Assistance of the Tsarist Colonial Authority in Suppressing the Popular Uprising

Mumyn Shamurzakov

In May 1874, 5-6 thousand Kyrgyz, nomadic in Kara Kuldzha, rose up. Led by Mamyr Mergenov, they occupied the village of Bazar-Kurgan, located 8 versts from Andijan. The rebels attempted to take the city of Andijan but were unsuccessful. A punitive detachment of 2,000 soldiers was sent against them. It managed to suppress this uprising and capture hundreds of prisoners, as well as many horses and various trophies. The leader of the rebels, Mamyr, was forced to flee to Russian territory — to the area of Kapka, where on July 15, 1874, at the request of Khudoyar Khan, he was captured by the Tokmak district chief, who feared the spread of the popular uprising, and sent to the Lepinskaya stanitsa under the supervision of the authorities to "remove him from the center of the uprising and simultaneously deprive him of the opportunity to incite our (subjects of Russia - K.U.) Kyrgyz to intervene in the Kokand disturbances." At the beginning of 1877, i.e., only three and a half years later, Mamyr Mergenov was transferred to the Andijan district at the request of his mother, and that "with the establishment of covert supervision over him."

In July 1874, the nomads of Chatkal rose up again. The uprising was led by Musulmanqul, a relative of the former lyashkari — the commander of the khan's troops Alimkul, Mumyn Shamurzakov, and Pulat-khan. As emphasized in the source, in June of that year, "the insurgents (the rebels—K.U.) lured Mumyn to use him (a Russian subject from the Kuramin district—K.U.) in case of success in negotiations with the Russian authorities, with whom they hoped to be on good friendly (our relaxation—K.U.) terms."

The rebels, numbering up to 10,000 people, moved from Chatkal down through the Alabuka gorge towards the city of Kasan. They were joined by Kyrgyz clans from Kytai and others. The number of participants in the uprising significantly increased. They approached Kasan. The rebels captured the tax collector Amlyakdar and several other khan's officials. The beks of the fortresses Chartak and Yangikurgan tried to halt the advance of the rebels near the village of Safid-Bulan, 15 versts from their fortresses. Here, 400 men were concentrated; they could not withstand the rebels, who outnumbered them many times. The rebels acted decisively. On August 1, "the Kyrgyz," it is stated in the archival document, "attacked the Kokandis and drove them back into the fortifications."

There were significant losses on both sides, both for the rebels and for the besieged.

The village of Safid-Bulan, the fortresses Chartak and Yangikurgan were taken by the rebels. The latter took the city of Kasan without a fight, the chief of which fled to Tyure-Kurgan, located near Namangan... The residents of the mentioned villages and the city of Kasan sided with the rebels.

All this seriously worried Khudoyar Khan and his officials, who feared the popular uprising the most. The very next day, i.e., on August 1, 1874, the Kokand khan sent all his military forces of 7,000 cavalry under the command of the commander Abdurakhman Aftobachi and the highest khan's dignitary — the bek of the river Shahrihana Ica-Auliye against the uprising. The battle took place near the city of Tyure-Kurgan. Despite their numerical superiority, the poorly armed and disorganized rebel units were defeated. There were heavy casualties on both sides. Several hundred rebels were captured. Musulmanqul was killed, Pulat-khan fled with the remnants of the rebels into the mountains in the northwestern part of the khanate, while Mumyn Shamurzakov returned to Chatkal.

In the area of Kyzyl-Togai, in the mountains north of Namangan, the remnants of the defeated rebels tried to resist the pursuing punitive forces. But here they were finally defeated by a relatively well-armed regular punitive detachment.

At the request of the Kokand khan, the military governor of the Syr-Darya region diligently sought to imprison one of the leaders of the uprising, Mumyn Shamurzakov. However, executing this proved difficult, as Mumyn was not going to surrender without a fight. He was hiding in the Chatkal mountains, in an inaccessible area called Tash-Suniyan.

Moreover, up to 1,000 yurts of rebels were with him, who were determined to continue the uprising.

Furthermore, representatives of the working population from other regions arrived to join the struggle against feudal-khanist oppression. The military governor of the Syr-Darya region, who was in charge of capturing the aforementioned leader of the uprising, emphasized in his report dated September 21, 1874: "A large number of people are around Mumyn, and he cannot be taken without a fight."

It is no coincidence that this high-ranking tsarist official decided to capture Mumyn by deception. For this purpose, he sent several representatives of the feudal nobility, who held positions as volost administrators and beks in the Aluie-Ata district, to Chatkal. They were accompanied by a group of Cossacks led by a tsarist officer. They were instructed: "To establish contact with Mumyn and convince him to come to Aluie-Ata." Upon arriving in Chatkal, these individuals sent their horsemen with a letter to Mumyn. They invited him to come to them, promising him the protection of the tsarist local authorities. But Mumyn, not trusting them, refused their offer. Then the next day, four influential figures among the envoys of the tsarist local authority appeared before Mumyn. They still managed to persuade Mumyn to come to the area of Idris-Baygambar, where a meeting and negotiations with representatives of the tsarist authority were to take place. Mumyn, naively believing these representatives, came to the agreed place.

Here, on August 24, he was arrested and taken to the city of Auliye-Aga, where he was imprisoned. Mumyn Shamurzakov was subjected to severe punishments "for participating in the uprising of the Kokand Kyrgyz." One could not expect other actions from the tsarist officials who supported the power of the Kokand khan, who by that time had become an official vassal of Russia.

As can be seen from the above, during the period in question, the suppressors of the uprising were the troops of the Kokand khan.

As for the tsarist colonial authorities, they acted as the patron of the Kokand khan and supported him, providing certain assistance in suppressing the popular uprising.

The khan's punitive detachments acted against the rebels with unprecedented cruelty. They looted and burned Kyrgyz ails and villages. The Kyrgyz nomads along the rivers Alabuka, Uryukty, and Kasan were particularly subjected to barbaric looting and murder. The punishers killed almost everyone they encountered. They spared neither children, nor women, nor the elderly. The number of those hanged alone amounted to almost 1,000 people. As can be seen from archival documents, "Due to the lack of gallows, they were hanged on trees." Captain Bessonov, traveling for more than two months through the area where the khan's punitive detachment operated, saw corpses hanging from trees, abandoned houses, and the remains of burned yurts.

The property and livestock of the rebels were plundered by the punishers. The khan's troops, conducting pogroms and leaving smoking ails and villages, returned to the capital of the khanate in the city of Kokand with a huge booty — livestock and property. For the brutal suppression of the uprising of the working Kyrgyz, Kipchaks, and Uzbeks, Abdurakhman Aftobachi was awarded by Khudoyar Khan with the high title of "parvanachi." However, the bloody actions of the khan's punishers could not break the freedom-loving spirit of the rebels and the entire Kyrgyz people. On the contrary, they hardened the indigenous population against those who brought them countless misfortunes. But with the onset of winter, severe frosts, and the closure of mountain passes, the nomads were forced to temporarily cease active actions. They began to prepare for a more decisive struggle for their freedom.

Unsuccessful uprisings of the Kyrgyz rebels in the second half of 1874.