Central Asian revolt of 1916

Central Asian revolt of 1916
Date 4 July 1916 – early January 1917 Location Central Asia Status Revolt suppressed
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Rebels supported by Republic of China
Commanders and leaders
Alexei Kuropatkin Nikolay Sukhomlinov Mikhail Folbaum	Alibi Dzhangildin Amangeldy Imanov
Strength
30,000	Several 100,000 of Tajiks, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz
Casualties and losses
97 killed 86 injured 76 missing	2,000 – 50,000

Central Asian revolt of 1916 was an anti-Russian uprising by the Muslims who were living in the Russian Turkestan; caused by labor mobilization, and tensions between different ethnic groups.

History

Shortly before the rebellion, Tsar Nicholas II adopted a draft of conscripting Central Asian men from the age of 19 to 43 into labor battalions for the service on the Eastern Front during World War I. The cause of the uprising was also due to the transfer of lands by the Tsarist Government to Russian settlers, Cossack's, and poor settlers. Political and religious extremism played a role too.

The revolt began on July 4, 1916 in Khujand, present-day Tajikistan. However, not all 10 million people living in Turkestan were willing to participate. Such as the Tekeans in the Transcaspian region, who were allowing themselves to be conscripted. On July 17, 1916, a martial law was declared over Turkestan Military District. The insurrection began spontaneously, but it was unorganized without a single leadership; nevertheless, the rebellion took a long time to suppress. According to modern Russian historians, the Ottoman special services, closely cooperating with religious and political leaders from the local population, took part in arranging the uprising. During the Soviet Union, leaders of the rebellion such as Amangeldy Imanov and Alibi Jangildin were seen as revolutionary heroes against the Tsarist regime, by having many streets and settlements in Kazakhstan named after them.

Background

By 1916, the Turkestan and Governor-Generalship of the Steppes had accumulated many social, land and inter-ethnic contradictions caused by the resettlement of Russian settlers, which began in the second half of the 19th century, after the Emancipation reform of 1861 which abolished serfdom. A wave of resettlement was introduced by a number of land and legislative reforms.

On June 2, 1886 and March 25, 1891, several acts were adopted which were "Regulations on the management of the Turkestan Krai" and "Regulations on the management of Akmola, Semipalatinsk, Semirechye, Ural and Turgai regions" that allowed most of the lands of these regions to be transferred to the ownership of the Russian Empire. Each family from the local population were allowed to own a plot of land of 15 acres for a perpetual use.

From 1906 to 1912, as a result of Stolypin reform's in Kazakhstan and the rest Central Asia, up to 500,000 peasant households were transported from central regions of Russia, which divided about 17 tithes of developed lands.

Beginning of the revolt

After Emperor Nicholas II adopted on the "requisition of foreigners" at the age of 19 to 43 years inclusive, for rear work in the front-line areas of the First World War. The discontent of people fueled the unfair distribution of land, as well as the calls of Muslim leaders for a holy war against the Russian gaoura.