The Struggle of the Working People Against the Khans of Kokand and the Tsarist Authority.
In the summer of 1875, a widespread popular uprising erupted in the khanate. It spread across the entire khanate and the regions inhabited by Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, and Tajiks. In historical literature, this uprising is referred to as the "Kokand Uprising," which does not fully correspond to its content, scale, and scope. Like previous uprisings, it was triggered by the sharply increasing feudal-khanist oppression.
The situation was worsened by the fact that by this time, not to mention the extensive areas under Kokand's control, including Semirechye inhabited by Kazakh and Kyrgyz nomads, a significant part of the territory of the Kokand Khanate had been annexed by Russia. Now, the greedy Khudoyar Khan attempted to impose the taxes and levies he had previously collected on the remaining population under his control. The increase in tax burdens weighed heavily on the shoulders of the working people and led to the uprising of the Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik peoples in 1875-1876. An eyewitness to this uprising, the well-known orientalist who studied the history of the Kokand Khanate, A.
Kun noted that "...August 1875 and the subsequent period showed how deeply rooted the disease of widespread discontent against the khan and his entourage had become, who were suffocating the people with excessive taxes, bribery, violence, and similar actions. The Kokand Khanate was still (January 1876, K.U.) known to be engulfed in internal disorder." V.P. Kotelnikov, who was interested in the history of Fergana, where this uprising took place, emphasized:
"The people's feelings were too deeply offended by injustice, and by the end of the summer of 1875, the general discontent against the khan and his entourage, who were suffocating the people with excessive taxes, bribery, violence, and similar actions, finally expressed itself in an open mass uprising in the capital and the overthrow of Khudoyar Khan's government." The periodical press of that time also noted that the uprising of 1875-1876 was caused by the extremely despotic and harsh rule of Khan Khudoyar. Even a high-ranking tsarist official, such as General-Adjutant von Kaufman, could not deny the true cause of this uprising. In one of his reports from that time, we read: "In the winter of 1874-1875, discontent against the khan increased and finally, by the spring of 1875, it encompassed the entire population of the khanate, both nomadic and sedentary. In the eastern part of the khanate, the Kipchaks and Kyrgyz were gathering again." However, the provided data sufficiently testify to the main causes of this uprising.
The unrest, which quickly turned into an open uprising against the khanist-feudal oppression, arose in early June 1875 in the regions of Uzgen and Laylak. It was led by Mulla Iskak Asan ogly, "who served as the banner of last year's (1874, K.U.) uprising in Chatkal," and who appeared under the name Pulat Khan — a nephew of Khudoyar Khan. The uprising gained wide momentum and spread across the entire southeastern part of the khanate, especially the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan. Such a scale of the uprising was facilitated by the widespread and general discontent of the working masses of the region.
Khudoyar Khan sent his main military forces against the rebels, led by Abdurakhman Aftobachi, Isa Auliye, and Khal-Nazar Ishik Agasy. Additionally, 5,000 troops with artillery were dispatched from Andijan under the command of Khudoyar's eldest son Nasr Eddin. On July 17, these punitive detachments switched sides to the rebels. Seeing the wide scope and numerical superiority of the insurgents, the leaders of these punitive detachments, pursuing their own selfish interests, joined the rebels and attempted to use the uprising for personal gain.
The insurgents captured Osh, Namangan, Andijan, Assake, and other cities whose inhabitants joined them. They approached Margilan, which they soon occupied. The governor of this city, Khudoyar Khan's brother Muhammad Alim-bek, with 4,000 troops joined the rebels. Now the insurgents were approaching the capital of the khanate, the city of Kokand, where unrest against Khudoyar and the feudal elite surrounding him was growing. The tsarist official — Collegiate Councillor Weinberg, who was then in Kokand and tried to openly defend Khudoyar Khan with his detachment, emphasized that "...the news of the insurgents' approach had a strong impact on the residents.
The unrest in the city was intensifying. The khan could not count on the sympathy of the people. It was impossible for us (referring to both Khudoyar Khan and himself — K.U.) to remain in the city due to the agitated state of the people." Another high-ranking representative of the tsarist colonial authority — the military governor of the Syr-Darya region, in his report dated July 19, 1875, noted with alarm: "The entire khanate, from the center to the outskirts, is engulfed in the flames of rebellion." Indeed, all the working population of the Kokand Khanate and some areas that were part of the Turkestan General Governorship rose up.
Khudoyar Khan, who had already been overthrown and expelled from the country three times before, panicked upon receiving alarming news of the general uprising and could not take any measures. Collegiate Councillor Weinberg, who was with the khan in Kokand during those days, noted that "Khudoyar Khan was completely disheartened, surrounded himself with dervishes, and constantly divined. He did not rely on those around him or the Kokand garrison and thought of seeking help from your Excellency, i.e., the Turkestan Governor-General Kaufman.
Popular Movements in Central Asia in the 19th Century