Destruction of the Kyshtaks by the Punitive Detachment of Colonel Pichugin
Heroic Resistance of the Uprising Kyrgyz
At the end of November, despite his serious wound received in the battle near Andijan, Pulat-Khan moved from Assak, where he had been for about two months, to the city of Margilan. Along with him, up to 4,000 uprising Kyrgyz with 14 guns arrived in the city. The Margilan residents greeted them with joy. As emphasized by the commander of the punitive detachment Skobelev, who by this time had received the rank of general at the end of 1875 and at the beginning of the following year, the rebels led by Pulat-Khan and Abdurakhman Aftobachi "had... a huge militia concentrated in Margilan and its surroundings," as well as on the left bank of the Naryn River and along the Syr Darya River near Namangan. By mid-December, there were 8,000 to 10,000 Kyrgyz rebels in Margilan, not counting the townspeople. The total number of rebels in this city reached 80,000, led by Pulat-Khan.
The rebels were preparing to resist the punitive detachment. To organize the defense of Assak, Pulat-Khan sent Abdul-Gafar and himself arrived in the city of Kokand on December 15. The residents of the capital city "met him (Pulat-Khan K.U.) with great honor... In addition, various greetings were made to him." By the order of Pulat-Khan, separate groups of rebels were led by Kipchak Batyr-Kul, Kyrgyz Ish-Puta, Uzbek Tana-Berdy, Tajik Isman-Diar, Kaltyr-Sun, and others.
In November and the first half of December, the advanced units of the rebels often appeared on the Namangan-Hodjent road to the north of it, and some of them approached the city of Namangan. During this time, there were a number of skirmishes between the punishers and the rebels in the following kyshtaks: on November 2 — near Kepe, November 12 — in Balikchy, November 18 — in Ashoba, November 30 — Tur-Tyube, December 2 — at Uldzhibai, and December 4 near Baibachi. A large number of rebels participated in these clashes. For example, in the clash in Balikchy, up to 20,000 rebels were involved. Some clashes turned into real battles, in which the rebels fiercely fought against the imperial troops. Thus, on November 18, "the resistance of the residents (of Ashoba—K.U.) was desperate," we read in an archival document, "they shot people from behind barricades and loopholes. The residents did not ask for mercy and perished with weapons in their hands; women threw knives at soldiers and hurled stones at them. The entire population of the kyshtak (Ashoba — K.U.) was slaughtered." The number of those killed among the Ashobans exceeded 250, while the wounded numbered several hundred. The punishers lost three soldiers killed and 14 wounded.
The mentioned kyshtak was barbarically burned. This was not concealed by the commander of the punitive detachment, Colonel Pichugin. In his report dated November 20, 1875, it is stated: "I sent part of the detachment to destroy the kyshtak (Ashoba—K.U.). After some time, it represented a continuous lava of fire, in which the corpses, blocking all the streets, gardens, and yards, burned, along with livestock that had huddled in various corners and all unnecessary property of the detachment. In short, Ashoba was leveled to the ground.
Other kyshtaks located in the mountainous area southeast of Namangan, through which the punishers passed, did not survive either. The latter often left hanging representatives of the indigenous population along their path with an inscription stating that anyone who participates in the uprising or supports it would face the same fate. The punishers did not stop there. They seized valuable items from the rebels and drove away livestock. However, all these brutal actions of the punitive detachment did not yield the desired results. As soon as the punishers withdrew, the workers rose again and again to fight against the oppressors for their freedom.
Fierce Resistance of the Rebels in Autumn 1875 Against the Punitive Detachment
