The Andijan Uprising in May 1898
Andijan Uprising
In 1885, Dervish Khan made several attempts to incite the local population of the Margilan and Andijan districts to rise against the Russian colonizers. In 1893, a similar attempt was made in the Kokand district by Babur Khan. However, the uprisings led by Dervish Khan and Babur Khan could not gain widespread support and were relatively easily suppressed.
In May 1898, an uprising arose in the Fergana Valley. In literature, it is referred to as the "Andijan Uprising." The cause of the uprising was the increasing colonial oppression by the Tsarist regime. It involved Uzbek and Kyrgyz peasants from the Andijan, Margilan, and Osh districts. The leader of the uprising was Muhammad Ali Khalif Mulla Sabir Sufi, who was commonly known as Madali or Dukchi (spindle maker) Ishan.
At 8 PM on May 17, more than 200 armed insurgents, equipped with sticks, sickles, daggers, batiks, spears, and some sabers and firearms, left the Tajik kishlak (Min-Tyube) and marched towards the city of Andijan. They divided into two groups, each carrying its own bayrak (banner). One group was led by Madali Ishan on horseback, while the other was led by his close associate Mulla Ziyauddin Maksum. Most of the insurgents walked behind the horsemen. According to a participant in the uprising, Maatmusa, there were many young people among the insurgents. The rebels cut the telegraph wires connecting Andijan with other cities. Residents of Kugchi, Kara-Kurgan, Ochi, Kul, and other kishlaks along the road to Andijan joined the uprising. They were also joined by some peasants from the Osh, Margilan, and other neighboring districts. Within a few hours, the number of insurgents reached 1,500-2,000.
At 3 AM on May 18, the insurgents approached the city of Andijan. They suddenly attacked the Tsarist military garrison, which consisted of 163 soldiers and officers, without harming the unarmed and peacefully sleeping townspeople—Russians. Initially, the insurgents had some success. However, soon the military garrison was put on high alert. The clash lasted only a quarter of an hour, forcing the insurgents to retreat, taking their wounded and dead with them. At the site of the clash, they left 11 dead and 8 severely wounded. The Tsarist military garrison lost 2 non-commissioned officers and 20 enlisted soldiers killed, and 18 soldiers were wounded.
The Andijan Uprising did not end with the described attack on the Tsarist military garrison.
At the same time, residents from several volosts of the Margilan and Osh districts and nomads from Ketmen-Tyube were preparing to rise, attempting to attack military garrisons and Tsarist officials in these district towns.
On the night of May 17-18, near the city of Margilan, peasants gathered under the leadership of Ishan Inoyat Khan. However, they did not dare to attack New Margilan. Most of them dispersed back to their kishlaks and ails. Inoyat Khan, along with a group of insurgents, headed towards the city of Andijan to join the uprising led by Madali Ishan. However, he did not arrive in time, and this planned uprising did not take place.
On Sunday, May 17, about 300 Kyrgyz peasants gathered in the mountains of Naukat in the Ak-Terek area, coming from Karakol-Say, Tamchi-Bulak, the Yapalak community, and other areas of the Osh district. Among the insurgents was the nephew of Kurmanjan Datka—Omorbek, who tried to lead the future uprising, his brother Mulla Atabek, and some other representatives of the feudal nobility. These peasants were armed with sticks, knives, and batiks. They had no firearms, "It was assumed they would fight with whatever they had."
The insurgents intended to attack the military garrison and Tsarist officials in the city of Osh. This was reported to the head of the Osh district by the former volost administrator—nephew of Kurmanjan Datka—Karabak Asanov, and the irrigation elder Ibraimov Chanysh, who were trying to ingratiate themselves with the Tsarist authorities, seeking profit at the expense of the working population that had decided to rise against colonial oppression.
The head of the Osh district, fearing a popular uprising, immediately set out personally at the head of a punitive detachment to Ak-Terek, arriving at dawn on May 18. Upon learning of the punitive detachment, most of the insurgents fled in different directions into the mountain gorges. Among those preparing for the uprising, 20 people were arrested by the punitive forces. Thus, this planned uprising, due to the betrayal of representatives of the feudal nobility, did not gain serious momentum and was suppressed by the Tsarist punitive detachment.
In the third decade of May of that year, several hundred residents of Ketmen-Tyube from the Susamyr volost of the Andijan district rose up. As noted in an archival document, the main participants in this uprising were people "wobbling and attracting suspicion of political unreliability," i.e., impoverished and ruined peasants. The uprising was led by a certain Shadybek Kalpa, who had connections with Madali Ishan. To suppress the uprising, a punitive detachment consisting of several hundred soldiers, Cossacks, and officers was sent. They managed to suppress the uprising and arrest 29 (according to some reports, 54) insurgents, including Shadybek Kalpa, who was over 70 years old. The arrested were taken to Namangan and imprisoned. The suppression of the uprising was significantly aided by the governor of the Susamyr volost, Baktiyar Ryskulbekov, the manap Ashirbay Beshkempirov, and the administrator of the Atekinsky volost of the Pishpek district, Tezekbay Tyulekin. These feudal lords were nominated for government awards.
The Uprising of Jetim Khan and Mamyr Mergenov in Spring 1878.
