page_title: Russian conquest of Central Asia
section_title: 1872–1895: The Eastern Mountains
hierarchical_section_title: Russian conquest of Central Asia / 1872–1895: The Eastern Mountains
caption_attribution_description: This is a map of the Lake Balkhash drainage basin, including the Ili River and its tributaries.
context_page_description: 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. The area was called Turkestan because most of its inhabitants spoke Turkic languages with the exception of Tajikistan, which speaks an Iranian language.
context_section_description: 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.
  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 Taranchis (Uigurs) who soon became dominant. In 1870 it appeared that Yakub Beg might move on Kulja so Kaufmann occupied the 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 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.
  1893: Pamirs occupied:    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 Pavlovich 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 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
caption: Ili River basin. Yining is Kulja, Almaty is Fort Vernoye. Tarim Basin at lower right.
exif: {}