The development of internal trade in Kyrgyzstan, especially from the beginning of the 20th century, contributed to a lively exchange of goods between the nomadic and settled populations. The relatively small number of trade-industrial, even agricultural populations in the northern part of Kyrgyzstan led to herders selling their products in cotton-growing and industrial areas of the south. Cattle and livestock products were supplied there through fairs or by organizing drives across mountain passes. Thus, in the early 20th century, industrial animal husbandry began to emerge in Kyrgyzstan. In Northern Kyrgyzstan, agricultural products also entered the trade turnover. Most of them were sold locally, but a certain portion went beyond the region. A significant share of agricultural production was accounted for by the Kyrgyz.
After the 1880s, the area under cultivation for technical crops (primarily cotton) expanded in the Fergana Valley, and an industrial population emerged. This led to an increased demand for food products from the settled population, which accelerated the process of the Kyrgyz settling down and increased the area under cultivation. Thus, trade (especially in the early 20th century) gave a strong impetus to the development of the internal market in Kyrgyzstan. However, it should be noted that due to the "division" of Kyrgyzstan among several regions, it found itself within two regional markets—the Fergana and Semirechye markets, the centers of which were located outside the territory of Kyrgyzstan. This circumstance complicated the formation of the internal market.
During the colonial period, small commodity production in Kyrgyzstan developed slowly.
Gradually, with the development of capitalism, some types of local crafts were increasingly reduced, and some, such as the production of household metal and wooden items, lost their former significance. Now the needs of the Kyrgyz for these goods could be met by factory products brought from Russia. Nevertheless, many types of home crafts continued to exist, closely tied to the nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle of the local population. The products made here were competitive with industrial goods from Russia. Therefore, with the annexation of the region to Russia, there was even some development of such crafts. This is evidenced by data on the number of artisans in Kyrgyzstan.
From the 1880s to the 90s, small enterprises processing primarily agricultural raw materials emerged in the cities and large villages of Kyrgyzstan. Over 30 years (1883-1913), their number increased from 165 to 569. These were enterprises in the processing and extractive industries, large mills, etc. In most cases, they were based on the use of manual labor. Seasonality of work was characteristic of many cottage industry enterprises.
In the early 20th century, relatively large capitalist enterprises appeared in both the processing and extractive industries. This was associated with the penetration of Russian and partly foreign capital. By their technical and economic indicators, they corresponded to capitalist enterprises of factory-type in central Russia. These included cotton ginning factories in the villages of Aravan and Naiman, breweries, leather factories, and several wool washing facilities in Pishpek, Przhevalsk, and Osh, as well as large coal mines and oil fields on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
The Russian government aimed for the natural resources of the region to be primarily utilized by Russian capitalists. Nevertheless, some foreign entrepreneurs and shareholders still penetrated Turkestan. This was usually accomplished through the participation of foreign capital in joint-stock companies established in Russia or in companies where the majority of members were Russian subjects. Thus, in the early 20th century, firms such as the "Administration of the Andreyev Trade and Industrial Partnership," "Ludwig Rabenek Manufacturing Partnership," the Fergana Oil and Mining Joint-Stock Company "Chimiyon," the Joint-Stock Company "Kyzyl-Kiya," and several others began to operate actively in the region.
In 1913, there were 32 enterprises of various sectors in Kyrgyzstan: seven coal mines (employing about 1,000 workers), two oil fields, two cotton ginning factories, seven wool washing facilities, two oil mills, two breweries, five roller mills, and several other enterprises. Among them, the largest were the wool washing factories in Tokmak (100 workers) and in the Pishpek district (235 workers), the brewery in Osh (84 workers), and two coal mines: in Kyzyl-Kiya (598 workers) and in Suluktu (207 workers).
If, in general, the processing industry was dominant in terms of size and technical-economic indicators in the Turkestan region, then in Kyrgyzstan, it was the mining industry. The capital of most joint-stock companies operating in Kyrgyzstan (there were more than 10, and their turnover was about 10 million rubles) was invested in mining. It accounted for 50% of the production and 59% of the workforce.
For some time, the Kyrgyz paid taxes to the tsarist authorities similar to those paid to the Kokand Khanate. Later, new taxation mechanisms were developed according to local conditions. According to the adopted norms, nomadic herders paid a tax of 2 rubles and 75 kopecks for each yurt. Since the land was considered state property, a payment of 3 kopecks was required for each sheep grazed, 30 kopecks for a horse, and 50 kopecks for a camel. From 1882, the tax rate increased and reached 15 rubles during the First World War.
The settled population was subject to two types of taxes. A kharaj was levied on grain areas, and a tanap on garden and vegetable areas. Tanap is a measure of area, and kharaj amounted to one-tenth of the harvest and was paid in kind. In 1886, the procedure for collecting tanap was slightly modified. This type of tax was renamed obrok and had to be paid on all arable land, regardless of whether it was cultivated or not. In addition to the taxes established by the tsarist government, local bai-manaps, relying on traditional patriarchal-feudal law, imposed additional levies and payments on ordinary people: for grazing livestock—chep ooz, for honoring manaps—chyghym, in kind from livestock and grain—zhurtchuluk, for sustenance—soiush, for driving livestock through their territory—tuyak pul, for weddings and funerals—koshumcha, and others. Religious officials had their own tax system. Corruption among local officials became a common occurrence.
