the rule of the Kokand Khanate, the akim of the city was the son of Alymbek, Jarkynban. After his death, his brother Abdyldabek became the akim. He was born in 1832, a year after the marriage of Alymbekhan and Kurmanjan datka; however, there are other facts suggesting that Abdyldabek was born not in 1832 but in 1835. When Alymbek ruled Andijan as well, he educated his son Abdyldabek in religious schools, teaching him how to govern the khanate. During Alymbek's khanate, his sons ruled in Gulcha, Naukat, Osh, Uzgen, etc. When Alymbek died, Abdyldabek was thirty years old, and he, accompanied by his mother Kurmanjan, went to the Kokand Khan Kudaikhan and subsequently became the akim of the city of Osh. On July 26, 1876, in a letter to General Skobelev, he wrote that he had deceitfully accepted noble people into his circle and later exiled them to Siberia, such as Nasir, Abdurakhman, and others. Generally, they were first given high positions and then exiled. Abdyldabek died in 1876 while returning from Afghanistan. He was 41 years old. Later, his great-grandson, Academician M. Adyshev, became the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR.
As is known, the Muslim religion does not allow women to enter mosques or appear in public places. Religious customs prohibit women from walking with their faces uncovered and compel them to wear special coverings—chador, paranja, or chachvan—condemning women to seclusion. F. Efremov recounts: “With my interpreter, I climbed Suleiman-Too. After a while, about 25 men in striped robes and one woman in a paranja ascended to the top of the mountain. They stopped near a white house. The woman and one man moved ahead; she removed her paranja and, bending down, put her head into a hollow. At that moment, the man pushed her, and she fell down, dying on impact. After a while, they buried her at the foot of the mountain. As I later learned, she turned out to be a victim of her husband's jealousy” (from the materials of the Osh Museum). The cult buildings in the city of Osh are most often associated with the names of benefactors who financed the construction of such structures as the mosque of Muhammad Yusup Baykhodji-oglu, the mosque of Sydykbay, the mosque of Rabat Abdullah Khan, the mosque of Shabakhreyb-khodji, the madrasah of Alymbek, and the kari-khala of Mullah Muhammad Ibrahim Khodji, among others.
Suleiman-Too is well-known in most Arab countries. The rocky mountain of Suleiman, located in the western part of the city, is over 1,600 meters long and 85-130 meters wide. The height of the mountain is 100-130 meters, with an absolute elevation of 1,106 meters above sea level. Compared to the Capitol Hill in Rome, Suleiman-Too stands much higher and offers a beautiful view. Moreover, it is sacred and considered the second Mecca. On average, over a million pilgrims ascend the mountain annually. There was a time when, in the fervor of militant atheism, everything was destroyed, including the religious shrine of the peoples—the house of Babur on Suleiman Mountain, which was destroyed in 1963. In 1988, the people restored it using the method of ashar, proving the necessity of careful treatment of historical monuments of the past, as they are not only pages of the history of Kyrgyzstan but also of the spiritual history and culture of all humanity. Victor Hugo said: “Great buildings, like high mountains, are creations of centuries... Here time is the architect, and the people are the masons.” Thank God that the house of Babur has been restored, and Suleiman Mountain continues to serve the people, reminding them of a glorious past. A bright page in recent years was the visit in 1995 by Benazir Bhutto, the celebrated daughter of Pakistan (then Prime Minister of Pakistan), who is a descendant of the great Babur. When she visited the land of her ancestors, she prayed to God to give her a son, and this dream came true. Notably, among the events celebrating the 3,000th anniversary of the city of Osh, there are plans to improve the house of Babur.
In the first quarter of the 19th century, the campaigns of the Kokand military leaders Beknazarbiya and Saidykulbek completed the conquest of the southern lands of Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz people, under the yoke of the Kokand khans, bore the heavy burden of numerous taxes in favor of the khans and the clergy.
In 1843, Khudoyar Khan was proclaimed the Khan of Kokand, and a representative of the Kyrgyz feudal lords, Musulmanqul, came to power as regent. In 1845, an uprising of the Kyrgyz occurred near Osh, supported by the residents of Osh. Musulmanqul personally led the suppression of the uprising, which was crushed, and its participants were severely punished. Khudoyar Khan ordered to “wipe” all Kyrgyz and Kipchaks off the face of the earth. They were killed everywhere, starting from Osh, in cities, markets, and villages. Over 20,000 people were barbarically killed within three months.
The hatred towards the khans and their accomplices—the feudal lords—provoked a secondary uprising in 1873-1874. The Uzbeks from the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan and the city of Osh joined the uprising. Although the uprising ended in defeat, it had progressive historical significance. It undermined the foundations of the Kokand Khanate and intensified the aspiration of the population of Southern Kyrgyzstan to accept Russian citizenship.
The news of the incorporation of the Kyrgyz into Russia was met with joy by the majority of the population. In a telegram from Kolpakovsky to Kaufman dated February 9, 1876, it is stated that the incorporation of Kyrgyzstan into Russia was “...celebrated by the people solemnly... the streets of the city and the market were illuminated. Along the road, the residents of the villages behaved joyfully.”
Sultan Babur about Osh
