Ingliz tili I fakulteti

The conquest of Khiva



Russians entering Khiva in 1873

The decision to attack Khiva was made in December 1872. Khiva was an oasis surrounded by several hundred kilometres 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.

The conquest of Khiva opened the khanate to Russian; the treaty stated: «Russian merchants and caravans can freely travel in the khanate and enjoy the patronage of the local government. The Khan will be responsible for the security of caravans and storehouses». The Russian merchants were free from all kinds of obligations and given rights for free transit and trade. In order to oversee trade and commerce, the Khivans were given the right to have their own agents (karavan-bashes). Regarding disputes over trade: The khanate of Khiva has an obligation to investigate the complaints and claims of a Russian citizen and, if they are well-grounded, to certify them.» In the case of a claim between a Russian and Khivan citizen, if they were in the territory of the khanate, the case was to be even to a Russian official to be considered. The government of the Khan was ordered to take a different judicial role for matters involving Russians. For example, for crimes against a Russian citizen in the territory of the khanate, «the government of Khan is responsible to capture and turn him over to the nearest Russian official».

Finally, in accordance with the treaty, the khanate of Khiva was to pay to cover the cost connected with March to Khiva. The Treaty of Qandiman was the result of an open aggression and a colonial policy carried out by the tsarist autocracy. However, it should be noted that the khanate and its capital, profited from the order of economic life and security on trade promoted by the consolidation of all territory into an integrated economic relationship.

The seizure of the khanate by Russia promoted the development of local production. The railroads built in Turkestan connected important markets and, from an economical point of view, played an important role for the region. Khiva's role as a trading city was strengthened. With its modern public life, the city attracted people from abandoned and neglected areas, and introduced them to education and culture. It elevated them from patriarchal dependence and ancestral prejudice while presenting them with the new demands and habits associated with urban life. Thus, the development of Khiva was integrally connected with the expansion of its trade-transport operations; five large and eleven middle-sized Russian firms were operating in Khiva by the turn of the century. There were six cotton-cleaning plants (three of which were operated by local merchants) one caravanserai, fourteen grocery and specialty stores, other stores owned by local merchants, a warehouse, and a transportation office, and a Western Society of Friendship. The majority of the industrial enterprises belonged to the Russians, but there were also local manufacturers such as: Allaberganov, Al-lakulov, Aminov, Kurjanniyazov, brother Baklavas, Samandarov and others. The domestic industry was also significantly developed. There were about sixty different types of handicraft. The city was famous for its master jewelers, coppersmiths, engravers of wood and stone, leatherworkers, and tailors, among others. The handicraftsmen were manufacturers and, at the same time, brokers of their own production. The dukans (shops) of many of the handicraftsmen served as workshops.

A large weaving mill (karhana) was located in Khiva. Hired labor was utilized there and included about thirty-one silk weavers in five dukans. There were also large dye factories and creameries located in Khiva. The mode of life for the handicraftsmen had been significantly changed. The handicraftsmen working at nights began using oil lamps instead of wick light. Sewing machines, known as Zingers», were used in tailoring. The new equipment used in production played a positive role in the development of handicraft and labor productivity. European handicraftsmen arrived in Khiva, starting new workshops with new equipment.

The bazaars of Khiva continued to be important in economy life of the khanate. There was organized wholesale (especially for cotton manufacturing). There were storehouses for goods from Russia. The Transcaspian railroad opened new horizons of trade. Trade with Russia grew. The Russian manufacturers send various types of printed cotton from the firms of Kokushkin, Konovalov, Sokolov, Bogomasov, Sheremetev and linens from Mindavsk. The handkerchiefs of Yakunchikov were in a great demand in the market of Khiva, in the nineteenth century, Khiva had already become established as an industrial trade center. The city had trade relations with Bukhara, Turkestan, Percy, and Afghanistan, imported goods included indigo, china, all possible fabrics, silk, paper, medical substances, tea, corn, flavorings, rice, cattle, gold and silver ingots, spice, fresh fruit, dried fruit, sugar, and other items. In the early twentieth century, the amount of large industrial trade firms Gradually increased. In 1900, there were about twelve firms; in 1910 that number grew to twenty; in 1913 there were twenty-two firms with an annual turnover 3 — 20 million rubles. Russian banks began to become active in the khanate.

The demand for literacy and secular science increased with economic development and the growth of bourgeoisie society. From the 1880s, there was increasing interest in education. Russian indigenous schools opened on the invitation of a well-known statesman, Palvan Mirza bashi (Komil Khorezmi). The Russian teachers taught children arithmetic, Russian, and world history. Muslim teachers taught the maktab program. Maktab primary schools were operated in mosques, and here Imams taught children about famous men, the Arabic alphabet and how to read the Koran. The duration of this education was eight years.

Some pupils went on to secondary and higher education. Madrasah education, consisted theology and Arab grammar, Moslem philosophy, scholastic law, arithmetic, and geometry. In Khiva alone, there were approximately 120 madrasas, sixty-three karkhana. Only boys studied in maktabs and the madrasah. The wives of imams and teachers organized home schools for girls from well-to-do families. They were taught to read the Arabic alphabet and the Koran. The influence of the clergy on the cultural life of Khiva was very considerable. Khiva and Bukhara were the centers of Muslim theology. There were ninety-four mechets (mosques).

The echo of events from the Young Turk revolution (1905-1907) rolled into the Khiva Khanate. There was increased talk about the reformation of the country, the ways of democracy, and social progress. A movement for reformation began and was called djadidizm (from Arabic usuli-djadid, new method). The leader of Khiva djadidi was Islam-hoji. The djadidi represented an attempt by the liberal bourgeois to change the government of Khiva by reform. They did not criticize Islam or the shariat and they demanded only that some innovations be instituted in the struggling education system and that greater attention be paid to certain aspects of secular education. The bourgeois of Khiva also wanted to stop Russian peasants from migrating to the Khanate.

In 1906 and in 1911 two modern schools opened in Khiva. The teachers used new teaching methods, but they also taught the children the principles of Koran and shariat as found in the maktabs. Nonetheless, the Moslem clergy were negative to such new schools. Meanwhile, the djadio movement worked to reform the old schools, and open more new ones.