Explanation of A. Sydykov's Service in the Tsarist Administration
The search for one's place in life — this can explain A. Sydykov's service in the colonial administration. Working in the administration, due to the lack of other significant cultural centers in Bishkek, opened up opportunities for A. Sydykov to engage in a more diverse civic life. As the son of very wealthy and influential parents, he was unlikely to be preoccupied with the desire for wealth. According to his daughter N. Bairova, during frequent relocations, his father only took his personal library with him. The first Kyrgyz intelligentsia was passionate about "reading," which characterizes them to some extent. Books were the most valuable capital for them. When asked about his property status, the arrested Sultan Kurmanov, a former manap and later a teacher at a pedagogical college, replied: "I have nothing but books." At over 30 years old, he had not even managed to start a family. Another associate of A. Sydykov, the People's Commissar of Justice Tash Khudaybergenov, brought back the first edition of V. Lenin's works with his last money from a trip to Moscow, which brought tears to his family, who were barely making ends meet (he had 9 children). Service in the tsarist administration opened broader opportunities for A. Sydykov's political growth and career. Another reason for joining the Russian service was the established family tradition started by Baytik Kunaev.
He did not deviate from this rule even in 1916, formally remaining on the side of the tsarist administration. He could have easily switched sides, as some Kyrgyz officials did, to join the rebels and lead the popular resistance, but he understood that since the uprising had already begun and could not be stopped, he would be more useful to his people in the colonizers' camp, informing the rebels about impending punitive operations.
A. Sydykov, like many progressive-thinking Kyrgyz, could not help but sympathize with his people, who were left to be plundered by officials and settlers, feeling the humiliation of his position, as he was primarily seen as a native. The stifling atmosphere of military-feudal, bureaucratic, and national arbitrariness oppressed him. A deep pessimism took hold of the consciousness of the Kyrgyz after the brutal suppression of the 1916 uprising and the prolonged mass repressions under the Provisional and then Soviet governments.
There is no doubt that the Kyrgyz intelligentsia and tribal nobility fully awakened and began to free themselves from illusions only after the bloody suppression of this uprising. Along with the belief in the "good tsar," faith in the possible justice of "Russian" power also disappeared in Kyrgyzstan. On this soil, richly watered with the blood and tears of the people, the first seeds and ideas of national sovereignty began to sprout, for which the generation of A. Sydykov would later be justifiably and rightly blamed.
Historical Perspective of the Kyrgyz People under Soviet Power