The Capture of Pishpek
In October 1862, the Kyrgyz of the Solto tribe, inhabiting the central part of the Chui Valley, rose up. The reason was the arbitrariness and violence of the Kokand khans and their governors, and the immediate cause was the gross insult to the son of Baytik, Baisal, by the commandant of the Kokand fortress Pishpek (Bishkek), Rahmatulla. The rebels, led by Baytik batyr, acted decisively and boldly. Despite the presence of a strong Kokand fortress at Pishpek, the insurgents employed some cunning. The named batyr intended to deceitfully lure Rahmatulla to his aiyl as a guest in Akchye. Baytik arranged a large toiy, inviting Rahmatulla to it. Upon arriving at Baytik's with a detachment of 60 armed warriors—sarbazs, Rahmatulla ordered that the horses not be let out to pasture but kept ready near the yurt.
To complicate Rahmatulla's retreat, Baytik ordered the stirrups of the Kokand sarbazs' horses to be quietly cut. As the toiy was coming to an end, Baytik's brother, Baigazy, signaled to surround the yurt.
The sarbazs, having overturned the yurt and fighting off the attacking Kyrgyz, put Rahmatulla on a horse and allowed him, accompanied by a few guards, to break out of the encirclement, but Baytik's dzhigits caught up with them not far from Pishpek, and the manap Kokum Choybekov mortally wounded Rahmatulla with a spear. One of the sarbazs, released by the Kyrgyz, ran to the fortress and reported what had happened and the death of Rahmatulla. The Kokand garrison of Pishpek, numbering 600 men, took defensive positions, while the Kyrgyz present in Pishpek at the markets were detained as hostages.
Baytik batyr, besieging Pishpek, immediately informed other Kyrgyz manaps, particularly the Sarybagysh. Their main manap, Jantai, immediately set out with his dzhigits against Tokmak and surrounded it. However, the rebels were unable to capture these two fortresses. Nevertheless, the Kyrgyz decided to begin a prolonged siege, hoping to exhaust the supplies of food and ammunition in the fortress.
Incidentally, the besiegers managed to take Tokmak and destroy it. But the fortress of Pishpek did not surrender.
Therefore, the rebels, led by Baytik, decided to seek help from the chief of the Alatau district, Kolpakovsky, who was in the fortress of Verny (now Almaty). They sent Baytik's brother, Satylgan, with a request to send a detachment and artillery. Soon, on the evening of October 13, 1862, Kolpakovsky's detachment surrounded the Pishpek fortress and began siege works. Baytik arrived with his dzhigits to Kolpakovsky and expressed his readiness to assist him—providing pack animals, food, armed dzhigits, and laborers. The Kokand forces defended stubbornly. Only after 11 days, on October 24, were they forced to surrender. The fortress of Pishpek was taken. The Kyrgyz, led by Baytik, played an active role in this. This is noted in the report of the commander of the Siberian Corps to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia dated January 5, 1863: "Manap Baytik willingly supplied our troops with livestock, yurts, and horses for patrols during the siege, and after the capture of the fortress, he greatly assisted in its destruction, sending 500 Kyrgyz daily for this purpose." For his services in the capture of the fortress of Pishpek, Baytik was awarded a gold medal on the Anna ribbon to be worn around the neck. The capture of Pishpek and Tokmak was of great significance: the Kokand dominance over the Kyrgyz tribes of the Chui Valley was effectively destroyed, and the indigenous people accepted the allegiance to Russia.
In the prevailing historical situation, Baytik linked the fate of his people and their liberation from the dominance of the Kokand Khanate with Russia, which was firmly determined to seize all of Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan.
However, Baytik did not know and could not foresee that Tsarist Russia, having seized the region, would establish a harsh regime of colonial oppression and lawlessness here. He, like some other prominent manaps, hoped that the Kyrgyz, freed from the oppression of the feudal despotic Kokand Khanate with the help of Russia, would live more freely under its protection. Moreover, during the first decade, the Tsarist administration did not tax the indigenous population, exempted them from military service, and did not commit arbitrariness and violence. Therefore, Baytik batyr, although previously forced to reckon with the Kokand khans and serve them, now stood against Kokand dominance. In doing so, he sought help and protection from Russia.
The May Uprising of 1858 in the Southern Regions of Kyrgyzstan