19th Century Imperial Russian Turkestan

Few aspects of the 1916 Central Asian revolt are more controversial than the measures taken by the Russian imperial authorities for its suppression. This article explores the punitive expeditions and settler vigilante violence against the Kyrgyz population of Semirech'e during and after the revolt, and the proposals to separate Kyrgyz and settlers by deporting the latter from the Issyk-Kul region and the Chu Valley to the mountains around Naryn. It argues that these persisted under the Provisional Government and into the early years of Bolshevik rule.

"The Russian Gérôme" – thus was Vereshchagin dubbed by English critics in 1872 and the comparison was repeatedly to be made by contemporaries. This article looks at where the two artists really do reveal similarities and at the deep-rooted differences in their presentation of the Orient, with an emphasis on Vereshchagin’s first large work, his Turkestan series. Although Vereshchagin also took up Oriental subjects later in his career, in this author’s opinion the Turkestan series represents the most fruitful attempt to master the French model of Orientalising painting, above all that of Gérôme, not only in his own oeuvre but in Russian nineteenth-century art as a whole. As such, it provides us with ideal material to assess the individual and national features of Vereshchagin’s Orientalism.

В статье предпринят, а попытка рассмотреть некоторые аспекты взаимоотношений Туркестанского генерал-губернаторства и Китая с российской, советской и постсоветской историографии. На основе анализа публикаций, выходивших на это период, были рассмотрены основные этапы изучения проблемы и и то как понимались, и изучалась проводимая Российской империей политика в этом вопросе.

In the 21st century, the scientific study of the history of colonial policy pursued by the great empires on the basis of modern approaches has not lost its relevance. Their policies in different regions have led to political, economic and cultural changes as well as conflicts of interest. In particular, in the XVIII century in Central Asia  there  was  a  sharp  political  process.  Not  only  will  there  be  military  conflicts  in  the  region,  but  the political  interests  of  several  major  empires  will  clash  in  the  region.  In  particular,  the  growing  economic potential of the Russian Empire increased its aspirations for East Turkestan, and on the other hand, after the Manchu dynasty took the Chinese throne, their bold move to the region aggravated the political situation. The  short-lived  occupation  of  Mongolia, Tibet,  Lobnor,  and  the  present-day  Xinjiang Uyghur  Autonomous Region by the Qing Empire resulted in the abolition of the centuries-old statehood of the peoples of Central Asia. In this sense, the occupation of East Turkestan by the Manchus was the responsibility of the Russian Empire and the Chinese administration.

I propose an exploratory -and vaguely polemical- paper that explicitly distances itself from most of the extant literature on ‘water and power’ in Central Asia. This literature has expanded our knowledge in three directions: it has looked at the ‘water and power’ nexus from the viewpoint of colonial administrative practices, it has gauged the desired and actual impact of modern engineering on and in competition with local hydraulic technology, and has emphasized the incommensurability between native and non-native notions of water rights. More generally, the impact of the Postcolonial Turn on the community of students of modern Central Asia has led to the over-estimation of the racial cleavage between colonizers and colonized (and between their respective systems of knowledge, legal systems, etc.), while more earthly questions of costs and their allocation have not been explored yet. Furthermore, historians have mainly focused on new irrigation works, while neglecting the day-by-day functioning of the ‘native’ irrigation systems on which the vast majority of the economy of Turkestan depended.
One of these unanswered questions concerns the costs of the maintenance of the ‘native’ irrigation system. The sources talk about a duty in kind (naturopovinnost’) to be provided by water users as members of a village community. On the basis of data collected from different sources on localities of the Samarkand province, I explore this notion of ‘duty in kind’ and try to understand how its burden was allocated. I contend that the payment for the usage of water had little to do with the amount of water actually consumed by an individual village. I also discuss the relation between this ‘duty in kind’ and the local taxes (zemksii sbor) which the civil-military administration collected and partly re-invested in irrigation works.

Город Верный XIX-начала XX в. обычно рассматривается как чисто русский переселенческий или казачий город, построенный по классическому «сетчатому» плану, как центр новой переселенческой колонии в Семиречье. В этой статье предлагается по-новому взглянуть на Верный и Семиречье-как на «плюральное общество»-в соответствии с термином, заимствованным из исследований Дж.С. Фурнивалла о колониальной Юго-Восточной Азии. Расположенное недалеко от китайской границы, Семиречье видело значительную миграцию различных этнических и религиозных групп из Китая-маньчжуров, калмыков, дунган и таранчей (уйгуров), а также мусульман с территорий Русского Туркестана, таких как Фергана и Ташкент. Эти особенности нашли свое отражение в многонациональности населения и социально-политической атмосфере города, который некоторые современники сравнивали с типичными китайскими портовыми городами.

19th and early 20th-century Vernyi is usually seen as a Russian settler or Cossack town, laid out on a classic colonial grid pattern and the centre of a new settler colony in Semirech'e. This paper suggests a new way of looking at Vernyi and Semirech'e-as a 'plural society', a phrase taken from J. S. Furnivall's studies of Colonial Southeast Asia. Located close to the Chinese frontier, Semirech'e saw significant in-migration of different ethnic and religious groups from China-Manchus, Qalmyqs, Dungans and Taranchis-as well as Muslims from other parts of Russian Turkestan such as Ferghana and Tashkent. This was reflected in Vernyi's diverse population and atmosphere, which some contemporary observers compared to that of a Chinese treaty port.

В статье мы попытаемся осветить сложное положение Бухарского эмирата в рассматриваемый период на основе трудов
современников.
Взглянув на этот период их глазами, мы достаточно ясно
сможем понять логику их поступков. В статье будут рассмотрены малоизвестные работы двух авторов, Ахмада Дониша и Абдурауфа Фитрата, которые долгое время по различным соображениям замалчивались. В статье не ставится задача освещения деятельности Ф.Ходжаева и джадидов, так как этот вопрос довольно подробно изучен. Цель работы показать средневековое положение Бухарского эмирата и как следствие, формирование прогрессивных идей Ф. Ходжаева и джадидов.

The Russian conquest of Central Asia was perhaps the 19th century's most dramatic example of European imperial expansion, adding 1.5 million square miles of territory and at least 6 million people - most of them Muslims - to the Tsar's domains. This book is the first comprehensive military and diplomatic history of the conquest to be published for over a hundred years. From the earliest conflicts on the steppe frontier in the 1830s, to the annexation of the Pamirs in the early 1900s, it gives a detailed account of the logistics and operational history of Russian wars against Khoqand, Bukhara and Khiva, the capture of Tashkent and Samarkand,  the bloody subjection of the Turkmen, and the decision-making processes that launched these campaigns. It also explores in depth Russian diplomatic relations with Central Asian states and peoples, China, Persia and the British Empire. Based on ten years of archival research in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and India, on Persianate chronicles and an abundance of campaign memoirs, this book explains how Russia acquired and governed a colonial empire in Central Asia, with consequences that still resonate today.

You can hear an interview with me about the book here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-russian-conquest-of-central-asia

I originally wrote this paper in English to present at the 2017 ESCAS conference in Bishkek. The Russian version was translated by my friend Olga Berard and has now been published in a memorial volume for Dmitrii Arapov. It is still really just a preliminary reflection on the use of the colonial archive in Central Asia.

Сборник включает статьи по истории и культуре бессарабских болгар исследователей из Республики Молдова, Болгарии, Украины, России и Польши.
Bulgaria: metropolă şi diaspora. Culegere de studii dedicată aniversării a 65 de ani a dr.hab. Nicolai Cervencov, Alcătuitor: Ivan Duminica. Chişinău, 2013. 480 p.

In the first part of the article, dehumanizing character of Western-centric approaches is discussed by focusing on the relations between the emergence period of geopolitics and the Central Asia. Beginning from Mackinder, the Western
"subject" is described as based on a highly vivid design of identity; on the otherhand, the societies living in the studied region are transformed into shadows under the decisiveness of geography. In the second part of the article, the factors
which has forced this false image to change is showed by making references to cultural/historiographic debates on Turkestan. Also, an alternative approach to geopolitics which underlines the region’s rich historical and cultural heritage is
offered through the analysis of Orkhon Inscriptions.

Bu çalışmanın ilk bölümünde Batı-merkezli yaklaşımların ‘insanisizleştirici’ karakteri, jeopolitiğin ortaya çıkışı ile Orta Asya arasındaki ilişkilere odaklanarak tartışılmaktadır. Batı ‘öznesi’, Mackinder’den başlayarak son derece canlı bir kimlik tasarımına dayalı olarak tanımlanmakta; öte yandan çalışmaya konu olan
bölgede yaşayan toplumlar coğrafyanın belirleyiciliği altında birer gölgeye dönüştürülmektedir. Çalışmanın ikinci bölümünde bu yanlış resmi değişime zorlayan faktörler, Türkistan üzerine kültürel/tarihsel tartışmalara referanslar yaparak gösterilmektedir. Ayrıca bölgenin zengin tarihsel ve kültürel mirasına vurgu yapan jeopolitiğe, Orhun Âbideleri’nin analizi vasıtasıyla alternatif bir yaklaşım sunulmaktadır..

"The history of the socio-cultural changes and reform movements among the Muslims of the Russian Empire at the turn of the 20th century has attracted a lot of attention. Aside from being subject to numerous scholarly studies, it has also played a role in the representations people have been producing of their past.
The Jadid movement shaped at the end of the 19th century among enlightened and progressive intellectuals, who urged for reforms in all spheres of public life. Ismail Gasprinskii was the first among them. In 1883, he established in Bakhchisarai the newspaper Tarcumān, which remained for over 20 years a unique newspaper dedicated to discussing and improving education among the Turkic-speaking peoples.
First in Inner Russia and then among the Turkestanis, the press was meant to be, and in fact acted, as the essential tool for disseminating reformatory ideas, for reporting ongoing changes and for enlightening the people. Gasprinskii’s first published article for good reasons pointed out that Russia’s Turkic Muslim needed a medium to make their voices heard.
The press, as it developed in Turkestan after the Manifesto of 1905, in term of objective, tone and language owed a lot to Gasprinskii’s Tarcumān. The Tarcumān’s influence is clear in the use, in these publications, of a median Turkestani Turkic idiom, the kind of language which he had been strongly advocating. Gasprinskii played also an important role in supporting his Turkestani colleagues against accusations launched by Russian press editors and censors like N.Ostroumov for instance.
In the Tarcumān Gasprinskii paid much attention to Turkestan; to the peculiarities of the local Muslim society there, to public life and political issues. The given research shows that the place and effect which Tarcumān has, and its influence to birth of independent Press in Turkestan. The annotated bibliography of Turkestani issues in the Tarcumān for 34 years (1883-1917) is outline in details the above mentioned thoughts."

Abstract
This is a microhistory of the decision making leading to the conquest of Kuldja (Ghulja) by the Russian troops in 1871–1881. Svetlana Gorshenina deconstructs different understandings of the theory of a “natural border” that influenced the changing opinions of the Petersburg military and diplomatic elites, colonial administrators of Turkestan and Central Asia, and military commanders on the ground. The article presents a nuanced and multilayered picture of the discursive reality behind the conquest of Kuldja, thus explicating a complex mechanism of interaction of the metropole and peripheral actors, the role of local versus universal knowledge, and the influence of diplomatic considerations vis-à-vis Europe and China.
The study is based on archival documents assembled in the course of 1901–1905 by the military engineer, lieutenant colonel Andrian Serebrennikov, for the Collection of Materials for a History of the Conquest of the Turkestan Region. The Kuldja-related documents of the collection remained unpublished and are now preserved in the Central State Archive of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Резюме:
Статья посвящена реконструкции на уровне микро-истории принятия решения о захвате Кульджи российскими войсками в 1870-1871 гг. и лигитимизации этого акта. Анализируя через призму теории «естественных границ» поэтапные изменения позиций военно-дипломатических элит Санкт-Петербурга, высшей колониальной администрации Туркестана и Сибири, и командиров приграничных областей, автор стремился понять, насколько важной была эта теория для прикладной политики и как аргументация, связанная с ней и нередко противоположная, проявилась в формировании мотивации (не-)необходимости военной аннексии Или.
Благодаря реконструкции «голосов» основных протогонистов более понятными становятся различные формы социального взаимодействия российских элит метрополии и периферии, роль источников и уровня информированности принимающих решения, специфика дискуссий в различных частях империи, ход изменения мыслей и планов акторов в зависимости от коньюнктуры и от взаимодействия с внешним фактором – Европой.
Предлагаемое прочтение начала «илийского кризиса» выстроено главным образом на архивной документации, сгруппированной в 1901-1915 гг. в рамках Сборника материалов для истории завоевания Туркестанского края военного инженера подполковника Андриана Г. Серебренникова (1863-1919), неопубликованные кульджинские тома которого находятся в Центральном Государственном Архиве Республики Узбекистан.

A translation into Russian of a portion of chapter 3 of my monograph on the Russian Conquest of Central Asia, dealing with the fall of the Khoqandi fortress of Aq Masjid to Russian forces in 1853. Originally published in the proceedings of a conference held in Kyzylorda (as the town is now known) in 2014.

В статье показан процесс изменений традиционного образа жизни народов Средней Азии после завоевания Российской империей региона. Взаимовлияние и взаимообогащения восточной и европейской цивилизаций происходит в сложнейшей обстановке доминанты западной культуры и безальтернативности жизненных реалий для коренных народов Туркестанского края.

Orta Asya, coğrafi ve siyasi açıdan oldukça farklı tanımlara sahip bir bölgedir. En dar anlamda Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği (SSCB) tarafından yapılan tanımlamada, Orta Asya’yı idari açıdan oluşturan unsurların Türkmenistan, Özbekistan, Kırgızistan ve Tacikistan olduğu belirtilmiştir. SSCB’nin dağılmasının ardından Orta Asya tanımlaması içerisine Kazakistan da dâhil edilmiştir. Geniş anlamda ise Afganistan ve Pakistan’ın kuzeyi, Doğu Türkistan, Rusya’nın güneydoğusu ve Moğolistan ile İran’ın kuzeydoğusu da Asya’nın okyanuslardan uzak iç kesimlerini tanımlamak için kullanılan bu coğrafi terim içerisinde yer almıştır. Tarihî açıdan ise Türk uygarlığının beşiği olan bölge, asırlar boyu “Türkistan” olarak adlandırılmıştır.

Светлана М. Горшенина, Изобретение концепта Средней / Центральной Азии: между наукой и гeoполитикой. Вашингтон: Программа изучения Центральной Азии, Университет Джорджа Вашингтона, 2019. — VIII, 119 с. : 16 ил.
Эпистемологические дебаты о том, как правильнее определить наименование и границы региона, называемого Средней / Центральной / Внутренней Азией или же Евразией, не затихают с момента изобретения этих терминов в первой половине XIX века. Стандартные аргументы циклично выстраиваются на пересечении научных рассуждений и псевдонаучных конструкций, политики и геополитики, устоявшихся литературных оборотов и вкусовых пристрастий. Предлагаемая в книге Светланы М. Горшениной история начальных этапов выработки концепта Средней / Центральной Азии демонстрирует неоднозначность многих привычных определений, показывая, что все существующие именования относятся не к объективному географическому порядку, а к географии репрезенций. Декодируя воображаемые критерии, автор показывает связь этих топонимов с географическим детерминизмом, принципом «центричности», геополитическими интересами национальных государств и транснациональных группировок, а также с линейным позитивизмом, связанным с европоцентризмом и западным империализмом.
Данная публикация является адаптированным переводом части книги L’invention de l’Asie centrale. Histoire du concept de la Tartarie a l’Eurasie (Genève: Droz, 2014).

Le présent article examine les approches possibles pour une analyse de l'histoire de l'archéologie russe en Asie centrale, notamment dans le contexte colonial qu'a vécu le Turkestan au tournant des XIXe et XXe siècles. L'étude met en évidence les traits spécifiques de ce qu'est une archéologie en situation coloniale et qui transparaissent à travers diverses pratiques dans l'organisation des recherches scientifiques.

В статье освещаются вопросы мусульманского землевладения и землепользования в Туркестане и Алжире в XIX в. Особое внимание уделяется материалам комиссий, созданных администрацией Турке- станского генерал-губернаторства, в которых исследуются и даются рекомендации по практическому решению земельного и водного во- просов в регионе.

Fransız İhtilali’nin tüm dünyaya yaydığı özgürlük, bağımsızlık akımlarının iç ve dış siyasetinde sıkıntılarla boğuşan Rusya’ya sıçramasından sonra halk tabanındaki kaynaşmalardan dolayı isyanlar baş göstermişti. Bunun beraberinde ülke genelinde sosyalizm akımı yaygınlaşmaya başlamıştı. Bu belirsiz günlerde kendisini gelecekte tam kestiremeyen Müslümanlar esaret altında bulundukları Rusya’da nasıl bir yol izlemeleri gerektiğini tartıştıkları toplantılar düzenlediler. 1905-1917 yılları arasında düzenlenen bu kongreler Anadolu dışındaki Türkler için büyük önem teşkil etmektedir.
Anahtar kelimeler: Kurultay, Müslüman, Türk, Kırım, Türkistan, Rusya, Toplantı

В статье делается параллель царской, колониальной и советской политики по отношению к религии и духовенству в Каракалпакстане.

The article draws a parallel between the tsarist, colonial and Soviet policies in relation to religion and clergy in Karakalpakstan.

Deneyimli akademisyen Fahri Türk Tacikistan gezisini bu ülkenin tarihi kimliği ve Türk tarihindeki konumunu içeren dikkat çekici değerlendirmeleri ile okuyucunun zihin dünyasında Türkiye'de hemen hemen hiç tanınmayan bir ilginç ülkeyi harika bir biçimde canlandırmaktadır. Tacikistan'a seyahat ya da yatırım düşünnenlere, Türkistan konuusnda bilimsel araştırma yapmak isteyenlere tavsiye edilir.

Резюме :
В статье « Ташкент : (не-)экзотический город ? »  показан механизм создания образа Ташкента, столицы русского колониального Туркестана на политическом, визуальном и литературном уровнях  в конце XIX – начале XX веков. С точки зрения « экзотизирующих » / « ориентализирующих » практик, образ Ташкента как урбанистической структуры далеко не однозначен. С момента превращения города в административный центр русского Туркестана две противоположные логики – отчуждения и присвоения – переплетались в процессе (не)экзотизации Ташкента, обнаруживая всю неоднозначность процесса «ориентализации» и ... «европеизации» города. Идея сегрегации – присутствующая повсюду, но не открыто выраженная  – отражается в двухсмысленных и поляризированных репрезентациях Ташкента, описания старых кварталов которого разделяют экзотизирующие клише, используемые в отношении Самарканда и Бухары, в то время как основной параллелью нового русского города выступает Санкт-Петербург. Вместе в тем, выбор Ташкента интересен именно своей неоднозначностью, показывающей амбивалентность дискурса экзотизации по мере присвоения объекта и конструирования образа « экзотического другого » на разных уровнях и в разных ритмах (сначала « вне », затем « внутри » освоенного пространства).

The article is devoted to the history of the Ṣiddīqī Khwājahs, descendants of the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq in Central Asia. The study carried out a comparative analysis of four editions of genealogies dating back to the 17th – early 20th centuries, which belong to the descendants of Shaykh Zayn al-Dīn bābā (12-13), a person known in the region as son of Shiḥab al-Dīn ‘Umar Suhrawardī (1145-1234). In particular, the era, the textual features of the genealogies, as well as the genealogy of one large branch of the descendants of Shaykh Zayn al-Dīn bābā in Tashkent have been revealed.

СРАВНИТЕЛЬНЫЙ АНАЛИЗ ГЕНЕАЛОГИЙ ХОДЖЕЙ СИДДИКИДЫ ТАШКЕНТА: ПОТОМКИ ШАЙХ ЗАЙН АД-ДИНА КУЙИ ʻАРИФАНИ
Сегодня особое внимание уделяется изучению истории святых семейств и их роли в обществе. Это направление, называемое sayyido-sharifology, охватывает исследования истории не только ʻалавидов, т.е. потомков ‘Али ибн Аби Талиб (656-661), но и связанных с ним таких семейств, как хашимидов, талибидов, аббасидов и др. [21, с.10]. Исходя из выполняемых в обществе Центральной Азии функций и занимаемых привилегий в этот ряд можно включить также потомков Абу Бакра ас-Сиддика (632-634), ‘Умара ал-Фарука (634-644), ‘Усмана ибн ‘Аффана (644-656), а также сына ‘Али ибн Аби Талиб – Мухаммада Ханафия (637-700), получивших название ходжи. В частности, роль потомков Абу Бакра ас-Сиддика, именуемых сиддики или бакри, в Центральной Азии и прилегающему к нему региону ярко проявляется на примере деятельности представителей этого семейства. Имеющиеся сведения свидетельствуют о деятельности в XII-XIV веках в Центральной Азии и прилегающих к ней территориях многих личностей, из потомков Абу Бакра ас-Сиддика. Например, среди них в памяти население были очень популярен Сулайман Вали (Туркистан), Баба Туклес (Золотая Орда), Шайх Зайн ад-Дин Куйи ʻАрифани (Ташкент), Шараф ата (Хорезм), Пур-Сиддик (Ферганская долина), Мавлана Факих Муллам (Восточный Туркестан). По этой теме были изданы некоторые работы [4, с. 41-44; 17, с. 381-408; 19, 210-230]. В данном статье анализируется ряд генеалогий, т.е. насаб-нама ходжей сиддикиды Ташкента, потомки Шайха Зайн ад-Дина Куйи ‘Арифани (12-13 вв.).

Из истории формирования Центральноазиатских границ Российской империи («Памирский вопрос») Аннотация: В исследовании рассматривается возникновение, развитие и разрешение «памирского вопроса». Также иссле-дуются этапы этой проблемы и то, как Российская империя ее разрешила в свете британской политики в регионе. Abstract: In study is considered origin, development and permit «Pamir of the question». Are they Also researched stages of this problem and that, as Russian empire her(its) has allowed in light british politicians in region. The Process of the adding the borders of the possessions to Russia in Central Asia, probably, occupies one of the central places in external politician of the empires in region. This process has occupied significant time and it is enough well reflects all fluctuations and contradictions, existed amongst representatives high governmental and colonial circle. Amongst different border problems, confronted Russian power in Central Asia, one of the permanent was shown «Pamir's question». In spite of the fact that in world historiography to this problem was denoted big amount of the studies, but hitherto exists the row did not settle the problems. In their permit significant help can render the study and analysis archive material keeping in different archive on territory of the former Russian empire and in particular in Central state archive the Republic of Uzbekistan. Below we try to illuminate the row of the problems of the delimitation on Pamir in context English-Russian-Chinese relations.1 The Quip «Pamir of the question» was concluded, first of all, in геостратегическом location Pamir, practically on border of the British possessions in India. Exactly this and was conditioned longing to England, but then and Russia to install supervision on Pamir. It is necessary here immediately to note that Russia for a long time underrated strategic importance Pamir and near Pamir of the possessions, scanned by possession Kokand's khanate, in composition which they were enclosed in 1832-1834 y. Kokand's khan Muhammad-Ali-khan. So after liquidation Kokand's khanate in 1876 on territory Pamir was not installed Russian administration, and has not occurred actual his(its) cut-in in composition of the empires. This has occurred since «Turkestan's administration, being in the beginning occupied solely device of the new extensive edge, has not turned in good time attention on Pamir mainly therefore that did not keep an eye on in that time of the essential necessity in immediate actual statement Russian authorities on Pamir as terrain more remote from cultural parts Fergana, nearly absolutely unfit life's for оседлой, with more severe climate and extremely poor vegetation». Unlike their own Russian adversary in «Big play» англичане fine understood whole strategic value Pamir and near Pamir and all power tried to install here its supervision.

After conquest of Central Asia by Russian empire, in the Turkestan general governorship begins economic transformations which had colonial character and had economic interest for the mother country. Economic transformations had also national character. The basic privileges in trade and business were given to representatives of Russian nationality. Through sighted economic policy of Turkestan governor generals to region the economic damage has been caused.

SUMMARY
As a result of  the advance of the Russians in Turkestan, The Governor Generalship of Turkestan was founded on July 11, 1867 on the lands annexed by the Khanate of Hokand. This region was governed according to Provisional Statue of Administration of Semirechie and Sir Darya which was came into force on July 4, 1867. K. P. Kaufman, who was appointed as Turkestan General Gubernor, was given the right to make changes according to local conditions the existing law and was assigned to prepare a new bill. However, his draft laws were not accepted. Between 1871-1917 various comissions were formed and draft laws were prepared in S. Petersburg and Tashkent to approach the administrative structure of Governor Generalship of Turkestan to imperial province system. The Governor Generalship of Turkestan was exposed to two inspections. After the new Turkestan Statue came into force on July 12, 1886, different draft laws continued to be prepared until February 1917. In this article will be sought answers to questions firstly how solution was found to the issue of the administration of Turkestan, what changes was requested in draft laws and commissions, why inspections was made, how they was resulted and why the military-civilian system could not be abolished in Turkestan.
Keywords; The Governor Generalship of Turkestan, Konstantin Petrovich Kaufman, The Turkestan Statue, The Girs Investigation, The Palen Investigation

Türkistan, ilk çağlardan itibaren Uzak Doğu ile Batı uygarlıkları arasında bir köprüdür. Moğolistan’dan Urallara kadar uzanan uçsuz bucaksız bozkırlar, çoğu zaman konargöçer boyların at koşturduğu coğrafya olarak araştırmalarda ön plana çıkarken, bu coğrafyanın Doğu ile Batı arasında gerçekleşen ilişkilerdeki rolü göz ardı edilmiştir. Oysaki Türkistan Çin’den veya Akdeniz kıyılarından yola çıkan kervanların ya da Çin’den Hindistan’a gitmek isteyen Budist hacıların uğramadan yola devam edemeyeceği bir coğrafyadır. Türkistan’ı bir ağ gibi saran tarihi ticaret yolları, sadece kervanların ticari ürünleri taşıdığı basit bir yol değildir. Bu yollar aynı zamanda kültürlerin ve dinlerin uzak coğrafyalara ulaşmasını sağlamıştır. Bu nedenle Çin, İran, Hint ve Roma gibi uygarlıklardan yola çıkan kervanlar, ordular, seyyahlar, hacılar ya da elçilerin yolu bir şekilde Türkistan’a düşmüştür. Bu yolculardan bazıları görüp duyduklarını yazarak bize seyahatnameler bırakmışlardır. Bazılarının serüvenleri ise başkaları tarafından yazılan kitapların konusu olmuştur. Türk ülkelerine çeşitli zamanlarda gitmiş olan yabancı seyyahlar, gezdikleri yerlerde dikkatlerini çeken olayları, mekânları, kişileri ya da gelenek-görenekleri kaleme alarak hem yaşadıkları dönemdeki kendi toplumlarına bilinmeyen ülkeleri tanıtmışlar, hem de bu değerli bilgilerin günümüze kadar ulaşmasını sağlamışlardır. Seyahatnameleri önemli kılan bir başka özellik ise bahsettikleri ülkelerde yaşayanlar için dikkate değer olmayan şeylerin bir yabancı tarafından önemli görülerek kaydedilmiş olmasıdır. Yani seyahatnameler çoğu zaman bir toplumun öteki gözüyle nasıl görüldüğünü anlamamıza imkân sağlayan eserlerdir. Türkistan’a bir şekilde yolu düşen seyyahların eserleri temel alınarak hazırlanan bu kitapta başlangıçtan 20. yüzyıla kadar Türkistan’daki Türklerin bir başkası tarafından nasıl görüldüğünün yansıtılması amaçlanmıştır. Bu nedenle farklı dönem ve kültürlerden seyyahların Türkistan’a ilişkin yazdıkları eserler incelenerek kitabın bölümleri oluşturulmuştur. Tabiî ki tarih boyunca Türkistan’ı ziyaret eden yüzlerce seyyahın eserlerini tek bir kitapta incelemek mümkün değildir. Örnek vermek gerekirse, sadece Rusların yazdığı raporlar ya da seyahatnameleri tanıtmak için dahi ciltlerce kitap yazmak gerekir. Bu nedenle elinizdeki eser, belli dönem ve coğrafyalar seçilerek hazırlanmıştır. Bugüne kadar Türkistan’la ilgili seyahatnameleri içeren birkaç araştırma yapılmış olsa da bütüncül olarak yaklaşan bir eser olmamasından hareketle hazırlanmış olan bu çalışma sadece bir başlangıç olarak değerlendirilebilir ya da Türkistan tarihini seyahatnameler üzerinden değerlendirme yolunda atılmış bir adım olarak da kabul edilebilir. Seyahatnameler üzerinden bir bölgenin tarihi ve coğrafyasının incelenmesi hem coğrafyada yaşayanların hem de
o coğrafyaya seyahat eden seyyahların kültürlerindeki devamlılığı, değişmeleri, kültürlerin birbirlerine karşı geliştirdiği bakışı göstermesi bakımından kıymetlidir. Zira seyyahlar her ne kadar Türkistan coğrafyasının çöllerinden geçip, dağlarından aşsalar da esasen hepsinin hatırasının üzerinden de zaman geçmiştir. Bu anlamda incelenen süreçte tarihin unsurlarından insanlar, zamanlar ve mekânlar da değişmektedir. Türkistan coğrafyası özelinde bu değişimin ana hatlarına değinmeye
çalışan elinizdeki kitabın bundan sonra bu yola düşecek araştırmacılara
faydalı olmasını temenni ederiz.

В статье на основе оригинальных архивных документов иссле-
дуется организация и деятельность Управления учебных заведений
Туркестанского генерал-губернаторства. Особое внимание уделено
регулированию деятельности национальных учебных заведений чи-
новниками краевой администрации.