Pre-Revolutionary Osh
Osh Before the Revolution
In Kyrgyzstan, the largest market was the Osh market. Its turnover increased every year. In 1883, the trade turnover of Osh amounted to 2,752 rubles, and by 1904 it had risen to 4,500 rubles. At the same time, the number of trading establishments in Osh also grew: in 1908 there were 1,035 trading establishments, and in 1914 there were 1,300.
In the late 1870s, road construction works were carried out in southern Kyrgyzstan: clearing pack animal mountain trails, adapting certain sections of caravan routes for horse-drawn transport, and building new wheeled roads.
The roads connecting Osh with Andijan, Jalal-Abad, and Uzgen stood out for their traffic intensity and trade significance in the southern regions. Osh connected Fergana with Semirechye, playing the role of an economic intermediary. The Osh-Khorog route played an important military-political role. The road duty imposed a heavy burden on the households of Kyrgyz workers. For example, in the Osh district in 1905-1906, over 58,000 people performed road labor duty. The length of the roads they repaired exceeded 8,740 versts, and the total cost of the duty was estimated at more than 170,000 rubles.
During these years, the issue of building a railway in the Fergana Valley was being addressed, which was linked to the development of industry in Russia, especially in cotton-growing areas. Some branches of the railway were to pass through southern Kyrgyzstan, for example, from the Assake station to the city of Osh, from the Namangan station to Jalal-Abad via Uch-Korgon, from Andijan to Osh, and others. This had immense economic and strategic significance.
Weak sprouts of enlightenment were breaking through. In 1914, there were 229 maktabs in the Osh district with 3,170 students, including 33 for girls with 511 students. In 1914, there were 88 madrasahs in the Osh district with 1,178 students, including 5 in Osh with 200 students. The public library opened on July 30, 1917, in Osh. The initiator of this good deed was teacher I. A. Chesnokov, whose call was eagerly responded to by both the garrison officials and the townspeople; more than 1,000 rubles were collected for the needs of the library.
The imperialist war weighed heavily on the shoulders of the people. Hatred of the tsar intensified among the peoples.
The explosion of popular discontent accelerated, which in 1916 erupted into an armed uprising that engulfed all of Kyrgyzstan. The uprising was triggered by the tsar's decree on mobilization for rear work. The main driving force of the uprising was the poor. In early July 1916, about 10,000 people—Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and other peoples—gathered near the city of Osh, at the foot of Sulayman-Too, to rise against the tsarist autocracy, for their freedom and independence. Due to the spontaneity and disorganization of the popular movement, and the superiority of the tsarist troops, the uprising was defeated, but it had great historical and revolutionary significance for future events.
News of the victory of the February Revolution of 1917 and the overthrow of tsarism was received with great enthusiasm by the population of the city of Osh. That very evening, in the cinema "Luch," a Temporary Committee was established to govern the city, headed by the large landowner Sydykbay Salikbaev. The head of the city administration was a prominent industrialist and merchant, Drakhlov. In mid-March 1917, a Council of Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies was formed in Osh. Later, on September 3, 1917, a Council of Muslim Workers' Councils was formed in Osh by Kyrgyz and Uzbek workers, and on September 13, just 10 days later, it merged with the Osh Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. During this difficult period, in late May 1917, a united group of the RSDRP was formed in Osh, which included Bolsheviks A. G. Anyushin, Kadyryan Kabulzhanov, M. Sarymsakov, and others. The soldiers of the Osh garrison actively participated in the revolutionary events.
In September 1917, in the center of Turkestan, in the city of Tashkent, the Councils sided with the Bolsheviks. A congress of the Turkestan Regional Council was convened there, which was attended by delegates from the city of Osh—B. Sultanov, Khasanbekov, Saidashov, and others. A significant role in sending Osh delegates to the congress was played by Bolshevik Ivanov, who was then working as a cinema technician at the "Luch" cinema. Thus, the workers of Osh moved from the February Revolution to the October Revolution.
Osh - an important center of handicraft and artisanal production in Southern Kyrgyzstan
