Battle of the Rebels with the Punitive Detachment
News of the success of the rebels in the city of Kokand and the expulsion of the hated Nasr-Edin soon spread throughout the khanate, instilling hope for the possibility of a successful struggle for social and national freedom. They triggered a significant rise in the people's movement. The uprising continued to strengthen, gaining wide momentum. The rebels interrupted communication between Khojent and Namangan. The rebels were approaching these cities. All this greatly worried the tsarist colonial authorities.
At the request of Nasr-Edin Khan, a new punitive detachment was organized, led by the head of the Namangan department, Skobelev.
The tsarist soldiers, as always, tried to instill fear in the indigenous population, especially among the rebels, thus discouraging them from rising up. This is what was stated in the order of the military governor of the Syr-Darya region dated October 18, 1875: "To announce in all kystaks and auls to the local authorities that if the population under their jurisdiction participates in the gang (the rebels—K.U.), hides them, or assists these gangs in any way, then the kystak or aul will be destroyed, and their leaders will be subjected to deserved punishment." However, this threatening order did not instill fear among the indigenous population; on the contrary, it once again revealed the true face of tsarist power and raised the working people for further struggle.
On October 18, the punitive detachment "met fierce resistance from the residents of the kystaks Ak-Djar and Ashob." However, the latter could not withstand the regular army and suffered defeat. The punitive detachment destroyed the kystak Ashob to the ground, brutally punishing its residents. The same fate befell the kystak Ak-Djar and its inhabitants.
Nevertheless, the uprising as a whole was developing successfully. In the 20s of October, its ranks numbered several tens of thousands of people. One of the groups of rebels, consisting of 10-12 thousand people, was led by the former Namangan bek Batyr-Tyurya. On October 25, the rebels approached the city of Namangan, where the administration of one of the departments of the Turkestan General Governorship and the newly formed punitive detachment were located. As noted by an eyewitness of this uprising, "all the urban population joined them (the rebels—K.U.)."
The battle of the rebels with the punitive detachment lasted for several days. The actions of the rebels were characterized by persistence and were offensive in nature. A.I. Makshyev noted that "for three days the garrison of the citadel repelled desperate attacks from the Kipchaks and armed residents (of Namangan—K.J.), occasionally making sorties into the streets of the city, supported by actions from the troops in the camp" (located outside the city—K.U.). However, the efforts of the rebels were unsuccessful. On October 27, near Namangan, the rebels were defeated.
Nasr-Edin Khan, who dreamed of regaining power with the help of high-ranking tsarist officials, decided to take advantage of this temporary defeat of the uprising. To this end, on October 31, he wrote an appeal to the residents of the city of Kokand, which stated: "Can the residents of the capital of the khanate endure the rule of the people appointed over them by Pulat-bek and Aftobachi?"
At the end of the appeal, it was stated that "the Kokand khanate is unable to fight against a powerful neighbor."
Of course, this appeal only provoked an outburst of indignation from the jointly rising working Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Kipchaks. Soon, Nasr-Edin moved from Khojent to Makhram — closer to the capital of the khanate. But his hopes were not fulfilled. Here he was defeated by the rebels led by Pulat Khan, who extinguished his desire to become the Kokand Khan again. He barely managed to escape from the battlefield and, as before, had to seek refuge with the colonial authorities.
Punitive operation against the rebel workers in the city of Andijan