The Sad Fate of Journalist Boris Tagiyev The writer himself was soon to face further events in his life - a long, remarkable journey filled with incredible stories. By the spring of 1904, he had already written seven books about Central Asia and Afghanistan, three of which were purely artistic. In 1901, Tagiyev was dismissed from service with the rank of lieutenant. He continued to write, working in the editorial offices of "Military Almanac" and "Almanac of the Army and
The Rebellious Son of the Clan Leader On March 2, 1895, Kurmanjan's son, Kamchybek, was executed as a state criminal in the main square of Osh. The author certainly sympathizes with the rebellious son of the clan leader. Rustam-bek describes in detail and with pleasure the appearance of the disgraced offspring of the datka: “A hundred Cossacks from the 6th Orenburg regiment are moving along the Osh road. In chains on a cart sit two Kyrgyz with grim faces. One has a beautiful bandit-like
The Grief of Kurmandzhan Datka In the published essay "Queen Alaya" in "Niva," B. Tagiyev describes the legendary datka in a completely different, very lamentable state: "In one of the numerous gorges of the Alay Range, known as Yaga-chart, a small aul consisting of no more than a dozen yurts huddles under a steep high cliff. But this aul is not like other Kyrgyz encampments. A certain special order reigns here, and the yurts (kibitkas) flaunt beauty and luxury. The
Description of the Mother of the People Alaya by Tageev Kurmandzhan, receiving the "military correspondent" over the years, presents herself in two of her incarnations: first, as a powerful and mighty datka in the glory of her fame, and then as a grief-stricken old woman mourning the untimely death of her beloved son. With meticulousness worthy of a professional historian, Tageev describes these faces of the Mother of the People Alaya in minute detail. For example, in Chapter IV of
Boris Leonidovich Tagiyev Among the many documentary evidences that have immortalized the image of Kurmandzhan Datka, there is also a literary work. Its author was fortunate not only to meet the Alaï queen multiple times but also to be among the close acquaintances of this famous woman. We are talking about a writer who captivated Russian and Western European readers at the end of the 19th century with his remarkable essays and stories about life in Central Asia. They were mainly published in
Ataman of the Semirechye Cossack Army Mikhail Efremovich Ionov When discussing the scientific trophies of the Russian army, it is worth mentioning the name of another outstanding conqueror of Central Asia, General of the Infantry, Acting Ataman of the Semirechye Cossack Army Mikhail Efremovich Ionov. This ambitious Russian officer and researcher of Turkestan was born in 1846 into a noble family in the Oryol province. As a student of the Oryol Bakhin Cadet Corps and the 2nd Military
Adjutant General of the Russian Army Konstantin Petrovich Kaufman The name of another military figure, who not only conquered a significant part of Turkestan but also the minds of Orientalists, is quite well-known. We are talking about Adjutant General of the Russian Army Konstantin Petrovich Kaufman. He is one of the graduates of the Nikolaev Engineering School (now the Military Engineering Technical University). Since 1844, he served in the Caucasus. During the Eastern War of 1853-1856,
General of Infantry Gerasim Alekseevich Kolpakovsky When recounting the lives of Russian military orientalists, it should not be forgotten that most of them are famous not only as scholars but also as unparalleled commanders, as is the case with General Skobelev. Among similar officers who fought for the glory of Russian arms in Turkestan, one cannot fail to mention the name of General of Infantry Gerasim Alekseevich Kolpakovsky. In addition to the fact that this knight of the Orders of St.
How did the "White General" meet the legendary Queen Alai? The situation was as follows. It was the year 1876. That summer, the commander of the Russian troops in Central Asia, General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev, was pressing the last rebel detachments in Alai, who refused to submit to Russia and were fighting under the banner of a holy war against the "infidels" - the jihad. The rebels were led, after the death of their leader - the self-proclaimed Pulat-khan - by the
GIFT TO THE "WHITE GENERAL" When the legendary ruler Alai is mentioned, the name of the conqueror of Kokand, Russian infantry general and adjutant general Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev, inevitably comes to the mind of almost any European interested in the history of Central Asia. The fate of this man, nicknamed the "White General" in the East, is characteristic. It can be considered a kind of standard biography of a Russian officer-orientalist, in which the courage of a
THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA WITH A RIFLE AND A NOTEBOOK And yet, by the end of the 19th century, when the Russian army was triumphantly marching through Central Asia, conquering its last stronghold - the bastions of Kokand, Russia could boast not only of military victories. At that time, no European country knew as much about the Middle East as the Russian Empire. In this regard, it left far behind even its long-standing geopolitical rival - Britain. This turn of events was due to a completely unique
TESTING PAMIR Nevertheless, the members of the expedition passed Lailak - the camp of the Kara-Kyrgyz on March 23. The next day, the expedition members sent some of their Kyrgyz guides back home. “The guys sent by Moldo Bayas served us well all this time, but the time has come to send them back. We generously thanked them by organizing a lavish dinner. The leader of the Kyrgyz group named Baish, young and energetic, asked me for a 'kagaz', a paper of good service. They want to head
IN THE LAND OF THE ALAI KYRGYZ The journey of the French pilgrims to India, during which they became guests of Kurmandzhan Datka, began on June 16, 1885, through the Turkmen village of Rahabad. From there, the travelers moved to Ashgabat, then reached Bukhara, and on August 12, 1886, they arrived in Samarkand. According to L. Stroilov, in Samarkand the travelers “... unexpectedly met with the well-known N.I. Korolkov, who was not only an experienced administrator but also a great connoisseur
ALIEN FROM ANOTHER WORLD However, the Russian reader was informed about some of the Frenchman's adventures in Central Asia even a bit earlier than his compatriots. This is because shortly after G. Bonvalot returned to his homeland in 1888, an article titled "Expedition to Northern India" was published in the 22nd issue of the newspaper "Turkestanskie Vedomosti," which was published in Tashkent that year. In this article, the author noted that the great traveler was
HOW THE SONS OF KURMANDZHAN DATKA HELPED GABRIEL BONVALOT Here is a story about another scholar. Unlike his Russian colleague, he became one of the few Western residents whose paths directly crossed with the fate of the Alay queen. A well-known figure from another continent became her esteemed guest.
TRAVELER ALEXEY FEDCHENKO IN TURKESTAN It is not surprising that the phenomenon of Kurmandzhan Datka caused genuine amazement among Russian and European travelers who visited Kokand, as even educated Western residents of the 19th century knew little about Turkestan. Having explored almost everything on the planet, from New Zealand to Tierra del Fuego, geographers of the past century primarily drew information about Central Asia from ancient Chinese chronicles, only occasionally daring to
Geopolitical Relations Between the Russian Empire and Central Asia It is characteristic that the wider Britain's penetration into Central Asia became, the more intensively the states of the region established diplomatic contacts with Russia. Thus, in 1841, the Khivan embassy of Ishniyaz Mamentniyazov was received in Orenburg, and in 1842, in St. Petersburg - Vaysbai Niyazov and Ishbay Babaev. In 1846, Klychmiyaz-bai Niyazmukhammedov and Shukurulla-bai Miskinov visited the Russian capital,
A New Surge of Anglo-Russian Rivalry in Central Asia was associated with the Russian conquest of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand during the reign of Alexander II. At that time, the process of incorporating Kyrgyz tribes into Russia began, and the question of the allegiance of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz to the Qing Empire arose, as in the cases of Khiva and Kokand, leading to the issue of territorial demarcation. To this end, the Beijing Treaty was signed in 1860, which outlined the border between the
The First Expeditions of the Russian Empire to Eastern Turkestan In exploring the biography of Kurmandzhan Datka, one should not forget that she and her people lived in a territory that was at that time at the forefront of the confrontation between two global superpowers - Britain and Russia. In short, the Kyrgyz, as subjects of the Kokand Khanate, found themselves at the end of the last century in the epicenter of a serious geopolitical game. Moreover, each of them had their own, quite
“THE KYRGYZ PUGACHEV” Thus, since 1873, the struggle of the Kyrgyz people against the tyranny of Khudoyar Khan escalated into a real war, which did not cease until the Kokand ruler left the throne and fled under the protection of the imperial authorities. The reason for this fateful uprising of 1873 was the additional taxation imposed on the Kyrgyz of the southern regions of the Fergana Valley and Alai. It was prompted by a simple reason. In 1865, due to the actions of large Russian military
REVOLT THAT ESCALATED INTO A PEOPLE'S WAR After the defeat in the 1845 uprising, the Kyrgyz rose against the Kipchaks again in 1847. A major battle took place in Namangan in the area of Balikchy, but here too the Kyrgyz were defeated. The main forces opposing them were Kipchak troops led by feudal lords loyal to Muslimkula. Thus began the darkest period in the history of the khanate - the reign of Khudoyar Khan. He ruled three times, being deposed and then restoring his power. The periods
OSH UPRISING OF 1845 In 1845, a major uprising of the Alai Kyrgyz broke out, soon spreading to Osh. The husband of Kurmandzhan, the Alai tribal leader Alymbek, also participated in the uprising. But he would not have lost his head if not for the wisdom of his wife. The future Alai queen, who fatefully crossed his path, became his wife - a life companion, a loyal friend, an advisor, and a support in his days of greatness and adversity. In Alymbek's surroundings in Osh, there were many
CLUSTERS OF WRATH For a researcher, it is not easy to classify the protests against the authorities that occurred at that time even in chronological order, as the Kokand period entered the history of Kyrgyzstan as a series of unending uprisings. However, they usually ended in defeats, followed by bloody reprisals against the vanquished, which sparked new outbreaks of popular anger and... new failures. Thus, the end of one rebellion prepared the ground for the beginning of another. This
DID THE KYRGYZ DOMINATE IN KOKAND? The supreme power among the Kokandis belonged to the khan, under whom a council appointed by him operated. This council included the atalyk (regent), minbashi (thousand-man - a military title), atabek, serker, dasturkanchy, risalachi, mekhtar, naib, udai, kozho-kalyan, kazi-askar, as well as shaykh-al-Islam and other responsible figures. According to one of the chroniclers, Mullah Alim, the second most important position after the khan was held by the amir-i
In which country was born in 1811 the future "mother of the Kyrgyz nation," the ruler of the clan, Alai? Some of our domestic politicians sometimes idealize the past excessively. For example, some see in the Kokand Khanate an idyll of the triumph of patriarchal order.
The Important Political Role of the Kyrgyz in Fergana at the End of the 18th Century With the conquest of the surrounding Kazakhs in 1798, the Tashkent ruler Yunus-Khodja presumably temporarily subordinated the closest Talas Kyrgyz as well. There is evidence that these Kazakhs, and possibly the Kyrgyz of Talas and the upper reaches of the Chirchik, i.e., Chatkal, participated in Yunus-Khodja's campaign against the Kokand ruler who had risen against Tashkent in 1799. This information is
Multi-Step Politics of Kyrgyz Tribes in the Late 18th Century In the late 18th century, Kyrgyz biys Atake and Esengul, disheartened by internal conflicts with the Kazakhs, came to the conclusion that reconciliation was necessary. In 1786, deputies arrived from Kazakh Sultan Khan-Khodzha to the Kyrgyz to negotiate the terms of an agreement, who, while offering friendship, nevertheless... demanded amanats - noble hostages. As reported by the Omsk merchant Zakhar Penyevtov, who traded in Kazakh
The Defiance and Bravery of the Kyrgyz The ambitions of the Qing dynasty and their aggressive policies in Eastern Turkestan in the late 50s-60s of the 18th century tightened the alliance between the Kokand domain, Kyrgyz, and Kazakh tribes, which seriously concerned the Qing authorities, who did not lose hope of subjugating the northwestern border areas. In particular, in the second half of the 18th century, the Chinese made attempts to advance into Naryn, following the route: Terek Pass -
The Performance of Kyrgyz Tribes Against the Conquest Policy of Irdana. In the Sagymbaev version of the epic "Manas," in the chapter "The Campaign Against Beidzhin," there is a thought about the necessity of uniting the Kyrgyz tribes and replacing internal conflicts (in particular, the rebellion against Manas) with participation in the war against an external enemy - the Kalmyks and China under the leadership of a glorious leader. Hyperbolization of events, as a common
Armed Resistance of the Kyrgyz Against Chinese Troops At the same time, Eastern Turkestan became the target of the aggressive expansionist policy of Manchu-Qing China. With the defeat of the Dzungar Khanate, the Qing nearly exterminated its local Oirat population. A century later, A.N. Kuropatkin, who visited Eastern Turkestan, wrote: “The Chinese probably considered their power in Dzungaria to be unstable because this country was acquired without bloodshed.
The Power of the Kyrgyz in the Mid-18th Century Traces of the political activity of the Kyrgyz in the second half of the 18th century can be found not only in Fergana but also in Eastern Turkestan. The most active military leader was the Kuschin feudal Kubad-biy. In this regard, the well-known orientalist P.P. Ivanov called him “one of the outstanding political figures of the second half of the 18th century.” In any case, it is undoubtedly true that Kubad-biy was the most significant of the
The Struggle for Power Among the Political Elite of Kokand So, was the emergence of the future Alaï queen in the close circle of the political elite of Kokand accidental? Of course not: from the very beginning of the existence of the khanate, a number of tribes of the southern Kyrgyz played a significant role in it, having become subjects of the khanate.
The Birth and Change of Dynasties of the Future Alay Queen Before delving into the era in which the Alay Queen was born and lived, it is worthwhile to trace the history of her country's emergence, while also recalling the birth and change of dynasties of its rulers. The emergence of the Kokand Khanate in the early 18th century is associated with the Uzbek feudal lord Shahrokh-biy. In 1709, he founded the royal Ming dynasty, displacing the initially ruling community of khojas,
Names That Became Historical Heritage As is known, the more we do for the good of our country, the more closely the circumstances of our lives intertwine with its fate. What can be said about those whose names have become part of history, such as the name Kurmandzhan Datka... If we analyze it, the most important political decisions of the Alay queen expressed the essence of many deep aspirations of the Kyrgyz people. It is impossible to fully understand their logic without tracing the stages
Kurmandzhan Datka - The Ruler of Alai A wise politician, the ruler of a vast mountainous region, a truly unique phenomenon in the Islamic world of the 19th century. Most historians rightly consider this figure to be a national representative of the aspirations and ideas of her time.
