Descriptions of Osh by Russian and Foreign Travelers
After the dissolution of the Kokand Khanate, the Fergana region was established in its territory as part of the Turkestan General Governorship. The sizes of the new administrative units—districts—were initially determined by the borders of the former vilayets with their bekstans and sarkerstans. In the Osh district, the Bulak-Bashinsk bekstan and the Osh sarkerstans initially remained, but later they were replaced by volosts. The city of Osh became the district center of the Fergana region, with Major Ionov, a companion of Skobolev, appointed as its chief. Here, as in the regional and provincial centers, the imperial authorities decided to establish a new "Russian city," south of the existing old Osh, upstream along the Ak-Bura River. The first builders and inhabitants were ordinary Russian soldiers. From March 10, 1876, when the 4th Turkestan Line Battalion was stationed in Osh, all its personnel spent the entire spring and summer building barracks, warehouses, and new houses. The city commandant became Lieutenant Colonel P. G. Rodzyanko.
Unlike the ancient Uzgen and the well-known "holy" attractions of Jalal-Abad, by 1917, Osh underwent significant changes: it expanded territorially, its population increased significantly, and the composition of its residents changed. However, as before, the quarters near trading and cultural sites remained more densely populated, while the city outskirts were less so, sometimes (especially along the roads leading into the city) transitioning into continuous gardens, fields, and grazing pastures for livestock.
Brief but interesting descriptions of Osh, its old and new city, were left by Russian and foreign travelers. For instance, Guillaume Capu, a participant in the French-Kyrgyz expedition to Pamir in the 1880s, wrote: "From the height of the terrace of the district chief's house... a view of the city of Osh opens before us, resembling a chaotic cluster of yellow adobe houses crowded among tall poplars, like a boulder on a large construction site. At its edge rises an unusually shaped solitary mountain with the white spot of the Takhte-Suleiman mosque on it, or Solomon's throne."
An interesting impression of the new part of the city and its main street was left by the Englishman Dunmore, who visited Osh on December 29, 1892: "We entered a long street lined with poplars on both sides, with quite good coverage. We passed by a large number of one-story houses resembling Indian huts, but built at a significant distance from each other. This street mainly housed officers' houses, barracks for Russian soldiers, a prison, as well as other public institutions—post office, telegraph, various civil and military establishments. There were also several shops located off to the side, under the poplars."
Here is another description left by the Russian traveler I. P. Yuvachev, who visited Osh on March 16, 1907, at the suggestion of the editorial board of the magazine "Historical Herald": "I arrived in Osh in the middle of the night and stayed at the only hotel on the main street of the city. The rooms were relatively clean.
Early in the morning, I was already walking around the city. Behind the cathedral, there is a large square. Around are government buildings. Further on—military.
Along the mountain river Ak-Bura stretches a large garden, as silent and lifeless at this time of year as the Andijan gardens.
On the swift Ak-Bura stands a wooden bridge with artificial embankments on the banks. The dam and dikes show what a struggle the river has in large floods. Rarely does a year go by without the "muddy" (from melting snow in the mountains) water washing away the Ak-Bura bridge. Now they have decided to build a caisson bridge.
I was directed to the other side of the stony river, to the vast park of the district chief. His spacious house is located on a hill among a beautiful grove of trees. This place, very picturesque and healthy, once belonged to the Kokand khans. From here, there is a lovely view of the entire valley of the upper reaches of the Syr-Darya River."
We have provided extensive excerpts about the external appearance of the city of Osh, which were captured in the publications of foreign and Russian travelers, because they allow us to form the most vivid impression of the city. Indeed, it should be noted that there was no particularly sharp contrast between the central part of Osh and its outskirts, which is so characteristic of large industrial cities in European Russia, although overall low density of construction was observed. However, another contrast was emerging and becoming more pronounced, unanimously noted by contemporaries: between the old—"native"—city and its new, "Russian" part created by the imperial administration. Characterizing the old part of the city, a Muslim newspaper published in Orenburg wrote: "As in many cities of Turkestan, in the city of Osh, the houses are built haphazardly, the streets are narrow, uneven, and winding." The new part of the city was already being constructed according to a plan.
The very organization of the urban territory creates one of the features characteristic of each individual city. For the urban lands of Osh, the absolute predominance of extensive estate territory over the relatively small area occupied by market squares, streets, government and administrative buildings is characteristic. Agricultural lands gave Osh, like many other ancient Central Asian cities, an even more semi-rural appearance.
First Generalized Statistical Data on Land Ownership in Osh
The first generalized statistical data on land ownership in Osh dates back to early September 1882, when the surveyor of the Osh organizational commission, senior land surveyor Ivanov, signed the first plan of the city. The total area of the urban allotment was 2873 desyatinas 680 square sazhen, including the territory of the newly developing upper, or new ("Russian"), part of the city, with 2222 desyatinas 720 square sazhen of arable land, 422 desyatinas 720 square sazhen of non-arable land, 52 desyatinas 1500 square sazhen of government land, and just slightly less of waqf land—51 desyatinas 1340 square sazhen (including 10 desyatinas 730 square sazhen of non-arable land). The latter indicates the remnants of a still quite significant land ownership of the Muslim church within the city limits.
More detailed information about the urban allotment and its various categories is provided in the cartouches of the two subsequent plans of the city—1888 and 1912. The basis of the 1888 plan, compiled by the surveyor of the Fergana regional administration Ryichkov, was the 1882 plan, verified during a repeated survey and clarified by the Osh land surveyor Popov.
The numerical data in the cartouches of these plans almost completely coincide, and from the 1888 plan, it is evident that under the river and canals within the city, there were 41 desyatinas 100 square sazhen. During the survey of the "internal situation" of the urban allotment of Osh in 1888, it turned out that: under the urban quarters, buildings, and gardens—1015 desyatinas 605 square sazhen, under the streets, alleys, and public squares of the city—140 desyatinas 350 square sazhen, under cemeteries—16 desyatinas 1085 square sazhen, under mosques and gardens ("groves") near them—11 desyatinas 1085 square sazhen, under arable land—380 desyatinas 2230 square sazhen, under steppe—1200 square sazhen; under the "steep banks of the Ak-Bura River and the stony mountain of Suleiman"—76 desyatinas 1950 square sazhen. In total, the city accounted for 1742 desyatinas 1420 square sazhen of such heterogeneous territory.
This area of the urban allotment (all arable and non-arable land) was recorded in 1912 as well. Although the borders of the city itself did not change over the past three decades, the total amount of urban allotment land decreased by more than 1000 desyatinas of arable land, which was transferred to the Osh volost, where all the peasant townspeople were registered. By 1910, the area of Osh was 17 square versts.
Having expanded little territorially by 1917 at the expense of the surroundings, Osh did not rise in height either, except for the increasing minarets of the mosques. The spatial growth of the city, or rather its residential part, was associated with the construction of new single-story buildings in the upper part of the city. An idea of the growth of residential construction is given by the following data: at the end of the 1870s, there were about 1000 households in Osh, and at the beginning of the 1880s—2834; according to data from 1900—4468; by 1904—6166. The overwhelming majority of Osh's townspeople lived in houses made of adobe bricks with frame extensions. There were only 3 houses made of fired bricks and the same number of frame-type houses, while wooden residential buildings were completely absent.
Except for 25 houses covered with iron, all the others had thatched and flat clay roofs. The type of housing remained the same later, but its quantity continued to increase, although more slowly in the following decade. By 1910, there were 6316 houses in Osh, and by 1914—6449. Thus, residential construction grew almost 6.5 times over three and a half decades.
Construction of the "New" City
With the increase in the number of residents, its populated part became somewhat denser, and the organization of urban lands became more complicated. At the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to four unpaved squares (with a total area of 15 desyatinas 1800 square sazhen), there were 117 streets and 75 alleys in Osh, with a total length of 126 versts, and by 1910—already 137 versts. However, the length of paved streets was insignificantly small—only 4 versts, and sidewalks (made of gravel and pebbles, partly from fired bricks) were even less—only 1 verst. It is clear that all relatively well-maintained streets, lined with trees along the canals (there were only 3 versts of them), and "properly arranged" sidewalks appeared only in the "new" city, which received some attention from the district administration. In 1917, the total area of the city, distinguished, as already noted, by its vastness due to the overall significance of estate places (also more spacious in the new part of the city) with gardens, amounted to 1742 desyatinas 1420 square sazhen (besides 25 desyatinas 1200 square sazhen of government land).
The site for the construction of the "new" city, occupying an area of 95 desyatinas, was chosen by the imperial authorities somewhat south of the "old" Osh, upstream along the Ak-Bura River. In its layout, the new part of the city, where the streets were laid out in a chessboard pattern and intersected at right angles, favorably differed from "native" Osh and other ancient Central Asian cities and settlements with many narrow winding streets and dead ends, with dense residential construction. Around the Orthodox church, a square was laid out, and directly opposite it—across the street—was a park that stretched almost to the river, the banks of which were connected by a bridge. Through it, the road led directly to the large stone house of the district chief. In 1898, this house stood on a hill half a verst from the main construction in the new part of Osh.
In this part of the city were located the post station where visitors stopped (there was no hotel in the city for a long time), the post and telegraph office, treasury, officers' assembly, hospital, parish school, Russian-native school, and, of course, barracks.
In response to constant complaints from townspeople and in anticipation of the occasionally visiting new authorities on tours of the region or province, at the beginning of the 20th century, the district administration hastily carried out some external improvements, primarily to ensure that travel and passage through the streets of Osh "was convenient at any time of the year." Thus, in 1907-1908, a concrete bridge was built over the Ak-Bura River, and in the city garden—the only gazebo, two streets in the center were covered with gravel, and sidewalks were laid in some places. In 1906, the length of paved streets constituted 1/30 of the total length of the streets. That year, the first long-awaited slaughterhouse with a facility for washing intestines was also built.
The police station and prison in Osh were located in government buildings, which, however, even according to official documents, left "much to be desired." The prison—a dilapidated old building, like the detention center, was constantly overcrowded from 1908 to 1914, and the prisoners held in custody were in the most terrible conditions.
Development of the City
At the end of the last century, there was only one lantern in all of Osh. A decade later—already (what progress!) 63 lanterns, including 8 kerosene lamps. On average, there was 1 lantern for every 1.5-2 versts of streets. However, it should be noted that with the organization of street lighting, as well as the emergence of public transport in the municipal economy, there was only a slight shift in pre-revolutionary Osh compared to the khanate times. In 1903, there were 11 cab drivers in the city, and there was an approved fare set by the authorities: 15 kopecks to the end of the "new" city, 40 kopecks to the end of the "old" (and the same for 1 hour of travel). Such a significant difference in fare was explained not only by the different lengths of the "ends," but apparently also by the complicated conditions of movement in the old city with its many narrow winding alleys and dead ends, crowded with masses of people in the areas adjacent to trading points, especially on Fridays and market days.
The Muslim newspaper "Vakt" reported in 1913: "In Osh, there is a postal and telegraph point. The mail is carried from Andijan by horse.
Passengers from Andijan travel by carriage..., by horse and in postal diligences. Three to four years ago, an automobile route began."
The growth of the city, as we see, was not accompanied by a corresponding development of the backward, dwarfed municipal economy, which was almost not financed from the city budget. It is not surprising that in the questionnaire of the Central Statistical Committee, which collected information about the cities of the Fergana region, the Osh district chief answered negatively to many points: "there is no water supply in the city," "there is no sewage," "there are no fire brigades," and so on and so forth.
Water supply always plays an important role in the life of a city, and in the conditions of Central Asia even more so. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, the water supply of Osh for domestic needs, agricultural and industrial activities of townspeople was still based on the ancient canal system of water use from the Ak-Bura River. Hence all the ensuing negative consequences, in particular, the acute shortage of water in the summer (especially in dry years) in places far from the river and canals, and significant water pollution as one moves away from the river, etc.
With the growth of the population and urban construction in Osh, the problem of maintaining the city in proper sanitary condition became increasingly acute: the removal of polluted waters, all kinds of waste and refuse. The Osh administration relied on "the age-old experience and common sense of the townspeople...". As reported by the district chief, the waste was partly taken to the fields, partly disinfected (in some public places and yards of "intelligent" homeowners in the new part of the city) and buried in pits "without harm to the yards (!), due to the deep occurrence of groundwater," and so on. It is clear that as a result of such "care" from the authorities, the overall sanitary condition of the city not only remained extremely unsatisfactory but also noticeably worsened with the growth of Osh and its population.
Such was the district of Osh and the changes that occurred in it by 1917 compared to the time of the dominance of the Kokand Khanate, which, to a certain extent, deepened the national and social contradictions in the life and everyday life of its working population and the urban exploitative elite.