The bukharan emirate and turkestan under russian rule in the revolutionary era: 1917-1924

4.4. The New Regime in Bukhara after the Fall of Monarchy
In this part of the chapter, I focus on the most important issue of the chapter; 
the transition stage of Bukharan society and state for the Soviet socialist republic. 
While analyzing the new regime and I point out the structure of the new regime and 
emphasized its nationalist policies and ever-increasing anti-Bolshevik attitude. I also 
analyzed the internal and external problems threatening the new regime and the 
changing circumstances that enforced the Soviets to construct the unity in the region 
by suppressing the independence of the state. In addition, I focus on two important 
280
Allworth, Edward et al., 
Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule
,ed. Edward Allworth,(New 
York: Columbia University Press, 1967), 253. 
281
Caroe, Olaf, 
Soviet Empire:
The Turks of Central Asia and Stalinism,
(New York: St. Martin’s 
Press, 1967), 128. 

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106 
events in the transition era that enforced the transition to speed. The most important 
purpose of mine in that part is to display under what conditions and through which 
developments, the People’s Republic was transformed to Soviet People’s Republic at 
first; and then how it was transformed to Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic as a 
national state of an ethnic group, at the last stage. 
In Bukhara, the monarchy was destroyed on 2 September 1920 and the 
People’s Republic was declared on 8 October 1920. The government was presided by 
Fayzallah Khodzhaev who was the most active man of the new regime. He was the 
president of the council of ministers, the prime minister, and minister of foreign 
affairs. The head of state was at first Mirza Abd al Qadir Muhitdinov and then he 
was replaced by Usman Khodzhaev. The other members of the cabinet comprised of 
well-known Young Bukharan Jadids. For instance, Qari Yuldash Pulatov was 
minister of public education and worship, Mukammil ad-Din Makhdum was minister 
justice, Ata Khodzhaev was minister of interior, Hasan Bay was minister of public 
health and Mukhtar Khan was minister of finance and economy.
282
The most 
efficient man inside the cabinet after Khodzhaev was Abdulrauf Fitrat. Fitrat was a 
minister of education and he was the conductor of constructing the national state 
through his educational and cultural reforms; and of creating the identity of the 
Bukharan Uzbek society. He was, in short, responsible for nation building of the new 
People’s Republic. The Young Bukharans had nationalist tendencies and began 
taking an opposing attitude against the Bolsheviks. They also began pursuing 
nationalist policies through the reforms in education. For example, Abdulrauf Fitrat, 
architect of educational reforms in Bukhara, conducted the policy of nationalizing 
the official language. Persian language, which was the official language of the state 
282
Carrere D’Encausse, Hèlene, trans.,
Islam and the Russian Empire Reform and Revolution in 
Central Asia
, (London: I.B.Tauris-Co Ltd, 1966), 167. 

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107 
for centuries, was replaced with Uzbek language. This was an important revolution 
in cultural life. The new reform was seen as the indication of the new regime’s 
attempt to be “a People’s Government”, because Persian, the language of elite, was 
abolished and Uzbek, the language of local people was replaced. This reform also 
inspired the pan-Turkist ideas again. “The government’s most revolutionary measure 
was to proclaim Uzbek as the state language. By eliminating Persian- which was not 
only the official language of the emirate, but above all the language of the elite- and 
replacing it by Uzbek, the language of the people, the government was signaling 
clearly its intention of being a people’s government and no longer that of a few 
privileged groups; it was also facilitating social mobility”.
283
Fitrat, Bukharan 
minister of education, also made a series of reforms in madrasah system and put the 
modern education system into implementation in Bukhara. He also organized the 
Bukharan students to send to Germany for getting undergraduate education in 
German universities.
284
Fitrat also planned to establish the first modern-European 
styled university in Bukhara.
285
“This reform had a further significance: under its 
impact the old pan-Turanian dream sprang to life again, which had the merit of 
making the theoretically independent state of Bukhara once more into an important 
center of spiritual renewal for all Muslims in Russia who had not forgotten their 
reformist aspirations.” 
286
The new regime began facing problems both inside the country and outside, 
especially from the Soviets. Inside the country, the Revolutionary Committee of 
283
Ibid, 172. 
284
Allworth, Edward et al.,