Turkestan Revolution in Russian Reports (1916-1917)
Ömer KarataşThe Russian Czar invaded West Turkestan toward the end of the 19th century. Subsequently, he made administrative, social, and economic arrangements to exploit the region for his interests. As a result of the regulations, the underground and aboveground resources of the region were exploited by the Russians for approximately 50 years. As a result of subsequent political developments, especially during World War I, czarism needed new human resources. To fulfill this need, the Czar issued an edict on June 25, 1916, to recruit individuals exempted from military service before this date. By implementing this decree, the Czar of Russia, who wanted to employ the non-Russian inhabitants of Turkestan in fortification works in the army, enabled the exploitation to be directed toward human resources. This latest development led to the rebellion that first started in Samarkand and then spread throughout the region. The rebellion fire that started against the czarist regime in Turkestan was Czar II. Apart from the edict (recruitment of foreigners to military rear jobs) issued by Nikolai on June 25, 1916, there were also various reasons. These are in Russian archive documents and are as follows: political, economic, religious, social life intervention, military service, tax, administration, education, justice order, land conflict between Russians and non-Russians, and arming the Russian people in the region. The reasons such as the Russians considering themselves superior are listed as reasons. There were other reasons as well. In our study, on the basis of Russian reports, we consider the Turkestan National Revolt and reveal how the Russians perceived and evaluated the rebellion from their writings.
Rus Raporlarında Türkistan İsyanı (1916-1917)
Ömer KarataşÇarlık Rusya’sı, Batı Türkistan’ı 19. asrın sonlarına doğru işgal etti. Ardından bölgeyi menfaatleri doğrultusunda sömürmek için idari, sosyal ve ekonomik düzenlemeler yaptı. Yapılan düzenlemeler neticesinde yaklaşık elli yıl bölgenin yer altı ve yer üstü kaynakları Ruslar tarafından sömürüldü. Daha sonraki siyasi gelişmeler neticesinde, özellikle I. Dünya Savaşı, sırasında çarlık yeni insan kaynağına ihtiyaç duydu. Çarlık, bu ihtiyacı karşılamak için daha önce askerlikten muaf olan gayr-ı Rusları orduya almak amacıyla 25 Haziran 1916’da bu tarihten önce bir ferman çıkardı. Söz konusu fermanla Türkistan’ın gayr-ı Rus bölge ahalisini orduda istihkâm işlerinde çalıştırmak isteyen Çarlık Rusya’sı, sömürünün insan kaynağına yönelmesine olanak tanıdı. Bu son gelişme önce Semerkant’ta başlayan daha sonra tüm bölgeye yayılan isyana sebep oldu. Türkistan’da çarlık rejimine karşı başlayan isyan ateşi Çar II. Nikolay tarafından 25 Haziran 1916’da çıkarılan ferman (yabancıların askeri arka işlere alımı) dışında çeşitli nedenleri de vardı. Bunlar Rus arşiv belgelerinde; siyasi, ekonomik, dini, sosyal yaşama müdahale, askerlik, vergi, yönetim, eğitim, adalet düzeni, Rus ve gayr-ı Ruslar arasındaki arazi çatışması, bölgedeki Rus ahalinin silahlandırılması; bunların kendilerini üstün görmesi gibi nedenler olarak sıralanabilir. Çalışmamızda Türkistan Millî Ayaklanmasını Rus raporlarına dayalı olarak ele alınacaktır. Böylece Rusların isyanı nasıl algıladıkları ve değerlendirdiklerini onların yazdıklarından ortaya konacaktır.
In accordance with the expansionist colonist policy of Russian Czarism, the interest in Central Asia began during the period of Peter the Great. Peter the Great had an expedition to Turkestan, proving his interest. The expeditions led to gains such as improving the understanding of the region, building a fortified line, establishing outposts and fulcrum points. Perceiving Peter the Great’s interest in Turkestan as a political testament, he invaded the region in favor of czarism nearly 150 years later to please his successors who ascended the Russian throne. Czarist Russia invaded and annexed the Turkestan region until the last quarter of the 19th century, with the policy of taking, isolating, and dividing the Kazakh Juzes and then the Turkestan Khanates.
In accordance with the expansionist colonist policy of Russian Czarism, the interest in Central Asia began during the period of Peter the Great. Peter the Great had an expedition to Turkestan, proving his interest. The expeditions led to gains such as improving the understanding of the region, building a fortified line, establishing outposts and fulcrum points. Perceiving Peter the Great’s interest in Turkestan as a political testament, he invaded the region in favor of czarism nearly 150 years later to please his successors who ascended the Russian throne. Czarist Russia invaded and annexed the Turkestan region until the last quarter of the 19th century, with the policy of taking, isolating, and dividing the Kazakh Juzes and then the Turkestan Khanates.
Turkestan was captured by Czarist Russia, leading to its policy in the region collapsing in 1916. This collapse is one of the signs that the collapse of czarism is imminent. Notably, the Russian Czarist Era ended in 1917. However, this is not our point. The main point is the activities of Russia, which invaded Turkestan after the second half of the 19th century. To hold the dominance of the Turkestan Region, the Russians conducted ongoing activities to intervene in the habitats, management styles, economies, lands, and religious lives of nonRussian people. The response to the interventions of Czarist Russia manifested nearly 50 years after the invasion. The grudge and the sense of independence accumulated by the non-Russian people in Turkestan during this 50-year period against the oppressive authority manifested with the riots in July 1916. In August and September of the same year, the riots turned into a rebellion and reached their peak. The new decisions taken by the czarist government on the region are one example of the reasons that prepared the environment for these feelings to explode and the silence in the region to break down. As a result, the effects of the activities of the Russians, which started after 1867, against the ancient inhabitants of Turkestan, caused the events called the riot or the Urkün massacre in Turkestan. Our work is based on three reports on the Turkestan region prepared for czarism and the post-czarist provisional government:
1. The Turkestan General Governor and Turkestan Regional Military Commander sent to the Ministry of War for the presentation of the Czar by the Governor-General of Turkestan, the start of the rebellion, the financial losses in the places where the riot spread, the military measures implemented during the riot, the losses in the revolt, the treatment applied to the participants in the Turkestan revolt, and a detailed report. 22 февраля 1917 г.Копия.РГВИА. Ф. 400. Оп. 1. Д. 4548. Л. 1–15 об.Опубл: Восстание 1916 г22 fevralya 1917 g. Kopiya. RGVİA.F.400.op.1.D.4548.L.1-15 ob.
2. The Police-Director of Verni and Semireçe: The process of Turkestan from Russian domination to the uprising and the reasons and development of the rebellion, the information of the Consul of Kulca on the rebels who fled to China, the application of non-Russians to the Governor-General of Turkestan. report. Ноябрь 1916 г.РГИА. Ф. 1292. Оп. 1. Д. 1933А. Л. 475--505.; Noyabr 1916. RGIA. F. 1292. Op. 1. D. 1933A. L. 475-505.
3. The 12-page report of the Turkestan Region Committee explaining the mentality of the people in the region, the damages in the rebellion and the compensation of these losses, and the efforts to ensure the authority of the Russian state in the region. 27 июня 1917 г.РГИА. Ф. 1291. Оп. 84. Д. 57. Л. 2–13 .; 27 iyunya 1917 g. RGİA.F.1291.Op.84.D.57.L.2-13.
