Growth of the Population of Osh
“Although the colonial path of development that Central Asia took after its annexation to Russia and its transformation into a raw material appendage of the metropolis hindered industrial development, during this period, more favorable conditions were created than before for the deepening of social division of labor, increasing the commodity nature of the economy, and developing economic specialization in certain areas, which led to significant urban growth,” notes expert on pre-revolutionary history of Central Asian cities O. A. Sukhareva.
The history of Osh and the formation of its population in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is one such example. The dynamics of urban population from 1876 to 1917 is characterized by continuous growth, predominantly due to mechanical movement. Osh, being the largest settlement of the former Osh district of the Kokand Khanate, although it had only a few thousand residents at that time, was chosen by the Turkestan authorities as the district center of the eponymous district of the Fergana region. This circumstance, along with other socio-economic factors (the cessation of feudal strife that tore the khanate apart and adversely affected the economy of urban and rural populations, the establishment of general “calm” in the region, which was so necessary for the development of trade and crafts, improvement of roads, etc.), contributed to the increase in the population of Osh, which became evident as early as the 1880s. According to official sources, in 1880, the population was already recorded at 3,307 people (excluding troops), in 1882 — 7,766, in 1883 and 1884 — 12,976 and 13,538, and by 1885 — about 15,000 people.
It is clear that such rapid growth of the urban population was explained not only by natural internal growth, for which, as already noted, there were more favorable conditions compared to the time of the Kokand Khanate, but also by the influx of incoming population, primarily from rural areas. This source of replenishment of the urban population remained the main one throughout the pre-revolutionary period. The more intensively the laws of class differentiation operated in the kishlak at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the greater the influx of villagers into Osh.
The significant growth of the population of Osh by 1914 (51,701 people) compared to the end of the khanate's rule in southern Kyrgyzstan is explained, of course, not only by the elimination of feudal wars and inter-tribal strife in the region but also by a certain growth in productive forces under the influence of stimulating trade relations with other Central Asian cities and regions of Central Russia, increasing commodity nature of the economy, and the associated strengthening of social division of labor. Moreover, the increase in the trading and industrial contingent that replenished the urban population contributed to the emergence of capitalist relations within the feudal production framework.
The natural and geographical position and developed trade and transport connections of the district city of Osh (implying the comparative proximity to Osh of densely populated kishlaks and cities of the Fergana Valley, numerous surrounding Kyrgyz ails located in the foothill zone of Eastern Fergana, as well as the intensity of caravan communication with Eastern Turkestan, from where there was an annual influx of seasonal workers), and the increasingly significant role of the city as an economic and cultural center in southern Kyrgyzstan at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries clearly affected the diversity of the ethnic composition of its residents. One of the characteristic features of the population formation of Osh (as well as other cities of the former Fergana region) was the diversity of the national composition, but with a clear predominance of Uzbeks. The most important channel for replenishing the urban population was usually the rural district, although its ethnic composition was more homogeneous than that of the city. This is evidenced by brief data on the national composition of the city's population for 1884.
Multinational City
In addition to the usually mentioned permanent compact mass of the indigenous population of the “old city” — the “natives,” among the residents of Osh were also Tatars, Russians, and Jews who settled in the new part of Osh.
The undeniable predominance among the urban population at the end of the 19th century of representatives of the indigenous Fergana population — Uzbeks, as well as other Central Asians (32,552 people in 1897) over the resettled European population (1,080 people) and the significant complication of the national composition of the residents of Osh is established by the materials of the first general census of the country in 1897, despite all its imperfections (the lack of information about the national composition, which had to be established indirectly — based on data about the native language and religion of the residents of Osh).
“By native language,” the population of Osh (34,157 people) was distributed as follows (people):
Turkic-Tatar (?) 32,432
Uzbek and Sart (?) 13
Tajik 107
Russian, as well as
Ukrainian and Belarusian 989
German 45
Jewish 46
Others 337
By religion:
Muslims 32,886
Orthodox 995
Old Believers 5
Roman Catholics 189
Jews 46
Protestants 47
Others unbaptized 9 22
With each decade, the population of Osh constantly increased due to newcomers from surrounding kishlaks and ails, residents of other districts of Fergana and the Turkestan region, and to a considerable extent, migrants from Russia and neighboring countries who found more favorable opportunities for life and economic activities here.
More accurate data on the ethnic composition of the Osh population is provided in the “Reviews of the Fergana Region” from the early 20th century. Thus, in 1908, out of 43,433 urban residents, the largest number were Uzbeks — “Sarts” (39,789) and their relatives, the Karakalpaks (1,606 people). A significant group was represented by migrants from Eastern Turkestan, who settled here from the late 1870s to the early 1880s: Dungans (409 people) and Uyghurs — “Kashgarli” (340 people). These were members of merchant families, and mainly seasonal laborers who arrived annually in search of work in what was known as Russian Turkestan. According to the census, only 7 “Kyrgyz” (Karakyrgyz) lived here, while the number of Kazakhs (“Kyrgyz”) was 274 (!). However, most likely, many local Kyrgyz were included in the latter, as these two nationalities were often not distinguished by tsarist officials. There were 179 Tajiks in Osh, among whom, it should be assumed, were also migrants from Karategin. Representatives of other nationalities were also noted: Tatars — 37 people, Gypsies (Central Asian) — 15, Indians (presumably moneylenders) — 12, Armenians and other migrants from the Caucasus, “indigenous” Jews (Bukharan) — 9. The number of Russians was recorded as 709 people, plus 16 other Europeans. By 1912, the Russian population had increased to 1,457 people.
In 1913, the population of old Osh included already 1,000 Kyrgyz, which may serve as one of the indicators of the intensification of the process of disintegration of patriarchal-feudal relations in the Kyrgyz ails. The “Russian” (European) population of the “new city” also slightly increased.
Statistical data on the class composition of urban residents are understandably absent from official documents, but indirect sources can conditionally serve as information about the estate-class composition of the population. According to the 1897 census, Osh had: nobles (hereditary and personal) — 159 people, Orthodox clergy — 3, townspeople — 167, merchants — 2, peasants — 985, “aliens” — 32,815, foreigners — 3, and individuals of other estates — 21 people. According to regional administration data, in 1908, Osh had: nobles (hereditary and personal) — 234 people, individuals of urban estates (honorary citizens, merchants, and townspeople) — 342, Orthodox clergy — 4, lower ranks with families and privileged Cossacks — 149, and foreigners — 10 people. The main mass of Osh's urban residents consisted of representatives of the indigenous population — 42,694 people.
A comparison of these data shows that alongside the growth of the number of urban residents from privileged estates, primarily the nobility, there was a noticeable increase in the main mass of the working population — urban townspeople.