Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

Russian conquest of Central Asia

2017-04-25T06:02:17Z

Benjamin Trovato: /* 1872-1895: The eastern mountains */ link, spell

{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict = Russian conquest of Central Asia
|partof = the [[Russian conquests]]
|image =
|caption =
|date = 1839–1895
|place = [[Central Asia]]
|result = Russian victory
* Establishment of [[Russian Turkestan]]
* [[Emirate of Bukhara|Bukhara]], [[Khanate of Khiva|Khiva]] and [[Khanate of Kokand|Kokand]] become protectorates of [[Russian Empire|Russia]]
|territory = Russian annexation of [[Central Asia]]
|combatant1 = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Russian Empire|Russia]]
* {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} pro-Russian tribes
|combatant2 = [[File:Kazakh Khanate.svg|23px]] [[Kazakh Khanate|Kazakhstan]] [[File:Flag of the Emirate of Bukhara.svg|23px]] [[Emirate of Bukhara|Bukhara]] [[File:Bandera de Khiva 1917-1920.svg|23px]] [[Khanate of Khiva|Khiva]] [[File:Bandera de Kokand.svg|23px]] [[Khanate of Kokand|Kokand]] [[Turkmens|Turkmen]] tribes [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] tribes [[File:Flag of Afghanistan pre-1901.svg|border|23px]] [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]
|commander1 = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Vasily Perovsky]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Konstantin von Kaufman]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Ivan Davidovich Lazarev|Ivan Lazarev]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} Nikolai Lomakin {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Mikhail Skobelev]] {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} Ormon Khan
|commander2 = [[File:Kazakh Khanate.svg|23px]] Kenesary Khan{{KIA}} [[File:Flag of the Emirate of Bukhara.svg|23px]] [[Nasrullah Khan (Bukhara)|Nasrullah Khan]] [[File:Flag of the Emirate of Bukhara.svg|23px]] Muzaffaruddin Bahadur Khan [[File:Bandera de Khiva 1917-1920.svg|23px]] Allah Quli Bahadur [[File:Bandera de Khiva 1917-1920.svg|23px]] Abu al-Ghazi Muhammad Amin Bahadur [[File:Bandera de Khiva 1917-1920.svg|23px]] Qutlugh Muhammad Murad Bahadur [[File:Bandera de Khiva 1917-1920.svg|23px]] Sayyid Muhammad [[File:Bandera de Khiva 1917-1920.svg|23px]] Muhammad Rahim Bahadur II [[File:Bandera de Kokand.svg|23px]] Muhammad Mallya Beg Khan [[File:Bandera de Kokand.svg|23px]] Muhammad Sultan Khan [[File:Bandera de Kokand.svg|23px]] [[Alimqul]]{{KIA}} [[File:Bandera de Kokand.svg|23px]] [[Muhammad Khudayar Khan]] ''Turkmen tribes:'' Berdi Murad Khan{{KIA}} Kara Bateer{{KIA}} [[File:Flag of Afghanistan pre-1901.svg|border|23px]] [[Abdur Rahman Khan]]
|strength1 = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} '''In 1839''': 5,000 troops 10,000 camels '''In 1853''': 2,000+ troops '''In 1864''': 2,500 troops '''In 1873''': 13,000 troops '''In 1879''': 3,500 troops '''In 1881''': 7,100 troops '''In 1883–1885''': 1,500 troops
|strength2 = [[File:Bandera de Kokand.svg|23px]] '''In 1853''': ~12,000 troops '''In 1865''': ~36,000 troops
|casualties1 = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} '''In 1839''': 1,054 killed or died of diseases '''In 1879''': 200+ killed ~250 wounded '''In 1881''': 59–268 killed 254–669 wounded 645 died of diseases '''In 1885''': 11 killed or wounded
|casualties2 = [[File:Bandera de Kokand.svg|23px]] '''In 1853''': 230+ killed ''Turkmen tribes:'' '''In 1879''': 2,000+ killed 2,000+ wounded '''In 1881''': ~8,000 killed (incl. civilians) [[File:Flag of Afghanistan pre-1901.svg|border|23px]] '''In 1885''': ~900 killed or wounded
}}

[[File:Central Asia (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|100px|left|Russian Turkestan]]
[[File:Map of Central Asia.png|thumb|right|Russian Turkestan and Afghanistan]]
The '''Russian conquest of Central Asia''' took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. The land that became [[Russian Turkestan]] and later [[Soviet Central Asia]] is now divided between [[Kazakhstan]] in the north, [[Uzbekistan]] across the center, [[Kyrgyzstan]] in the east, [[Tajikistan]] in the southeast and [[Turkmenistan]] in the southwest. Before the Russians came the north was held by the Kazakh steppe nomads and their ancestors while the south was approximately part of [[Greater Iran]]. The area was called [[Turkestan]] because most of its inhabitants spoke [[Turkic languages]].

'''Outline:''' In the eighteenth century Russia gained increasing control over the Kazakh steppe. In 1839 they failed to conquer the Khanate of Khiva south of the Aral Sea. In 1847-53 they built a line of forts from the north side of the Aral Sea eastward up the Syr Darya river. In 1847-1864 they crossed the eastern Kazakh steppe and built a line of forts along the northern border of Kyrgyzstan. 1864-1868 they moved south from Kyrgyzstan, captured Tashkent and Samarkand and dominated the Khanates of Kokand and Bokhara. They now held a triangle whose southern point was 1000 miles south of Siberia and 1200 miles southeast of their supply bases on the Volga. The next step was to turn this triangle into a rectangle by crossing the Caspian Sea. In 1873 they conquered Khiva. In 1881 they took western Turkmenistan. In 1884 the Merv oasis and eastern Turkmenistan were taken. In 1885 expansion south toward Afghanistan was blocked by the British. In 1893-95 they occupied the high Pamirs in the southeast.

==Geography==
[[File:Central Asia Ethnic en.svg|thumb|right|300px|Ethic map of Central Asia. White areas are thinly-populated desert. The three northwest-tending lines are the Kopet Dagh mountains and the Oxus and Jaxartes Rivers flowing from the eastern mountains into the Aral Sea.]]
'''Geography:''' The area was bounded on the west by the Caspian Sea, on the north by the Siberian forests and on the east by the mountains along the former Sino-Soviet border. The southern border was political rather than natural. It was about 1300 miles from north to south, 1500 miles wide in the north and 900 miles wide in the south. Because the southeast corner (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) is mountainous the flat desert-steppe country is only about 700 miles wide in the south. Using modern borders, the area was 1,545,730 square miles, about half the size of the United States without Alaska. On the east side two mountain ranges project into the desert. Between them is the well-populated [[Ferghana Valley]] which is approximately the 'notch' on the west side of Kyrgyzstan. North of this projection the mountain-steppe boundary extends along the north border of Kyrgyzstan about 400 miles before the mountains turn north again.

Rainfall decreases from north to south. Dense population, and therefore cities and organized states, requires irrigation. Streams coming down from the eastern mountains support a fairly dense population, especially in the Ferghana Valley. There is a line of oases along the Persian border. The interior is watered by three great rivers. The Oxus or [[Amu Darya]] rises on the Afghan border and flows northwest into the [[Aral Sea]], forming a large delta which was ruled by the Khanate of Khiva and has a long history under the name of [[Khwarezm]]. The Jaxartes of [[Syr Darya]] rises in the Ferghana Valley and flows northwest and then west to meet the northeast corner of the Aral Sea. Between them is the less-famous [[Zarafshan River]] which dries up before reaching the Oxus. It waters the great cities of [[Bokhara]] and Tamerlane’s old capital of [[Samarkand]].

The deserts in the south have enough grass to support a thin nomadic population. The [[Kyzylkum Desert]] is between the Oxus and Jaxartes. The [[Karakum Desert]] is southwest of the Oxus in Turkmenistan. Between the Aral and Caspian Seas is the thinly-populated [[Ustyurt Plateau]].

When the Russians arrived the organized states were the [[Khanate of Khiva]] in the Oxus delta south of the Aral Sea, the [[Khanate of Bukhara]] along the Oxus and Zarafshan and the [[Khanate of Kokand]] based in the Ferghana Valley. Bokhara had borders with the other two and all three were surrounded by nomads which the Khanates tried to control and tax.

==Early Contacts==

'''Siberia:''' Russians first came into contact with central Asia when, in 1582-1639 Cossack adventurers made themselves masters of the Siberian forests. They did not expand south because they were seeking furs, because the Siberian Cossacks were skilled in forest travel and knew little of the steppe and because the forest tribes were few and weak while the steppe nomads were numerous and warlike. See [[Siberian River Routes]] and linked articles.

'''Up the Iytysh River:''' The [[Irtysh River]] rises in what is now China and flows northwest to the Russian base at [[Tobolsk]] (founded in 1587). It was thought possible to ascend this river and reach the riches of China and India. In 1654 [[Fyodor Baykov]] used this route to reach Peking. The main advance was made under Peter the Great. Some time before 1714<ref>Mark Mancall, ‘Russia and China: Their Diplomatic Relations to 1728”, 1971, is the best source for this area, but his dates for the first Bukhholts expedition on pages 211-212 are self-contradictory.</ref> Colonel Bukhholts and 1500 men went upriver to a ‘Lake Yamysh’ and returned. In 1715 Bukhholts with 3000 men and 1500 soldiers went to Lake Yamysh again and started to build a fort. Since this was on the fringe of the [[Dzungar Khanate]] the Dzungars drove them off. They retreated downriver and founded [[Omsk]]. In 1720 Ivan Likharev went upriver and founded [[Ust-Kamenogorsk]]. The Dzungars, having just been weakened by the Chinese, left them alone. Several other places were built on the Irtysh at about this time.

[[File:Battle Cossacks with Kyrgyz 1826.JPG|thumb|[[Ural Cossacks]] in skirmish with Kazakhs]]
'''The Kazakh steppe:''' Since the [[Kazakhs]] were nomads they could not be conquered in the normal sense. Instead Russian power slowly increased. See [[History of Kazakhstan]].

'''Around the southern Urals:''' In 1556 Russia conquered the [[Astrakhan Khanate]] on the north shore of the Caspian Sea. The surrounding area was held by the [[Nogai Horde]].To the east of the Nogais were the Kazakhs and to the north, between the Volga and Urals, were the Bashkirs. Around this time some [[Ural Cossacks|free Cossacks]] had established themselves on the Ural River. In 1602 they captured [[Konye-Urgench]] in Khivan territory. Returning laden with loot they were surrounded by the Khivans and slaughtered. A second expedition lost its way in the snow, starved, and the few survivors were enslaved by the Khivans. There seems to have been a third expedition which is ill-documented.

At the time of Peter the Great there was a major push southeast. In addition to the Irtysh expeditions above there was the disastrous 1717 attempt to [[Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky|conquer Khiva]]. Following the [[Russo-Persian War (1722–23)]] Russia briefly occupied the west side of the Caspian Sea.

About 1734 another move was planned, which provoked the [[Bashkirs|Bashkir War]] (1735-1740). Once Bashkiria was pacified Russia’s southeastern frontier was the [[Orenburg]] Line roughly between the Urals and the Caspian Sea.

The area remained quiet for about a hundred years. In 1819 Nikolai Muraviev traveled from the Caspian Sea and contacted the Khan of Khiva.

{{Location map+ | Kazakhstan
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{{Location map~|Kazakhstan|lat=41.38|long=60.37|label=Khiva|position=left|mark=Blue-circle.png}}
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'''The Siberian line:''' By the late eighteenth century Russia held a line of forts roughly along the current Kazakhstan border, which is approximately the boundary between forest and steppe. For reference these forts (and foundation dates) were:

[[Guryev]] (1645), [[Oral, Kazakhstan|Uralsk]] (1613), [[Orenburg]] (1743), [[Orsk]] (1735). [[Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast|Troitsk]] (1743), [[Petropavl]]ovsk (1753), [[Omsk]] (1716), [[Pavlodar]] (1720), [[Semipalitinsk]] (1718) [[Ust-Kamenogorsk]] (1720).

Uralsk was an old settlement of free Cossacks. Orenburg, Orsk and Troitsk were founded as a result of the [[Bashkirs|Bashkir War]] about 1740 and this section was called the Orenburg Line. Orenburg was long the base from which Russia watched and tried to control the Kazakh steppe. The four eastern forts were along the [[Irtysh River]]. After China conquered [[Xinjiang]] in 1759 both empires had a few border posts near the current border.

==1839: Failed attack on Khiva==
In 1839 Russia attempted to conquer Khiva. [[Vasily Perovsky]] marched about 5000 men south from Orenburg. The winter was unusually cold, most of his camels died and he was forced to turn back. See [[Khivan campaign of 1839]].

==1847-1853: Syr-Darya line==
{{Location map+ | Kazakhstan
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[[File:Syrdaryamap.png|thumb|right|300px|Syr Darya (Jaxartes) Basin]]
<ref>The fullest account seems to be Valikhanov et al. "The Russians in Central Asia", 1865, chapters viii-x</ref> Southward from the Siberian Line the obvious next step was a line of forts along the [[Syr Darya]] eastward from the Aral Sea. This brought Russia into conflict with the Khan of Kokand. In the early 19th century Kokand began expanding northwest from the Ferghana Valley. About 1814 they took [[Turkestan (city)|Hazrat-i-Turkestan]] on the Syr Darya and around 1817 built [[Kyzylorda|Ak-Mechet]] ('White Mosque') further downriver, as well as smaller forts on both sides of Ak-Mechet. The area was ruled by the Beg of Ak Mechet who taxed the local Kazakhs who wintered along the river and had recently driven the Karakalpaks southward. In peacetime Ak-Mechet had a garrison of 50 and Julek 40. The Khan of Khiva had a weak fort on the lower part of the river.

Given Perovsky's failure in 1839 Russia decided on a slow but sure approach. In 1847 Captain Schultz the built Raimsk in the Syr delta. It was soon moved upriver to [[Kazalinsk]]. Both places were also called Fort Aralsk. Raiders from Khiva and Kokand attacked the local Kazakhs near the fort and were driven off by the Russians. Three sailing ships were built at Orenburg, disassembled, carried across to steppe and rebuilt. They were used to map the lake. In 1852/3 two steamers were carried in pieces from Sweden and launched on the Aral Sea. The local [[Saxaul]] proving impractical, they had to be fueled with anthracite brought from the Don. At other times a steamer would tow a barge-load of saxaul and periodically stop to reload fuel. The Syr proved to be shallow, full of sand bars and difficult to navigate during the spring flood.

In 1852 a surveying party went upriver and was turned back before reaching Ak-Mechet. That summer Colonel Blaramberg and about 400 men were sent to raze Ak-Mechet on the pretext that Russia owned the north side of the river. The Kokandis responded by breaking the dykes and flooding the surrounding area. Having brought no scaling ladders or heavy artillery, Blaramberg saw that he could not take the citadel with its 25-foot-high walls. He therefore captured the outworks, burnt everything in the area and retired to Fort Aralsk. The later-famous [[Yakub Beg]] had commanded the fort at one time, but it is not clear if he was in command during this first battle. Next summer the Russians assembled a force of over 2000 men, over 2000 each of horses, camels and oxen, 777 wagons, bridging timber, pontoons and the steamer “Perovsky”. To guarantee that there would be enough fodder to move this much from Orenburg to Fort Aralsk, the Kazakhs were forbidden to graze the lands north of the fort. Command was given to the same Perovsky who earlier had failed to reach Khiva. He left Aralsk in June and reached Ak-Mechet on July 2. The Kokandis had strengthened the fort and increased the garrison. A regular siege was begun. When the trenches neared the citadel, a mine was dug under the walls. At 3AM on 9 August 1853 the mine was exploded, creating a large breach. The breach was taken on the third try and by 4:30AM it was all over. 230 Kokandi bodies were counted out of the original 300-man garrison. The place was renamed Fort Perovsky.

During the siege Padurov went 100 miles upriver to Julek and found that its defenders had fled. He wrecked the fort as well as he could and returned with its abandoned guns. In September a large force from Kokand reoccupied Julek and advanced toward Fort Perovsky. The column sent to meet them had a hard day’s fight, called for reinforcements but next morning found that the Kokandis has retreated. In December a Kokandi force (said to be 12000 men) surrounded Fort Perovsky. A 500-man sortie was soon surrounded and in trouble. Major Shkupa, seeing the enemy camp weakly defended, broke out and burned the camp. Two more sorties drove the Kokandis off in disorder.

Russia now held a 200-mile line of forts along the west-flowing part of the Syr Darya. The area between the Aral and Caspian Seas was too thinly-populated to matter. The next question was whether Russia would extend the line east to the mountains (Fort Vernoye was founded in 1854) or continue southeast up the river to Kokand and the Ferghana Valley.

==1847-1864: Down the eastern side ==
[[File:KTZ 2TE10U Aynabulak.jpg|thumb|right|A train crossing the Kazakh steppe]]
In 1847-1864 the Russians crossed the eastern Kazakh steppe and built a line of forts in the irrigated area along the northern Kyrgyz border. In 1864-68 they moved south, conquered Tashkent and Samarkand, confined the Khanate of Kokand to the Ferghana valley and made Bokhara a protectorate. This was the main event of the conquest. Our sources do not say why an eastern approach was chosen, but an obvious guess is that irrigation made it possible to move armies without crossing steppe or desert. This was important when transport required grass-fed horses and camels. We are not told how Russia supplied an army this far east, or if this was a problem. It is not clear why a forward policy was now adopted. It seems that different officials had different opinions and much was decided by local commanders and the luck of the battlefield. All sources report Russian victories over greatly superior forces with kill ratios approaching ten to one. Even if enemy numbers are exaggerated it seems clear that Russian weapons and tactics were now superior to the traditional Asian armies that they faced. All sources mention breachloading rifles without further explanation. [[Berdan rifles]] are mentioned without giving numbers. MacGahan, in his account of the Khivan campaign, contrasts explosive artillery to traditional cannonballs. Artillery and rifles could often keep Russia soldiers out of reach of hand weapons.

[[File:The drive out of Bishkek. (3968077431).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Mountain-steppe boundary near Bishkek]]
'''Advance from the northeast (1847-1864):''' The eastern end of the Kazakh steppe was called [[Semirechye]] by the Russians. South of this, along the modern Kyrgyz border, the [[Tien Shan]] mountains extend about 400 miles to the west. Water coming down from the mountains provides irrigation for a line of towns and supports a natural caravan route. South of this mountain projection is the densely-populated [[Ferghana Valley]] ruled by the [[Khanate of Kokand]]. South of Ferghana is the [[Turkestan Range]] and then the land the ancients called [[Bactria]]. West of the northern range is the great city of [[Tashkent]] and west of the southern range is Tamerlane’s old capital [[Samarkand]].
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{{Location map~ |Kyrgyzstan|lat=39.70|long=69.22|label=Samarkand|mark=Pfeil links.svg}}

}}

In 1847<ref>Dates for Kopal through Aulie-Ata are from Bregel's Atlas and other sources, Indian Officer's dates seem off by a year or two.</ref> Kopal was founded southeast of Lake Balkash. In 1852<ref>Indian Officer puts this as two years before the foundation of Vernoye which he misdates to 1855, so 1852 is probably correct</ref> Russia crossed the [[Ili River]] and met Kazakh resistance and next year destroyed the Kazakh fort of Tuchubek. In 1854 they founded Fort Vernoye ([[Almaty]]) within sight of the mountains. Vernoye is about 500 miles south of the Siberian Line. Eight years later, in 1862, Russia took Tokmak ([[Tokmok]]) and Pishpek ([[Bishkek]]). Russia placed a force at the Kastek pass to block a counterattack from Kokand. The Kokandis used a different pass, attacked an intermediate post, Kolpakovsky rushed from Kastek and completely defeated a much larger army. In 1864 Chernayev<ref>for Chernyaev see David MacKenzie. The Lion of Tashkent: The Career of General M. G. Cherniaev, 1974 and also [[Serbo-Turkish War]]</ref> took command of the east, led 2500 men from Siberia, and captured Aulie-Ata ([[Taraz]]). Russia was now near the west end of the mountain range and about halfway between Vernoye and Ak-Mechet.

In 1851 Russia and China signed the [[Treaty of Kulja]] to regulate trade along what was becoming a new border. In 1864 they signed the [[Treaty of Tarbagatai]] which approximately established the current Chinese-Kazakh border. The Chinese thereby renounced any claims to the Kazakh steppe, to the extent that they had any.

'''Up the Syr Darya (1859-1864):''' Meanwhile, Russia was advancing southeast up the Syr Darya from Ak-Mechet. In 1859 Julek<ref>location uncertain, possibly the modern Zhilek.</ref> was taken from Kokand and in 1861 a Russian fort was built here and in the same year Yani Kurgan ([[Zhanakorgan]]?) fifty miles upriver was taken. In 1862 Chernyaev reconnoitered the river as far as Hazrat-i-Turkestan and captured the small oasis of Suzak about 65 miles east of the river. In June 1864 Veryovkin took [[Turkistan (city)|Hazrat-i-Turkestan]] from Kokand. He hastened surrender by bombarding the famous mausoleum. Two Russian columns met in the 150-mile gap between Hazrat and Aulie-Ata, thereby completing the Syr-Darya Line.

==1864-1868: Kokand and Bukhara subdued==
{{See also|Russian conquest of Bukhara}}

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}}
'''Tashkent (1865):''' About 50 miles south of the new line was Chimkent ([[Shymkent]]) which belonged to Kokand. Chernayev easily took it on 3 October 1864. On 15 October he suddenly appeared before Tashkent, failed to take it by sudden assault and retreated to Chimkent. Kokand then tried and failed to re-take Hazrat-i-Turkestan. In April 1865 Chernayev made a second attack on Tashkent. Unable to take such a large place (it was said to have a garrison of 30000) he occupied the town’s water supply at Niazbek. The [[Alimqul|Kokand Regent Alim Kuli]] arrived with 6000 more troops and almost defeated the Russians, but was killed in the fight. The inhabitants now offered to submit to the Emir of Bokhara in return for assistance. About 21 June a party of Bokharans entered the town and more Bokharan troops were on the move. In this critical position Chernayev deterimined to risk a storm. At 3 AM on 27 June Captain Abramov scaled the wall and opened the Kamelan Gate, advanced along the wall and opened a second gate while another party took the Kokand gate. That day and the next there was constant street fighting, but on the morning of the 29th a deputation of elders offered surrender.
[[File:KarazinNN VstRusVoyskGRM.jpg|thumb|250px|Russian troops taking [[Samarkand]] in 1868]]

'''Samarkand (1868):''' The Bokhara was now involved in the war. In February 1866 Chernayev crossed the [[Golodnaya Steppe|Hungry Steppe]] to the Bokharan fort of [[Jizzakh]]. Finding the task impossible, he withdrew to Tashkent followed by Bokharans who were soon joined by Kokandis. At this point Chernayev was recalled for insubordination and replaced by Romanovsky. Romanovsky prepared to attack Bohkara, the Amir moved first, the two forces met on the plain of Irjar.<ref>According to Bregel, page 64, near [[Kattakurgan, Uzbekistan]] about half way between Jizzakh and Bokhara. According to Skrine, kindle@2675, "Irjai" between Jizzakh and Kojend.</ref> The Bokharans were scattered, losing much of their artillery, supplies and treasure. Instead of following up, Romanovsky turned east and took [[Khujand|Kojent]], thereby closing the mouth of the Ferghana Valley. He then moved west and took Ura-Tepe<ref>apparently [[Istaravshan]] about 20 miles south of the midpoint of the 100-mile line between Jizzakh and Kojent.</ref> and Jizzakh from Bokhara. Bokhara began peace negotiations. In July 1867 a new Province of Turkestan was created and placed under [[Konstantin von Kaufman|General von Kaufmann]] with its headquarters at Tashkent. The Bokharan Amir did not fully control his subjects, there were random raids and rebellions, so Kaufmann decided to hasten matters by attacking Samarkand. After he dispersed a Bokharan force Samarkand closed its gates to the Bokharan army and surrendered (May 1868). He left a garrison in Samarkand and left to deal with some outlying areas.<ref>[[Shahrisabz]], Katti-Kurgan, Hussein Bek of [[Urgut]], Omar Bek of Chilek, Jura Bek, Baba Bek and others.</ref> The garrison was besieged and in great difficulty until Kaufmann returned. On 5 July 1868 a peace treaty was signed. The Khanate of Bokhara lost Samarkand and remained a semi-independent vassal until the revolution. The Khanate of Kokand had lost its western territory, was confined to the Ferghana valley and surrounding mountains and remained independent for about 10 years. According to the Bregel's Atlas, if nowhere else, in 1870 the now-vassal Khanate of Bokhara expanded east and annexed that part of Bactria enclosed by the Turkestan Range, the Pamir plateau and the Afghan border.

==The Caspian side==
{{Location map+ | Caspian Sea
| AlternativeMap = Caspian Sea relief location map.jpg
| width = 150
| caption = Russian forts on the east side of the Caspian
| places =
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=46.25|long=48.05|label=Astrakhan|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=47.12|long=51.88|label=Guryev|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=40.02|long=52.97|label=Krasnovodsk}}
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=44.52|long=50.27|label=Alexandrovsk|position=left}}
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=44.75|long=53.63|label=NovoAlex|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=42.78|long=52.63|label=Kinderli}}
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=37.57|long=53.88|label=Chikishlyar}}
{{Location map~|Caspian Sea|lat=36.90|long=54.01|label=Ashuradeh}}
}}

Russia now held an approximately triangular area bounded by the eastern mountains and the vassal Khanate of Bokhara along most of the Oxus. The southern point was about 1000 miles south of Siberia, 1000 miles southeast of Orenburg and 1200 miles southeast of the supply bases on the Volga. The next step was to turn this triangle into a rectangle by moving east across the Caspian Sea from the Caucasus. The Caucasus held many troops left over from the [[Russian conquest of the Caucasus]] but the [[Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917)|Viceroy of the Caucasus]] had so far not been active in Turkestan. The Caucasus has a fairly dense population but the east side of the Caspian is desert with significant population only in the oases of Khiva and along the [[Kopet Dag]] and at [[Merv]] in the south. The main events were the defeat of Khiva in 1873, the conquest of the Turkomans in 1881, the annexation of Merv in 1884 and the Panjdeh area in 1885.

For reference, these were the Russian bases on the north and east side of the Caspian:
*[[Astrakhan]] (1556-): at the mouth of the [[Volga River]] with connections to the rest of Russia
*[[Guryev]] (1645-): a small place at the mouth of the [[Ural River]]
*Novo-Alexandrovsk (1834-1846): a shallow port that was soon abandoned
*[[Fort-Shevchenko|Alexandrovsk]] (1846-): important at this time but not later
*Kenderli (?1873): a temporary base
*[[Krasnovodsk]] (1869-) the best port and later headquarters of the [[Transcaspian Oblast]] and start of the [[Trans-Caspian railway]]
*Chikishlyar (1871-?): a beach rather than a port
*[[Ashuradeh]] (1837-?) a fort and naval station on land claimed by Persia.

==1873: The conquest of Khiva==
[[File:Aral map.png|thumb|right|The Khanate of Khiva was south of the Aral Sea in the Oxus (Amu-Darya) delta]]
[[File:Russians entering khiva 1873.jpg|thumb|240px|Russians entering [[Khiva]] in 1873]]
The decision to attack Khiva was made in December 1872. Khiva was an oasis surrounded by several hundred miles of desert. The Russians could easily defeat the Khivan army if they could move enough troops across the desert. The place was attacked from five directions. Kaufmann marched west from Tashkent and was joined by another army coming south from Aralsk. They met in the desert, ran short of water, abandoned part of their supplies and reached the Oxus in late May. Veryovkin left from Orenburg, had little difficulty moving along the west side of the Aral Sea and reached the northwest corner of the delta in mid-May. He was joined by Lomakin who had a hard time crossing the desert from the Caspian. Markozov started from Chikishlyar, ran short of water and was forced to turn back. Kaufmann crossed the Oxus, fought a few easy battles and on June 4 the Khan sued for peace. Meanwhile, Veryovkin, who was out of contact with Kaufmann, crossed the delta and attacked the city walls of Khiva until he was called off by Kaufmann. The Khanate of Khiva became a Russian protectorate and remained so until the revolution. For a fuller account see [[Khivan campaign of 1873]].

==1879-1885: Turkmenistan: Geok Tepe, Merv and Panjdeh==
{{Location map+ | Turkmenistan
| AlternativeMap = Relief Map of Turkmenistan.png
| width = 250|float=lright
| caption = Conquest of Turkmenistan 1879-1885 [[File:Solid blue.svg|10px]] =Russian fort; [[File:Dot-yellow.svg|10px]] =Khanate The '''Kopet Dagh''' Mountains run from beyond Geok Tepe northwest toward Krasnovodsk
| places =
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan| lat_deg = 40.017|lon_deg = 52.967|label= Krasno vodsk|position=top|mark=Solid blue.svg}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=37.57|long=53.88|label=Chik ishlyar|position=left|mark=Solid blue.svg}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=41.55|long=61.00|label=PetroAlex.|position=right|mark=Solid blue.svg}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=37.31|long=60.50|label=Tejend|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=37.66|long=62.14|label=Merv}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=38.16|long=57.97|label=Geok Tepe|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=38.01|long=55.31|label=Atrek River|mark=Pfeil links unten.svg|position=bottom}}

{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=36.04|long=62.757|label=Panjdeh|position=right|}}

{{Location map~ |Turkmenistan|lat=39.77|long=64.33|label=Bukhara|mark=Dot-yellow.svg|position=top}}
{{Location map~ |Turkmenistan|lat=41.38|long=60.22|label=Khiva|mark=Dot-yellow.svg|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=35.00|long=62.34|label=to Herat|position=left|mark=Pfeil unten.svg}}
{{Location map~|Turkmenistan|lat=35.50|long=55.00|label=PERSIA|position=right|mark=Clear pog.svg}}

}}
[[Turkmenistan|The Turkoman country]] remained unconquered. The area corresponded to the [[Karakum Desert]] and was inhabited by the [[Turkmens|Turkoman]] desert nomads. Irrigation supported a settled population along the Amu-Darya in the northeast and along the north slope of the [[Kopet Dag]] mountains in the southwest. East of the Kopet Dag two rivers flowing north from Afghanistan supported the oases of [[Tejen]]d and [[Merv]]. The semi-settled population would drive their flocks out into the desert in spring and fall. The Turkomans had no organized state. Some served as mercenaries for Khiva. They had a habit of raiding Persia and selling the resulting slaves to Khiva. They also had a breed of [[Akhal-Teke|desert-adapted horse]] that could usually outrun anything the Cossacks had. Unlike the rather antiquated armies of the Khanates, the Turkomans were good raiders and horsemen, but they could do little against the Russians' modern weapons and explosive artillery. As usual, the main problem was moving men and supplies across the desert.

'''1879: Lomakin's defeat at Geok Tepe:''' Lazarev landed a large force at Chikishlyar and began moving men and supplies up the Atrek River. He died suddenly and Lomakin took command. Lomakin crossed the Kopet Dagh with too few men, made an incompetent attack on Geok Tepe and was forced to retreat. See [[Battle of Geok Tepe (1879)]].

'''1881: Skobelev's bloody victory at Geok Teppe:''' Skobelev was put in charge in March 1880. He spent most of the summer and fall moving men and supplies from Chikishlyar to the north side of the Kopet Dagh. In December he marched southwest, besieged Geok Tepe for a month and took it by blowing up a mine under its walls. At least 14000 Tekkes were killed. A week later he occupied [[Ashkabat]] 25 miles southeast, but could go no further. In May 1881 the occupied area was annexed as the [[Transcaspian Oblast]]. The eastern boundary of the Oblast was undefined. See [[Battle of Geok Tepe]].

'''1884: The annexation of Merv:''' The [[Trans-Caspian Railway]] reached [[Serdar (city)|Kazyl Arbat]] at the northwest end of the Kopet Dagh in mid-September 1881. In October through December Lessar surveyed the north side of the Kopet Dagh and reported that there would be no problem building a railway along it. From April 1882 he examined the country almost to Herat and reported that were no military obstacles between the Kopet Dagh and Afghanistan. Nazirov or Nazir Beg went to Merv in disguise and then crossed the desert to Bokhara and Tashkent.

The irrigated area along the Kopet Dagh ends east of Ashkebat. Further east there is desert, then the small oasis of [[Tejen]]t, more desert and the much larger oasis of [[Merv]]. Merv had the great fortress of Kaushut Khan and was inhabited by the same Tekkes that fought at Geok Tepe. As soon as the Russians were established in Ashkabad traders, and also spies, began moving between the Kopet Dagh and Merv. Some elders from Merv went north to Petroalexandrovsk and offered a degree of submission to the Russians there. The Russians at Ashkebat had to explain that both groups were part of the same empire. In February 1882 Alikhanov visited Merv and began talking to Makhdum Kuli Khan who had been in command at Geok Tepe. In September he persuaded him to take an oath of allegiance to the White Czar.

Skobelev had been replaced by Rohrberg in the spring of 1881, who was followed General Komarov in the spring of 1883. Near the end of 1883, General Komarov led 1500 men to occupy the Tejend oasis. After Komarov’s occupation of Tejend Alikhanov and Makhdum Kuli Khan went to Merv and called a meeting of elders, one threatening and the other persuading. Having no wish to repeat the slaughter at Geok Tepe, 28 elders went to Ashkabad and on February 12 took an oath of allegiance in the presence of General Komarov. A faction in Merv tried to resist but was too weak to accomplish anything. On March 16, 1884 Komarov occupied Merv. The subject Khanates of Khiva and Bokhara were now surrounded by Russian territory.

'''1885: Expansion stopped at Panjdeh:''' Between Merv and the current Afghan border is about 140 miles of semi-desert. South of that is the important border fort of Herat. In the summer of 1884 Britain and Russia agreed to formalize the northwest Afghan border. The Russians did what they could to push the border south before it became frozen. When they captured the Afghan fort of Panjdeh Britain came close to threatening war. Both sides backed down and the border was delineated between 1885 and 1886. For a fuller account see [[Panjdeh incident]].

== 1872-1895: The eastern mountains==
The natural eastern boundary of Russian Turkestan was the eastern mountains, but the exact line had to be settled. There were four main problems.

'''1867-1877: Yakub Beg:''' East of the Feghana Valley and southeast of Fort Vernoye on the other side of the mountains is the oval [[Tarim Basin]] which had belonged to China since 1759. During the [[Dungan Revolt (1862–77)]] China lost partial control of its western territories. A man named [[Yakub Beg]] made himself master of [[Kashgar]] and most of the Tarim Basin. Kaufmann twice thought of attacking him. In 1872 forces were massed on the border but this was called off because of the impending war against Khiva. In 1875 more serious plans were made. A mission was sent to the Khan of Kokand to ask permission to move forces through his domains. A revolt broke out and the Russian troops were used instead to annex Kokand (see below). In 1877 China re-conquered the Tarim Basin and Yakub Beg was killed.

[[image:Lakebalkhashbasinmap.png|thumb|right|300px|Ili River basin. Yining is Kulja, Almaty is Fort Vernoye. Tarim Basin at lower right.]]
'''1871-1883: temporary occupation of Kulja:''' The Tien Shan mountains run along the northern border of Kyrgyzstan. They continue east and separate [[Dzungaria]] in the north from the [[Tarim Basin]] in the south. On the Chinese side the [[Borohoro Mountains]] branch off creating the upper [[Ili River]] valley with its capital of Kulja (modern [[Yining City]]). Although normally part of Dzungaria the valley opens out onto the Russian-controlled steppe. In 1866 the Dungans captured Kulja and massacred its inhabitants. They soon began fighting with the [[Taranchi]]s ([[Uigurs]]) who soon became dominant. In 1870 it appeared that Yakub Beg might move on Kulja so Kaufmann occupied the [[Muzat River|Muzart Pass]]. In June 1871 General Kolpakovsky crossed the border and occupied Kulja (4 July 1871). Some talked of permanent occupation but the Russian Foreign Office told the Chinese that the province would be returned as soon as the Emperor could send enough troops to maintain order. In 1877 China regained control of [[Xinjiang|Chinese Turkestan]] and requested the return of Kulja. In September 1879 the Chinese ambassador concluded a treaty at Livadia but his government rejected it. This was replaced by the more favorable [[Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881)]]. Russia finally evacuated Kulja in the spring of 1883. There were the usual border disputes and an additional protocol was signed at Chuguchak ([[Tacheng]]?) on October 19, 1883. The re-occupation of Kulja was one of the few Chinese successes against a Western power during the nineteenth century.

'''1876: Kokand annexed:''' By 1868 the Khanate of Kokand had been confined to the Ferghana Valley and surrounding mountains. Kokand had always been unstable with many temporary factions and changes of regime. A rebellion broke out in 1873. By July 1875 most of the Khan’s army and much of his family had deserted to the rebels, so he fled to the Russians at Kojent along with a million British pounds of treasure. The rebels wanted to fight the Russians as well as the Khan and Kojent was briefly besieged. Kaufmann invaded the Khanate on September 1, fought several battles and entered the capital on September 10, 1875. In October he transferred command to [[Mikhail Skobelev]]. Fighting continued outside the capital. As soon as one group of rebels was defeated another would appear somewhere else. Kokand was formally annexed on March 2, 1876, but disorder continued, especially in the mountains.

[[File:High Asia Mountain Ranges.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Pamirs from space Right: Tarim Basin Left: part of Afghanistan, Hindu Kush, Bactria, Turkestan Range, Ferghana Valley, main range of the Tien Shan]]
'''1893: Pamirs occupied: ''' <ref>the best account is probably Robert Middleton and Huw Thomas, “Tajikistan and the High Pamirs”, Odyssey Books, 2008</ref> The southeast corner of Russian Turkestan was the high [[Pamirs]] which is now the [[Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region]] of Tajikistan. The high plateaus on the east are used for summer pasture. On the west side difficult gorges run down to the [[Panj river]] and Bactria. In 1871 [[Alexei Fedchenko]] got the Khan’s permission to explore southward. He reached the [[Alay Valley]] but his escort would not permit him to go south onto the Pamir plateau. In 1876 Skobelev chased a rebel south to the Alay Valley and Kostenko went over the [[Kyzylart Pass]] and mapped the area around [[Karakul (Tajikistan)|Karakul Lake]] on the northeast part of the plateau. In the next 20 years most of the area was mapped. In 1891 the Russians informed [[Francis Younghusband]] that he was on their territory and later escorted a Lieutenant Davidson out of the area ('Pamir Incident'). In 1892 a battalion of Russians under Mikhail Ionov entered the area and camped near the present [[Murghab, Tajikistan]] in the northeast. Next year they built a proper fort there (Pamirskiy Post). In 1895 their base was moved west to [[Khorog]] facing the Afghans. In 1893 the [[Durand Line]] established the [[Wakhan Corridor]] between the Russian Pamirs and British India.

==The Great Game==
The [[Great Game]] <ref>source for this section is Peter Hopkirk, “The Great Game”, 1990</ref>refers to British attempts to block Russian expansion southeast toward India. Although there was much talk of a possible Russian invasion of India and a number of British agents and adventurers penetrated central Asia, the British did nothing serious to prevent the Russian conquest of Turkestan, with one exception. Whenever Russian agents approached Afghanistan they reacted very strongly, seeing Afghanistan as a necessary buffer state for the defense of India. This section re-tells those parts of the [[Great Game]] that are directly relevant to the present article.

A Russian invasion of India seems improbable, but a number of British writers considered how it might be done. When little was known about the geography it was thought that they could reach Khiva and sail up the Oxus to Afghanistan. More realistically they might gain Persian support and cross northern Persia. Once in Afghanistan they would swell their armies with offers of loot and invade India. Alternatively they might invade India and provoke a native rebellion. The goal would probably not be the conquest of India but to put pressure on the British while Russia did something more important such as taking Constantinople.

In 1801 there was some loose talk of a joint Franco-Russian invasion of India. During the [[Russo-Persian War (1804–13)]] both British and French agents were active in Persia, their goals varying depending on which power was allied with Russia at the time. In 1810 Charles Christie and [[Henry Pottinger]] crossed western Afghanistan and eastern Persia. Christie was killed in 1812 supporting the Persians at the [[Battle of Aslanduz]]. In 1819 Muraviev reached Khiva. A Russian mission reached Bokhara in 1820. In 1825 [[William Moorcroft (explorer)|Moorcroft]] reached Bukhara. In 1830 [[Arthur Conolly]] tried to reach Khiva from Persia but was turned back by bandits and continued on to Herat and British India. In 1832 [[Alexander Burnes]] reached Bokhara.

[[File:The army of the Indus entering Kandahar.jpg|thumb|British army entering [[Kandahar]] in 1839]]
The period from 1837 to 1842 was especially active. In 1839, at the time of Perovsky’s failed attack on Khiva, [[James Abbott (Indian Army officer)|Abbot]] went to Khiva to negotiate the release of Russian slaves held there in order to remove a pretext for the invasion. He failed. Next year [[Richmond Shakespear]] went after him, was successful, and led 416 Russian slaves to the Caspian. In 1837 [[Jan Prosper Witkiewicz]] reached Kabul. In 1838 Persia [[Siege of Herat (1838)|besieged Herat]], with British and Russian agents supporting the two sides. Brittan ended the siege by occupying a Persian island. In 1838 [[Charles Stoddart]] went to Bokhara and was arrested. In 1841 [[Arthur Conolly]] went to secure his release and both were executed in 1842. During the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]] (1839-42) Brittan invaded Afghanistan, was driven out, re-invaded and withdrew.

The British took Sindh in 1843 and Punjab in 1849, thereby gaining the Indus River and a border with Afghanistan. The [[Crimean War]] occurred in 1853-56. A second Persian attack on Herat led to the [[Anglo-Persian War]] of 1856-57. The [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian Mutiny]] occurred in 1857-58. This was about the time Russian was building forts east from the Aral Sea (1847-53). The Russian capture of Tashkent (1865) and Samarkand(1868) produced no British response.

In 1875, following the conquest of Khiva, [[Frederick Gustavus Burnaby]] rode from Orenburg to Khiva, an event that was only important because of his widely-read book. Kaufman’s intrigues in Kabul provoked the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]] of 1878-80. During the second battle of Geok Tepe Colonel Charles Stewart was on the south side of the mountain doing something that has never been clarified.

On the Chinese side of the mountains a line of passes corresponding the [[Karakoram Highway]] provided a trade and pilgrim route from the Tarim Basin to India. It was not clear whether this could be used by an army. At the time of Yakub Beg both Russian and British agents were active at his court. A number of [[Pundit (explorer)|Indians in the British service]] mapped the area around the Pamirs. Russian expansion in the Pamirs provoked the British to move northward and gain control of places like [[Hunza Valley|Hunza]] and [[Chitral]].

The Great Game came to an end with the demarcation of the northern Afghan border [[Afghan Boundary Commission|in 1886]] and [[Wakhan Corridor|1893]] and the [[Anglo-Russian Entente]] of 1907.

==References and notes==
{{Citationstyle|date=December 2016}}
*Yuri Bregel, ''An Historical Atlas of Central Asia'', 2003
*[[Francis Henry Skrine]], ''The Heart of Asia'', circa 1900 (good short introduction)
*"An Indian Officer", ''Russia's March towards India'', 2 volumes, 1894
*There is no modern book on the Russian conquest of Central Asia and Indian Officer's old book seems the best account. This article is largely a summary of Indian Officer. Better sources for details are indicated in the footnotes or in the linked articles.
*notes:
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russian conquest of Turkestan}}
[[Category:Turkestan]]
[[Category:History of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:History of Turkmenistan]]
[[Category:History of Tajikistan]]
[[Category:History of Kyrgyzstan]]
[[Category:History of Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:Wars involving Russia]]
[[Category:19th-century military history of Russia]]

Nushibi

2017-04-12T00:52:57Z

Benjamin Trovato: /* Western Turkic Kaganate */ fix link

{{For|Nushibi butterfly|Plebejus}}
{{History of Kazakhstan}}

'''Nushibi''' ('''Nu-shibi''', Chinese 弩失畢) was a Chinese collective name for five tribes of the right (western) wing <ref>Yu. Zuev, ''"The Strongest tribe - Izgil"''//Historical And Cultural Relations Between Iran And Dasht-i Kipchak in the 13th through 18th Centuries, Materials of International Round Table, Almaty, 2004, p. 53, ISBN 9965-699-14-3</ref> in the [[Western Turkic Kaganate]], and members of ''On oq'' (Turkic '''ten arrows''') confederation found in the literature about the Western Turkic Kaganate as ''Ten arrows (ten tribes) Türks''. The references to Nushibi appeared in Chinese sources in 651 and disappeared after 766. The Nushibi tribes occupied the lands of the Western Turkic Kaganate west of the river [[Ili River|Ili]]. The Chinese annals recorded that the first in the list of tribes of right wing was listed [[Ashtak]] tribe of ''Ulug-ok'' (Turkic ''Great tribe''), a conjugal tribe of the Kagans from the Kaganate western branch, who belonged to the "celestial-blue" tribe [[Ashina]]. In the Kaganate, the position of Yabgu (Chinese Pinyin "Sihou"), and Katun (Kagan's wife) belonged to the members of the Ulug-ok tribe.<ref>Yu. Zuev, ''"Early Türks: Sketches of history and ideology"'', Almaty, Daik-Press, 2002, p. 33, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|9985-4-4152-9}}</ref> Two other members of the Nushibi wing were [[Turgesh]] tribes ''Alishi'' and ''Sakla-baga'' (Chinese [[Pinyin]] ''Soge Mohe''), with a common appellation [[Alat tribe|''Halach'' (''Kalach'')]] for the two-tribe composition, known from the Chinese, Arabic, and Turkic sources.<ref>Yu. Zuev, ''"Early Türks: Sketches of history and ideology"'', p. 144</ref> Two more tribes were the descendents of the Eastern "weak Huns" (Ch. [[Yueban]]) - [[Chumuhun]] and Chuban.<ref>Gumilev L.N., ''"Ancient Türks"'', Moscow, 'Science', 1967, Ch.16, http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/OT/ot16.htm (In Russian)</ref>

Etymology of the term ''Nushibi'' comes from the Turkic name for the "right wing" ''on shadapyt'', "nushibi" is a colloquial pronunciation in modern Han dialect of the Chinese hieroglyphs for "right wing", ''modern Chinese'' Nu-shibi < 'nou siet - piet < ''Turkic'' ong shadapyt.<ref>Yu. Zuev, ''"The Strongest tribe - Izgil", p. 53, ISBN 9965-699-14-3</ref>

==Historical Outline==

===Western Turkic Kaganate===
{{main article|Western Turkic Khaganate|l1=Western Turkic Kaganate}}

After the split of the [[First Turkic Kaganate]] in 604, the Western Turkic Kaganate was initially reorganized as a "ten arrows" ''Onoq'' confederation with Nushibi 5-tribe right wing dominating over the left wing of the [[Dulu Turks|Dulu]] group of five tribes. Both Nushibi and Dulu (''Dulo'') belonged to the Turkic tribes of the Chuy group, and spoke close dialects.<ref>Chavannes, Édouard. ''Documents sur les Tou-kiue (Turcs) occidentaux''. 1900. Paris, Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient. Reprint: SPb, 1903, p. 47.</ref>

The transfer of supremacy from the Dulu group to Nushibi had outcome reverberating across Erasian continent. Nushibi controlled, and benefited, from the operation of their section of the transcontinental trade road ([[Silk Road]]), and were in alliance with [[Sogdiana]], a chain of small oasis principalities who were also members of the Western Turkic Khaganate, and served as main operators of the Silk Road. Nushibi interest in the Silk Road operation brought them, in addition to the [[Sogdians]], into a coalition with [[Byzantine]] and [[China]], two other superpowers interested in the east-west trade. In the west, the coalition included Khazars in the N. Caucasus, and Bulgars in the N. Pontic steppes. This alignment was opposed a coalition of two other powers, [[Persia]] and [[Turkic Khaganate|Eastern Turkic Kaganate]], which brought about the first world wars of the 7th century Early Middle Ages.<ref>Gumilev L.N., ''"Ancient Türks"'', Moscow, 'Science', 1967, Ch.12, http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/OT/ot12.htm (In Russian)</ref><ref>Gumilev L.N., ''"Ancient Türks"'', Moscow, 'Science', 1967, Ch.15 ''World War of the 7th century'', http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/OT/ot15.htm (In Russian)</ref>

Nushibi interests in the Western Turkic Kaganate were advanced by the Kagan '''[[Tong Yabghu|Tun-djabgu-khan]]''' (Djabgu = dialect. [[Yabgu]]), known from the Armenian annals as "King of the North". The capital was located north of [[Chach (city)|Chach]] (modern Tashkent) oasis. The period of Nushibi dominance was interrupted in 628 by a joined revolt of [[Karluks]] and Dulu tribes, and a consequent death of Tun-djabgu-kagan from the hands of his uncle. In the interregnum, led by his uncle with a title '''Külüg Sibir-Khan''', the Dulu fraction restored its former dominating position. The coup brought a considerable upshot, in 630 Sibir-Khan had to grant Bulgarians their independence and allow them reorganize as what became known as [[Great Bulgaria]].<ref name="Gumilev L.N. 1967">Gumilev L.N., ''"Ancient Türks"'', Moscow, 'Science', 1967, Ch.16</ref> Nushibi opposition to the usurper was headed by Nishu-Kana-shad, a ruler with a seat in [[Paykend]] (''Paikent''), who ruled [[Bukhara]] province. Sibir-Khan was killed in 631, and Nushibi installed their choice, son of Tun-djabgu-kagan with a title '''Irbis Bolun djabgu-khan''', who received a derisive nickname '''Sydjabgu''' (Turkic ''treacherous''), and was known to western contemporaries as Sinjibu and Silzibul <ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-546105/Sinjibu Sinjibu, or Silzibul (Turkish leader) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia]</ref> but soon had to replace him with Nishu-Kana-shad under a name '''[[Dulu-khan]]''' (632-634), probably to apease the northern Dulu tribes. The next succession followed the traditional [[Order of succession|lateral succession]] order, a younger brother of Nishu was enthroned with a title '''Yshbara Tolis-shad''' (634–639), he enacted a major reform by consenting to the Dulu and Nushibi wings' autonomy and native leadership, not drawn from the Ashina clan. The order, favorable to the Dulu and Nushibi, was hurtful to the [[Karluks]], [[Yagma]], [[Kipchaks]], [[Basmals]], and worse of all to the descendents of the Eastern [[Huns]] - [[Chumuhun|Chuüe]], [[Chumuhun|Chumi]] and [[Shato]], they were especially anguished because their kins [[Chumuhun]] and [[Chumuhun|Chuban]] were in the privileged Nushibi wing.<ref name="Gumilev L.N. 1967"/>

===Independence===
In 647 the Western Turkic Kaganate was split into two independent states as a result of [[Ili River]] treaty. The independence period lasted until the rise of the [[Second Turkic Kaganate]]. In 667 the Nushibi wing of the On oq allied with Tibet.<ref>Beckwith, Christopher I. ''The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia''. (1987), pp. 32–33. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3.</ref> At about 720, a campaign led by [[Kul Tegin]] defeated the forces of the Nushibi tribal union led by the [[Esegel|Ezgil]] (Izgil) tribe, and subjugated the former "eastern wing", which from that time disappeared from the literature. The episode of the military campaign is mentioned in the [[Bilge Kağan|Bilge Kagan]] inscription in the [[Orkhon people|Orkhon]] written monuments.<ref>Yu. Zuev, ''"The Strongest tribe - Izgil"'', p. 58,</ref>

===Nushibi Tribal Leaders===

Reconstructed partial list of tribal leaders of the ''on shadapyt'' right wing, recorded in the Chinese sources:

# [[Esegel|Ezgil]] Kül-erkin;
# Kashu Kül-erkin;;
# Barskhan Tun-ashpa [ra]-erkin;;
# [[Esegel|Ezgil]] Nizuk-erkin;;
# Kashu Chopan-erkin.

The first word of the title is the name of the Nushibi tribe. [[Esegel|Ezgil/Ezgel]] tribe was a "strongest" of them, its leader in the 563 sent ambassadors to the distant Constantinople.<ref>Yu. Zuev, ''"The Strongest tribe - Izgil"'', p. 53</ref>

==Ethnic and linguistic affiliation==
The difference between Nushibi and Dulu groups was solely economical, a consequence of their relative geographical location. Dulu occupied northern portion of the Middle Asia steppes, away from the main artery of the Silk Road, and were little affected by the intracontinental trade. The main source of Dulu trade income came from [[Gaochang|Turfan]] of the [[Turpan|Turfan basin]]. Nushibi occupied lands south of Dulu, controlled a major stretch of the caravan road artery and numerous branches, and were profoundly affected by its operation. The constellation of oasis city-states with a common name Sogdiana, whose merchants were the main trade operators, spoke a Turkic language, and established a symbiotic relationship with their Nushibi nomadic sponsors. Lev Gumilev noted that Dulu and Nushibi language was a "djo"-type dialect ('''dj'''abgu), as opposed to the "yo"-type dialect ('''y'''abgu).<ref>Gumilev L.N., ''"Ancient Türks"'', Moscow, 'Science', 1967, p.150, note 3</ref> The "djo"-type dialect belongs to the Ogur (Karluk) branch of the Turkic language family.

==See also==
[[Chumuhun|Chuy (tribes)]]

==References==
<references/>

{{Kazakhstan topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nushibi}}
[[Category:Turkic tribes]]
[[Category:History of Kazakhstan]]

Kazakh Steppe

2017-03-17T18:14:00Z

Benjamin Trovato: explain redirect Kirgiz/kazakh

{{Unreferenced|date=December 2007}}
{{-}}
[[Image:AltynEmeil.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The steppes of Eastern Kazakhstan in Altyn Emeil National Park]]
The '''Kazakh Steppe''', also called the Great '''[[Betpak-Dala|Dala]]''', [[ecoregion]], of the [[Palearctic]] [[temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]] [[biome]], is a vast region of open [[grassland]] in northern [[Kazakhstan]] and adjacent portions of [[Russia]], extending to the east of the [[Pontic steppe]] and to the west of the [[Emin Valley steppe]], with which it forms part of the [[Eurasian steppe]]. Before the mid-nineteenth century it was called the Kirghiz steppe, 'Kirghiz' being an old name for the Kazakhs.

==Setting==
The [[steppe]] extends more than 2,200 km from the area east of the [[Caspian Depression]] and north of the [[Aral Sea]], all the way to the [[Altai Mountains]]. It is the largest dry steppe region on earth, covering approximately 804,500 square kilometers. The Kazakh Steppe lies at the southern end of the [[Ural Mountains]], the traditional dividing line between [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]. Much of the steppe is considered to be semi-desert, grading into desert as one goes further south. The [[Turan Lowland]] lies in the southwestern part of the steppe, but elevation increases as one travels east or to the northern parts of the steppe, with a few exceptions.

The [[Pontic Steppe]] lies to the west and northwest. To the north and northeast of the Kazakh Steppe lies the [[Kazakh forest steppe]], an ecoregion of pine groves interspersed with grasslands that forms a transition between the Kazakh steppe and the forests of Siberia. To the south lies the [[Kazakh semi-desert]] and the [[Kazakh upland]] ecoregions. The [[Kokchetav Massif]] in north-central Kazakhstan harbors an enclave of the Kazakh upland, distinct from the Kazakh steppe which surrounds it at lower elevations.

===Climate===
The region has a [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]], [[Continentality|continental]] climate, with most of the area falling under the "[[Semi-arid climate#Cold Semi-arid climates|BSk]]" classification under the [[Köppen climate classification]] system. The steppe receives from 200mm to 400mm of [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] in an average year, with more falling in the northern areas of the steppe. Average temperatures in July range from 20C to 26C, and -12C to -18C in January. Very high winds sweep across the plains at times.

{{Weather box
|location = [[Astana]]
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 4
|Feb record high C = 5
|Mar record high C = 22
|Apr record high C = 30
|May record high C = 36
|Jun record high C = 40
|Jul record high C = 42
|Aug record high C = 39
|Sep record high C = 36
|Oct record high C = 27
|Nov record high C = 19
|Dec record high C = 5
|year record high C = 42
|Jan high C = -12
|Feb high C = -11
|Mar high C = -4
|Apr high C = 9
|May high C = 19
|Jun high C = 25
|Jul high C = 27
|Aug high C = 24
|Sep high C = 18
|Oct high C = 8
|Nov high C = -2
|Dec high C = -9
|year high C = 7
|Jan mean C = -15
|Feb mean C = -15
|Mar mean C = -9
|Apr mean C = 5
|May mean C = 13
|Jun mean C = 19
|Jul mean C = 21
|Aug mean C = 18
|Sep mean C = 12
|Oct mean C = 4
|Nov mean C = -6
|Dec mean C = -12
|year mean C = 3
|Jan low C = -21
|Feb low C = -21
|Mar low C = -15
|Apr low C = -2
|May low C = 5
|Jun low C = 11
|Jul low C = 13
|Aug low C = 11
|Sep low C = 5
|Oct low C = -1
|Nov low C = -11
|Dec low C = -18
|year low C = -3
|Jan record low C = -52
|Feb record low C = -49
|Mar record low C = -38
|Apr record low C = -28
|May record low C = -11
|Jun record low C = -2
|Jul record low C = 2
|Aug record low C = -2
|Sep record low C = -8
|Oct record low C = -26
|Nov record low C = -39
|Dec record low C = -44
|year record low C = -52
|Jan precipitation mm = 22
|Feb precipitation mm = 14
|Mar precipitation mm = 19
|Apr precipitation mm = 21
|May precipitation mm = 31
|Jun precipitation mm = 40
|Jul precipitation mm = 50
|Aug precipitation mm = 37
|Sep precipitation mm = 26
|Oct precipitation mm = 27
|Nov precipitation mm = 20
|Dec precipitation mm = 22
|year precipitation mm = 327
|date=August 2010
}}

==Flora==
Because of low rainfall, the steppe has few trees, and consists of mostly [[grassland]]s and large, sandy areas.

==Fauna==
Animals that can be found in the steppes of Kazakhstan include the [[Saiga Antelope]], [[Siberian Roe Deer]], [[wolve]]s, [[fox]]es, [[badger]]s, [[Mongolian gerbil]]s and [[Russian tortoise|steppe tortoise]]s.

==People==
The western part of the Kazakh Steppe is very sparsely populated, with between two and three people per square kilometer. As one heads east across the plains, the population density increases to between four and seven people per square kilometer. [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] people make up the majority of the people living in the area. Russia leases approximately 7,360 square kilometers in the southern region of the steppe for the world's oldest [[space launch facility]], [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]].

==In popular culture==

The movie [[Tulpan]] was shot and set in the Kazakh Steppe.

==See also==
*[[Saryarka — Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan]]
*[[West Siberian Plain]]
*[[:Category:Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands|Category - Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]]

==External links==
* CIA, The World Factbook, 2004
* {{NatGeo ecoregion|id=pa0810|name=Kazakh steppe}}
* {{WWF ecoregion|name=Kazakh steppe|id=pa0810}}
* Saudi Aramco World, [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200303/the.soul.of.kazakhstan.htm]
* surfbirds.com, [http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/trips/kazak-jj-0204.html]
*Map of the Kazakh Steppe, [http://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/carbon_cycle/images/FluxesResearchActivities2.jpg]

{{Paleartic temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands}}
{{Geography topics}}
{{Physical geography topics}}
{{Kazakhstan topics}}

{{Coord missing|Kazakhstan}}

[[Category:Eurasian Steppe]]
[[Category:Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]]
[[Category:Grasslands of Kazakhstan|Steppe]]
[[Category:Grasslands of Russia|Steppe]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Russia]]
[[Category:Physiographic provinces]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Asia]]
[[Category:Palearctic ecozone]]

Eurasia Canal

2017-03-02T22:47:41Z

Benjamin Trovato: /* Potential shipping route */ requested map

{{merge|Manych Ship Canal|discuss=Talk:Eurasia Canal#Merger proposal|date=February 2016}}

[[File:Lake Manych-Gudilo satellite-photo.png|300px|thumb|right|Lake [[Manych-Gudilo]] is midway on the course of the proposed Eurasia Canal]]
The '''Eurasia Canal''' ({{lang-ru|Канал "Евразия"}}, ''Kanal "Evraziya"'') is a proposed 700-kilometre-long (430 mi) [[canal]] connecting the [[Caspian Sea]] to the [[Black Sea]] along the [[Kuma-Manych Depression]]. Currently, a chain of lakes and reservoirs and the shallow irrigation [[Kuma-Manych Canal]] are found along this route.

The canal is intended to provide a shorter route for shipping than the existing [[Volga–Don Canal]] system of waterways; it would also require fewer [[Ship lock|locks]] (or lower-[[Ship_lock#Rise|rise]] locks) than the Volga-Don route.

[[Manych Ship Canal]] is the existing canal system that would be the likely route for the Eurasian Canal.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

== Potential shipping route ==
[[File:Kuma–Manych Depression.JPG|thumb|right|400px|Kuma-Manych Depression and Manych River from space. Upper left is the eastern tip of the Sea of Azov and lower right is the Caspian Sea. Upper right is the lower Volga and lower left is a reservoir on the Kuban River. Note that the Manych joins the Don River before that river reaches the Sea of Azov.]]

The route of the canal, as usually proposed,<ref name=rzhd/> would follow the [[thalweg]] (the lowest-ground line) of the [[Kuma-Manych Depression]].
From the Caspian Sea westward, the canal route would follow:
* The lower course of the [[Kuma River (Russia)|Kuma River]] (a shallow, partly dry river which flows toward the Caspian), on the border of [[Dagestan]] and [[Kalmykia]]
* A new canal through the steppe, possible following a section of the present [[Kuma-Manych Canal]] (an irrigation canal bringing water from the [[Terek River]] and the upper Kuma River to the East Manych),
* The East Manych,
* The West Manych, which flows toward the lower [[Don River (Russia)|Don]] via [[Lake Manych-Gudilo]], Proletarsk, Vesyolovsk, and Ust'-Manych Reservoirs. A shallow (1.3 m) [[Manych Ship Canal|navigable waterway]] already exists there.
* From the confluence point of the West Manych and the Don, the ships would follow the same route as used by the existing Caspian-to-Black Sea navigation, i.e., less than 100 km down the Don until its fall into the [[Sea of Azov]], and then across the Sea of Azov and the [[Strait of Kerch]] into the Black Sea.

=== Locks ===
As the highest point of this route is only 27 meters above the level of the Sea of Azov and 54 m above that of the [[Caspian Sea]], the preliminary design presented by the Hydraulic Facilities Safety Expert Center "GIDROTEKHEXPERTIZA" (Экспертный центр по безопасности гидротехнических сооружений "Гидротехэкспертиза")<ref>[http://www.worldenergy.ru/index.php?id=20_41_2133 Прожект нечистой воды. Виктор ДАНИЛОВ-ДАНИЛЬЯН] {{ru icon}} (Includes a map of the proposed route)</ref> proposes the construction of three to four low-rise [[ship lock]]s on the western slope and three mid-rise or six low-rise locks on the eastern slope. The option involving the construction of six low-rise locks on the eastern slope of the watershed can significantly reduce the volume of earthwork and lower by one-third the need for freshwater, which is precalculated as approximately 1.5 cubic km.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} 

This compares favorably with the 13 locks of the existing [[Volga-Don Canal]], where ships use nine locks to rise 88 m from the Volga to the canal's highest point, and then four more locks to descend 44 m to the Don's [[Tsimlyansk Reservoir]].

=== Water supply ===
The Kuma-Manych depression area is quite arid, with annual precipitation no more than 400 mm (in the western section) and 200 mm (in the eastern section).<ref name=krymov>Ivan Krymov, [http://www.morvesti.ru/analytics/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=2832 "От Каспийского моря к Черному"] (''From the Caspian to the Black Sea''). ''Morskiye Vesti'', 2008.</ref> To operate a shipping canal with locks, a significant additional supply of freshwater is necessary. Three options for its provision are being considered:
* The route of the abandoned Volga-Chogray Canal across Kalmykia. Construction of this canal was started in the late Soviet era, but later abandoned. This time, it is proposed to reduce water loss by building a concrete-lined canal, or possibly even a pipeline, along this route.
* Pumping water from the [[Volga Delta|mouths of the Volga]] to the eastern end of the canal (presumably, along a pipeline that would follow the Caspian coast), and then uphill along the eastern section of the canal.
* Increasing the water flow of the irrigation canals that already bring [[Kuban River|Kuban]] and [[Terek River|Terek]] water to the West and East Manych, such as the [[Nevinnomyssk Canal]], the Terek-Kuma Canal and the [[Kuma-Manych Canal]]. The idea is to make better use of the overflow water during floods on the Kuban and Terek. It is expected that this plan would alleviate the problem of frequent inundations on these rivers.

Supplying the Manych Waterway with freshwater from the Volga using the first or second option can compensate the Sea of Azov for the volume of freshwater that is now lost by the Don River to the locks of the Volga-Don Ship Canal.

== History ==
The [[USSR|Soviet]] government decided to construct the [[Manych Ship Canal|Manych Waterway]] connecting the Black and Caspian Seas via the Kuma-Manych Depression in May 1932. In the same year construction started in the [[Manych River|West Manych River]] Valley. According to the 1936 construction project, the shipping route consisted of three sections. The first, western, section from the [[Don River (Russia)|Don River]] to the [[Chogray Reservoir]] on the [[Manych River|East Manych]], 448 km long, was planned as a cascade of reservoirs; the second section – from the Chogray Dam to the [[Kuma River (Russia)|Kuma River]] – was to be built as a canal with a water depth of 3 m, bottom width of 67 m, and length of 73 km. The third, eastern, section, 150 km long, was intended as a free-flow navigable and irrigation canal (along the lower course of the Kuma) reaching a port on the Caspian coast. Of these three sections, only the first was ever built.

By 1941, the cascade of dams on the West Manych was completed. It created three reservoirs, in the following (east to west) order: Proletarsk (Proletarskoye) Reservoir (Пролетарское водохранилище), 150 km long, Vesyolovsk (Vesyolovskoe) Reservoir (Весёловское водохранилище), 100 km long, and Ust'-Manych (Ust'-Manychskoye) Reservoir (Усть-Манычское водохранилище), 62 km long.<ref name=west>[http://igras.ru/index.php?r=147&id=7797 West Manych] (Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences) {{ru icon}}</ref> The uppermost reservoir of the cascade, the Proletarskoye, is in fact connected with the source of the Western Manych, [[Lake Manych-Gudilo]], the Proletarsk dam raising the water level in the lake. This system of reservoirs and [[ship lock]]s creates the so-called Manych Waterway, 329 km long but only 1.3 m deep. It is still used for shipping, but on a very minor scale.

With the outbreak of the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Second World War]] further construction of the [[Manych Ship Canal]] was suspended. After the war, destroyed or damaged dams and locks of the shipping canal were reconstructed, but the plans for continuing the construction further eastward were canceled, since the much deeper [[Volga-Don Canal|Volga-Don Shipping Canal]] was built instead, and the existing demands for freight transport did not justify a second canal between the Caspian and the Black/Azov Sea basins.

Further east, on the East Manych River (which flows east), the Chogray Reservoir, 48.8 km long, was constructed in 1969-1973, but at that time the focus was on irrigation, not shipping.

== Recent developments ==
The Russian government's interest in improvement of the waterways between the Caspian basin and that of the Azov and Black Seas - which may or may not involve the Eurasia Canal route - is due to the increasing volume of cargo traffic between the Volga-Caspian basin and European countries, as well as the inadequacy of existing facilities on the [[Volga-Don Canal]] for handling the expected cargo flows. The proponents of the project refer to a study of freight shipping in southern Russia by the Central Research Institute of Economy and Water Transport Exploitation ({{lang-ru|Центральный научно-исследовательский институт экономики и эксплуатации водного транспорта (ЦНИИЭВТ), ''TsNIIEVT''}}), a research center of Russia's Ministry of Transport.<ref>[http://www.cniieevt.ru/history.htm ''CNIIEVT'' and the development of Russia's inland water transport] {{ru icon}}</ref> This study predicts significant growth in the demand for freight transportation, in particular for liquid cargoes, between the Caspian region and the ports of southern and central Europe. The study also suggests that a significant amount of cargo shipped between the Asian countries and western Europe can be redirected to the canal as well.<ref name=rzhd>[http://www.blacksea.ewnc.org/node/1835 "КАНАЛ 'ЕВРАЗИЯ': ЗАЧЕМ И СКОЛЬКО?"] ("Eurasia Canal: why, and at what cost?"), by Yulia Alekseeva. (This is an interview with Stanislav Levachev, representing a design firm working on the proposal, and contains detailed specifications for the canal as proposed.) RZhD-Partner, 31 August 2006. {{ru icon}}</ref><ref name=Ar>[http://www.bumbinorn.ru/2009/09/15/manychskijj_sudokhodnyjj_kanal_mozhet_stat_transevrazijjskim_48654.html "Манычский судоходный канал может стать Трансевразийским"] ("The Manych Ship Canal Can Become Transeurasian"), by Arasha Bolaev. (this is article about the Eurasia Canal - Manych Ship Canal, and a New Transeurasian Transport Corridor between China and European Union) {{ru icon}}</ref>

On June 15, 2007, at the 17th Foreign Investors’ Council Meeting in [[Ust-Kamenogorsk]], President [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] of [[Kazakhstan]] proposed the Eurasia Canal project to build a canal connecting the Caspian and Black Seas. The project was estimated to cost US$6 billion and take 10 years to complete.<ref name=Halpin>Tony Halpin (June 29, 2007). [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2002408.ece "Canal will link Caspian Sea to world"], ''[[The Times]]''.</ref><ref>Marina Kozlova (July 9, 2007). [http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2007/gb2007079_528939.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories "Caspian Canal Could Boost Kazakh Trade"], ''[[Business Week]]''.</ref>

If built, the nearly 700 km (430 mi) Eurasia Canal would be four times longer than the [[Suez Canal]] and eight times longer than the [[Panama Canal]]. President Nazarbayev stated that the canal would make Kazakhstan a maritime power and benefit many other Central Asian nations as well.<ref name=Halpin /> Russia has proposed an alternative plan to upgrade the existing [[Volga-Don Canal]].<ref>[http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070615/67303416.html "Russia invites foreigners to help unlock Caspian Sea"], [[RIA Novosti]] (June 15, 2007)</ref>

In June 2009 the President of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, signed a protocol of intent with the Chinese SINOHYDRO Corporation about cooperating in the construction of the Manych Ship Canal - Eurasia Canal <ref name=Ara>[http://www.elista.org/elista/files/ik/120909/1.pdf "Через всю Евразию"] ("Across whole of Eurasia"), by Arasha Bolaev. (this is article about the New Transeurasian Transport Corridor between China and European Union and the Eurasia Canal - Manych Ship Canal) {{ru icon}}</ref>


The most probable technical parameters of the Eurasia Canal are: 6.5 m depth, 110 m width and more than 75 million tons per year of traffic capacity. The canal is envisaged for the passage of vessels with a freight-carrying capacity up to 10,000 tons .
<ref>[http://www.kalmregion.ru/download/gazeta/37(628).pdf "Снова о Евразии - Араша Болаев"] ("Again about the Eurasia Canal" - Arasha Bolaev) "Pravitelstvennaya Gazeta" (The Government Newspaper), 12 july 2008 {{ru icon}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

== Literature ==
*Болаев Араша Валериевич "Предварительная оценка влияния завершения строительства Манычского судоходного канала (канала "Евразия") на социально-экономическое развитие Юга России" - Вестник Института комплексных исследований аридных территорий, 2008 №2 (Arasha Bolaev "Preliminary estimation of influence of completion of construction of the Manych Ship Canal (the Eurasia Canal) on the socio-economic development of the South of Russia", Herald of the Institute of Complex Research of Arid Territories, 2008 №2)

== External links ==
*John C. K. Daly. [http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2372251 "Rival Caspian Canal Projects Compete for Investors"], ''Eurasia Daily Monitor'', Jamestown Foundation (June 25, 2007)
*[http://www.blacksea.ewnc.org/node/1804 Archive of Russian media publications about the canal] {{ru icon}}



{{coord|45|29|30|N|44|36|10|E|source:kolossus-ruwiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Ship canals]]
[[Category:Black Sea]]
[[Category:Caspian Sea]]
[[Category:Proposed canals]]
[[Category:Canals in Russia]]

Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881)

2016-12-07T07:28:45Z

Benjamin Trovato: /* Background */ add map and Chung Hao story

{{Other uses|Treaty of Saint Petersburg (disambiguation)}}
The '''Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881)''', also known as '''Treaty of Ili''', was the treaty between the [[Russian Empire]] and the [[Qing dynasty]], signed in [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russia]], on 12 (24) February 1881. It provided for the return to China of the eastern part of the [[Ili River|Ili]] Basin region, also known as [[Zhetysu]] occupied by Russia in 1871 during the [[Dungan Revolt (1862–77)|Dungan Revolt]] up to 1881.<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Atlas of the 19th Century World, 1783-1914|url=|year=1998|publisher=Barnes & Noble Books|isbn=978-0-7607-3203-8|page=5.19}}</ref><ref>http://www.dartmouth.edu/~qing/WEB/TSENG_CHI-TSE.html</ref>

== Background ==
{{See also|Xinjiang under Qing rule|Qing reconquest of Xinjiang}}

{{Location map+ |Xinjiang
| width = 350
| caption = The Kulja territory is north of the Tien Shan and south of the [[Borohoro Mountains]]. It is the upper valley of the [[Ili River]] which flows into [[Lake Balkash]].|float=right|relief=1
| places =
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=39.47|long=75.98|label=Kashgar|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=42.95|long=89.33|label=Turfan}}

{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=40.35|long=93.87|label=Jade Gate|position=top}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=38.42|long=77.25|label=Yarkand}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=37.10|long=80.02|label=Khotan}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=40.00|long=81.00|label=TARIM BASIN|mark=Clear pog.svg}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=45.00|long=87.00|label=DZUNGARIA|position=top|mark=Clear pog.svg}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=47.00|long=75.00|label=Lake Balkash|position=top}}

{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=43.92|long=81.32|label=KULJA|position=left|mark=Solid blue.svg}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=43.85|long=87.60|label=Urumchi|position=left}}
{{Location map~|Xinjiang|lat=40.35|long=93.87|label=Jade Gate|position=top}}
}}

During the [[Russian conquest of Turkestan]] Russia gained control of eastern Kazakhstan up to the current Chinese border. During the [[Dungan Revolt (1862-77)]] China lost control of much of its western territory and power passed to various factions. In 1871 Russia occupied the Kulja territory. There was talk of permanent annexation, but Saint Petersburg declared that it was occupying the territory until the Chinese could bring in an army and restore order. Chinese authority in Xinjiang was reestablished by 1877. Chung Hao was sent to Russia to negotiate. In September 1879 he concluded the Treaty of Lavadia. Russia would retain the Tekes valley at the southwest end of the Kulja territory and passes over the mountains to the Tarim Basin. China would pay 5 million rubles and various trade concessions were made. In January 1880 Chung Hao returned to Peking and was greeted with indignation. He was declared to have betrayed his country, was arrested and later sentenced to death. [[Zeng Jize]], was appointed as the new ambassador. Russia refused to negotiate unless Chung Hao was released and this was backed by the other powers. In August 1880 Chung Hao was released and negotiations resumed. The Treaty of Saint Petersburg was concluded on February 12, 1881 and ratified within six months. Two years later (March 1883) Russia evacuated the province. There were some minor border problems and a final protocol was signed on October 19, 1883.<ref> for the Treaty of Lavadia and Chung Hao see 'An Indian Officer', Russia's March towards India', 1894, Chapter IX</ref>

The Russian side was represented by [[Nicholas de Giers]], head of Asiatic Affairs department of Foreign Ministry (who later in 1882 ascended to the Minister's seat), and [[Eugene Bützow]], Russia's Ambassador in China.

==Summary==
According to the treaty (Article 1), Russia agreed to return most of the occupied area to China. The Chinese government agreed (Article 2) to hold the residents of the area, regardless of their ethnicity and religion, harmless for their actions during the rebellion. The residents of the area would be allowed (Article 3) to stay or to move to Russian Empire; they would be asked about their choice before the withdrawal of the Russian troops.

Under Article 6 of the treaty, Chinese government would pay Russia 9,000,000 "metal rubles" ({{lang-ru|металлических рублей}}; {{lang-fr|roubles métalliques}}; probably, silver roubles are meant) to serve as a payment for the occupation costs, compensation for the claims of Russian subjects who lost their property during the rebellion, and for material assistance to the families of Russian subjects killed during the rebellion.

Article 7 set the new international border in the Ili Valley. The area west of the border was retained by Russia "for the settlement of the region's residents who will choose to become Russian subjects and will have to leave the lands that they have owned" east of the new border.

The treaty also provided (Article 8) for minor adjustments of the border between the two countries in the area east of [[Lake Zaysan]] (where today [[East Kazakhstan Province]] borders on the northern part of [[Xinjiang]]'s [[Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture]]).

Article 10 of the treaty allowed Russia to expand its consular network in the northwestern parts of the Chinese Empire ([[Xinjiang]], [[Gansu]], and [[Mongolia|Outer Mongolia]]). Besides the consulates in Ili City ([[Yining (city)|Kulja]]), Tarbagatai (Chuguchak, [[Tacheng]]), [[Kashgar]] and Urga ([[Ulan Bator]]) provided for in earlier treaties (see [[Treaty of Kulja]], 1851), Russia would also open consulates in Suzhou ([[Jiuquan]]), and [[Turpan]]. In Kobdo ([[Khovd (city)|Khovd]]), Uliasutai ([[Uliastai]]), Hami ([[Kumul (city)|Kumul]]), [[Urumqi]], and Gucheng ([[Qitai County|Qitai]]), Russia would be allowed to establish consulates later on, as demanded by the volume of trade.

Article 12 affirmed the right of duty-free trade for Russian traders in Mongolia and Xinjiang. The treaty also contained various provisions designed to facilitate activities of Russian merchants and to regulate bilateral trade. An appendix to the treaty specified the list of border crossings the two countries were to operate.

== Consequences ==
The Treaty of Saint Petersburg was perceived as a huge loss and step backward by many in Russia, as Minister of War [[Dmitry Milyutin]] and the military, as notable commander [[Aleksei Brusilov]].<ref>[http://new.hist.asu.ru/biblio/ruskit/08.html РУССКО-КИТАЙСКИЕ ПЕРЕГОВОРЫ О ВОЗВРАЩЕНИИ КУЛЬДЖИ. ЛИВАДИЙСКИЙ (1879) и ПЕТЕРБУРГСКИЙ (1881) ДОГОВОРЫ] \\ в кн. Моисеев В.А. Россия и Китай в Центральной Азии (вторая половина XIX в. - 1917 г.). - Барнаул: АзБука, 2003. - 346 с. ISBN 5-93957-025-9 стр 199</ref>

Several thousands [[Dungans|Dungan]] ([[Hui people|Hui]]) and [[Taranchi]] ([[Uyghur people|Uyghur]]) families made use of the treaty to move to Russian-controlled territory, i.e. to today's south-eastern [[Kazakhstan]] and northern [[Kyrgyzstan]]. While some of them soon returned to China, most stayed in Russian domains, and descendents of them have lived in [[Kazakhstan]] and Northern [[Kyrgyzstan]] ever since.

The border between the two empires set by Article 7 of the treaty remains the border between [[Kazakhstan]] and [[China]] until this day.

Historians have judged the Qing dynasty's vulnerability and weakness to foreign imperialism in the 19th century to be based mainly on its maritime naval weakness while it achieved military success against westerners on land, the historian Edward L. Dreyer said that "China’s nineteenth-century humiliations were strongly related to her weakness and failure at sea. At the start of the Opium War, China had no unified navy and no sense of how vulnerable she was to attack from the sea; British forces sailed and steamed wherever they wanted to go......In the Arrow War (1856-60), the Chinese had no way to prevent the Anglo-French expedition of 1860 from sailing into the Gulf of Zhili and landing as near as possible to Beijing. Meanwhile, new but not exactly modern Chinese armies suppressed the midcentury rebellions, bluffed Russia into a peaceful settlement of disputed frontiers in Central Asia, and [[Battle of Bang Bo (Zhennan Pass)|defeated the French forces on land in the Sino-French War (1884-85)]]. But the defeat of the fleet, and the resulting threat to steamship traffic to Taiwan, forced China to conclude peace on unfavorable terms."<ref>{{cite thesis |last=PO |first=Chung-yam |date=28 June 2013 |publisher=Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg |title=Conceptualizing the Blue Frontier: The Great Qing and the Maritime World in the Long Eighteenth Century |type= |chapter= |page=11 |docket= |oclc= |url=http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/18877/1/PhD_Dissertation_CyPO.pdf |access-date=}}</ref>

The Qing dynasty forced Russia to hand over disputed territory in the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881), in what was seen as a "diplomatic victory" against Russia.<ref>{{cite book|author=John King Fairbank|title=The Cambridge History of China: Late Chʻing, 1800-1911, pt. 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pEfWaxPhdnIC&pg=PA96#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=1978|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-22029-3|pages=96–}}</ref><ref name="Millward2007">{{cite book|author=James A. Millward|title=Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FVsWq31MtMC&pg=PA135#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=2007|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13924-3|pages=135–}}</ref> Russia acknowledged that Qing China potentially posed a serious military threat.<ref name="Scott2008">{{cite book|author=David Scott|title=China and the International System, 1840-1949: Power, Presence, and Perceptions in a Century of Humiliation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6U_DPS4vfO0C&pg=PA104#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=7 November 2008|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-7742-7|pages=104–105}}</ref> Mass media in the west during this era portrayed China as a rising military power due to its modernization programs and as a major threat to the western world, invoking fears that China would successfully conquer western colonies like Australia.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Scott|title=China and the International System, 1840-1949: Power, Presence, and Perceptions in a Century of Humiliation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6U_DPS4vfO0C&pg=PA111#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=7 November 2008|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-7742-7|pages=111–112}}</ref>

The British observer Demetrius Charles de Kavanagh Boulger suggested a British-Chinese alliance to check Russian expansion in Central Asia.

During the Ili crisis when Qing China threatened to go to war against Russia over the Russian occupation of Ili, the British officer [[Charles George Gordon]] was sent to China by Britain to advise China on military options against Russia should a potential war break out between China and Russia.<ref>{{cite book|author=John King Fairbank|title=The Cambridge History of China: Late Chʻing, 1800-1911, pt. 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pEfWaxPhdnIC&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=1978|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-22029-3|pages=94–}}</ref>

The Russians observed the Chinese building up their arsenal of modern weapons during the Ili crisis, the Chinese bought thousands of rifles from Germany.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alex Marshall|title=The Russian General Staff and Asia, 1860-1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDXfGErwPtsC&pg=PA78#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=22 November 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-25379-1|pages=78–}}</ref> In 1880 massive amounts of military equipment and rifles were shipped via boats to China from Antwerp as China purchased torpedoes, artillery, and 260,260 modern rifles from Europe.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alex Marshall|title=The Russian General Staff and Asia, 1860-1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDXfGErwPtsC&pg=PA79#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=22 November 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-25379-1|pages=79–}}</ref>

The Russian military observer D. V. Putiatia visited China in 1888 and found that in Northeastern China (Manchuria) along the Chinese-Russian border,the Chinese soldiers were potentially able to become adept at "European tactics" under certain circumstances, and the Chinese soldiers were armed with modern weapons like Krupp artillery, Winchester carbines, and Mauser rifles.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alex Marshall|title=The Russian General Staff and Asia, 1860-1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDXfGErwPtsC&pg=PA80#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=22 November 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-25379-1|pages=80–}}</ref>

Compared to Russian controlled areas, more benefits were given to the Muslim Kirghiz on the Chinese controlled areas. Russian settlers fought against the Muslim nomadic Kirghiz, which led the Russians to believe that the Kirghiz would be a liability in any conflict against China. The Muslim Kirghiz were sure that in an upcoming war, that China would defeat Russia.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alex Marshall|title=The Russian General Staff and Asia, 1860-1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDXfGErwPtsC&pg=PA85#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=22 November 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-25379-1|pages=85–}}</ref>

Russian sinologists, the Russian media, threat of internal rebellion, the pariah status inflicted by the Congress of Berlin, the negative state of the Russian economy all led Russia to concede and negotiate with China in St Petersburg, and return most of Ili to China.<ref>{{cite book|author=John King Fairbank|title=The Cambridge History of China: Late Chʻing, 1800-1911, pt. 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pEfWaxPhdnIC&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=1978|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-22029-3|pages=95–}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Xinjiang under Qing rule]]

== Sources ==
* Treaty text in Russian and French in: [https://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC38651572 ''Sbornik deĭstvuiushchikh traktatov, konventsiĭ i soglasheniĭ, zakliuchenykh Rossiei s drugimi gosudarstvami''], (Collected treaties and conventions between Russia and other states), Russian Foreign Ministry, 1902, pp. 264–281 {{ru icon}} {{fr icon}}
* Sarah C. M. Paine, ''Imperial Rivals: China, Russia, and Their Disputed Frontier'', Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1996 ISBN 1-56324-723-2

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Sino-Russian treaties}}
{{Qing dynasty topics}}

[[Category:1881 in China]]
[[Category:Unequal treaties|Saint Petersburg (1881)]]
[[Category:History of Xinjiang]]
[[Category:Kazakhstan in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:19th century in Russia]]
[[Category:Treaties involving territorial changes]]
[[Category:1881 treaties]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Russian Empire|Saint Petersburg (1881)]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Qing dynasty|Saint Petersburg (1881)]]
[[Category:China–Russia relations]]

Zhanakorgan

2016-09-25T02:04:36Z

Benjamin Trovato: Yani Kurgan

{{Unsourced|date=May 2014}}
'''Zhanakorgan''' is an urban-type settlement and the administrative center of [[Zhanakorgan District]] in [[Kyzylorda Region]] of [[Kazakhstan]]. This may be to 'Yani Kurgan' (new tumulus) captured in 1861 during the [[Russian conquest of Turkestan]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coord|43|55|N|67|15|E|display=title|region:KZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}

[[Category:Populated places in Kyzylorda Region]]

{{Kazakhstan-geo-stub}}

Kazaly

2016-09-24T03:25:38Z

Benjamin Trovato: /* History */ link

'''Kazaly''' ({{Lang-kk|Қазалы}}; {{Lang-ru|Казалинск or '''Kazalinsk'''}}) is a town in [[Kazaly District]] of [[Kyzylorda Region]] in [[Kazakhstan]], located on the right bank of the [[Syr Darya|Syr Darya River]]. Population: {{Kz-census2009|7,686|punct=;}} {{Kz-census1999|7,298|punct=.}}

==History==
During the [[Russian conquest of Turkestan]], Kazalinsk was founded in 1853 as a fort and granted town status in 1867.

== Climate ==

<div style="width:75%">
{{Weather box
|location = Kazalinsk
|single line = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|Jan record high F = 50
|Feb record high F = 59
|Mar record high F = 71
|Apr record high F = 90
|May record high F = 106
|Jun record high F = 107
|Jul record high F = 117
|Aug record high F = 108
|Sep record high F = 99
|Oct record high F = 92
|Nov record high F = 88
|Dec record high F = 59
|Jan high F = 22
|Feb high F = 22
|Mar high F = 38
|Apr high F = 64
|May high F = 77
|Jun high F = 88
|Jul high F = 92
|Aug high F =87
|Sep high F = 76
|Oct high F = 57
|Nov high F =39
|Dec high F = 27
|year high F = 58
|Jan low F = 9
|Feb low F = 7
|Mar low F = 22
|Apr low F = 43
|May low F = 55
|Jun low F = 65
|Jul low F = 69
|Aug low F = 64
|Sep low F = 52
|Oct low F = 36
|Nov low F = 25
|Dec low F = 15
|year low F = 39
|Jan record low F = −38
|Feb record low F = −27
|Mar record low F = −13
|Apr record low F = 10
|May record low F = 31
|Jun record low F = 37
|Jul record low F = 50
|Aug record low F = 41
|Sep record low F = 30
|Oct record low F = 9
|Nov record low F = -9
|Dec record low F = −26
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.5
|Feb precipitation inch =0.5
|Mar precipitation inch = 0.7
|Apr precipitation inch = 0.6
|May precipitation inch = 0.5
|Jun precipitation inch = 0.2
|Jul precipitation inch = 0.2
|Aug precipitation inch = 0.2
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.3
|Oct precipitation inch = 0.6
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.5
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.6
|year precipitation inch = 5.6
|source 1 = Weatherbase <ref name=Weatherbase>
{{cite web
|url =http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=94853&refer=wikipedia |title =Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Kazalinsk, Kazakhstan
|publisher=Weatherbase
|year=2011
}}
Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
</ref>
|date=November 2011
}}
</div>

==Notable people==
*[[Agimsaly Duzelkhanov]] (1951-) -artist
*[[Roza Baglanova]] (1922–2011) -Soprano opera and pop vocalist

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Coord|45|46|N|62|06|E|region:KZ_type:city|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in Kyzylorda Region]]
[[Category:Syr-Darya Oblast]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1853]]

{{Kazakhstan-geo-stub}}

Arys River

2016-06-17T20:35:48Z

Benjamin Trovato: map

{{Unreferenced|date=May 2011}}
[[File:XXth Century Citizen's Atlas map of Central Asia.png|thumb|right|1903 map showing the Arys River. Double click to enlarge]]
The '''Arys''' ({{lang-kk|''Арыс''}}) is a river of southern [[Kazakhstan]] and a tributary of the [[Syr Darya]]. The river is {{convert|378|km|mi}} long, covering a basin area of {{convert|14900|km2|mi2}}.

The river begins in the [[Talas Alatau]] ridge, and average water flow is {{convert|46.6|m3/s|cuft/s}}. The highest runoff is in April during snow melt, the lowest is in August. The river is used for irrigation to grow rice in the lower reaches. The largest tributaries are the [[Mashat River]], [[Aksu River (Arys River)|Aksu River]], [[Sayramsu River]], [[Boralday River]] and the [[Badam River]].

The Arys has been populated by humans since ancient times, and was located to the north of the [[Silk Road]]. Numerous medieval castles, of which the most significant is [[Otrar Castle]], is located in the area.

{{Rivers of Kazakhstan}}

{{coord|42|47|N|68|14|E|source:kolossus-ruwiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Rivers of Kazakhstan]]

{{Kazakhstan-river-stub}}