Accession of Central Asia to Russia. History of accession of Central Asia

Several hundred years ago and until the revolution, the Russian Empire regularly expanded its borders. Some territories were joined as a result of military operations (most of them were unleashed by the enemy), others - by peaceful means. For example, the annexation of Central Asia to Russia took place gradually and bloodlessly. Most of the peoples who inhabited these lands themselves appealed to the empire to accept them. The main reason is protection.

At that time in the territory of Central Asia there lived many hostile tribes of nomads. To protect yourself from the attacks of a stronger enemy, you need to enlist the support of a powerful state. Thus, the territories gradually joined our country. How did Central Asia join Russia? The reader will be able to learn about its features and historical facts from this article.

Historical meaning

Such an important historical event as the accession of Kazakhstan and Central Asia to Russia can be assessed in different ways. At first glance this was primarily a conquest followed by the establishment of a semi-colonial regime. However, the Central Asian peoples and tribes, in many respects backward in comparison with the Europeans, had the opportunity to develop socially and economically, and at an accelerated pace. Slavery, patriarchal foundations, the general poverty and disunity of these peoples are in the past.

What accession has given to Central Asia

Economic and cultural development of the Central Asian part of the Russian Empire was placed at the heart of the Russian government. An industry was created that seemed unthinkable in this poor agricultural region. Agriculture was also reformed and became more efficient. Not to mention the development of social infrastructure in the form of schools, hospitals, libraries. And local customs of indigenous peoples were not destroyed or banned, which gave impetus to the further prosperity of a special national culture and the consolidation of society. Gradually, Central Asia entered the Russian trading space and became not a satellite and not an isolated area on the map, but a full-fledged part of a strong Russian Empire.

Beginning of development of new territories

What is the history of joining Central Asia to Russia? If you look at the ancient maps, you can see the land located in the south-east direction from the boundaries of the territory of tsarist Russia. This is Central Asia. It stretches from the mountains of Tibet to the Caspian Sea, from the borders of Iran and Afghanistan to the Southern Urals and Siberia. There lived about 5 million people, which by modern standards is much less than the population of any of the world's largest capitals.

From the point of view of economic and social development, the Central Asian peoples were very different from each other. The main differences were in the methods of farming. Some gave priority to cattle breeding, others to agriculture, and others to trade and various crafts. There was no industry at all. The patriarchate, slavery and oppression of their vassals by the feudal lords were pillars of the ethnics of Central Asia.

A bit of geography

Before the Central Asian possessions of the Russian Empire became such, they were divided into three separate areas: the Bukhara emirate, the Kokand and Khiva khanates. It was there that trade prospered, which made Bukhara and Samarkand the shopping centers of the whole region. Now Central Asia is represented by five sovereign states. These are Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Attempts to establish foreign economic relations with these regions remote from Russia were made in the first half of the XIX century. But these actions had no decisive significance. Everything changed when Britain planned an invasion of Central Asia. The interests of the two great powers of the past collided and the Russian Empire had no choice but to prevent the British from penetrating their own borders.

The first expeditions

How did Central Asia join Russia? The study of this territory, of course, has long been conducted by military strategists. The first three Russian expeditions to Central Asia pursued peaceful purposes. Scientific mission was headed by N. V. Khanykov, diplomatic - N. P. Ignatiev, and C. Ch. Valikhanov became the head of the commercial expedition.

All this was done in order to establish foreign policy contacts with the border region peacefully. Nevertheless, in 1863 prerequisites for military intervention arose because of the incident in the Kokand Khanate. In that torn by troubled and feudal wars , confrontation between peoples was growing ever stronger. The result was an order on the offensive of Russian troops.

The first military operation of Russians on the territory of Central Asia was a march to Tashkent. He failed. But in just two years, the internecine wars weakened the enemy, and later the city was surrendered without a fight, although some historians claim that small armed skirmishes still occurred, and in one of them the khan Sultan Seyit was killed. A year later, Tashkent joined Russia, the Turkestan Governor General was formed.

Further offensive

How did Central Asia join Russia? From 1867 to 1868, military operations continued in Bukharia. The local Emir, in collusion with the British, declared war on Russia. But the Russian army after a series of victories forced the enemy to sign a peace treaty. Before the emergence of the Bukhara Soviet Republic, Bukharia was a vassal of Russia.

Khiva Khanate existed almost exactly the same, until 1920, when it was no longer imperial soldiers, and the Red Army men overthrew the khan. In 1876, the Kokand Khanate became part of Russia. In 1885, the process of joining the Central Asian territories was almost completed. With the events described above, it almost came to a war with Britain, which did not begin only thanks to the efforts of diplomats.

Accession of Kazakhstan

When did Central Asia join Russia? Kazakhstan was the first to address Russia. The accession of this country began in the 20s of the XVIII century, long before the first expeditions to Central Asia. The state was tormented by conflicts with neighboring tribes, such as the Dzungars. This forced some of the Kazakhs to ask Russia for help. In 1731, the Empress Anna Ioannovna formally accepted this request of Abulkhair Khan.

I must say that the Khan had his reasons for appealing to the Russian Crown, since not everyone wanted him to be at the head of the territory under his control. At the same time, the danger of external invasion of nomads persisted.

Gradually, other sultans of Kazakhstan accepted Russian citizenship. In 1740, another part of the country joined the Russian Empire. The central and north-eastern regions of Kazakhstan were joined already by military-political interference, almost simultaneously with the interest in other parts of the Central Asian region.

The accession of Central Asia to Russia lasted several hundred years. As mentioned above, some territories volunteered to receive them, others were conquered. It is possible to underline here that moment, that, unlike the same Great Britain, Russia aspired to help in the development of the annexed territories and everywhere built various industrial and administrative objects. Thus, the accession of Central Asia to Russia even contributed to the development of this region.