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

Interviewer: 
What are the basic reasons in the failure of Bukharan Peoples 
Republic? 
Timur Kocaoğlu:
Bukharan Republic could not found a strong army and the core 
army established by the Ottoman officers did not have enough arms and soldiers to 
resist against Red Army. Basmachi bands were divided into many groups. Some of 
them depended on Osman Khoja and some of them depended on Emir Alim Khan. 
They also struggled with each other. In order to calm this chaos, Osman Khoja 

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struggled for seven months between 1921 and 1922. After the defeat of Dushanbe, he 
had to flee to Afghanistan. After Osman Khoja left, the leftist wing of Young 
Bukharans obtained the whole control and got under the rule of Bolshevik Russia. 
Interviewer: 
What are the basic reasons of the failure of Basmachis? 
Timur Kocaoğlu:
The most important reason for the failure of Basmachi movement 
was its lack of unity and composition of scattered bands. The non-existence of the 
single center caused lack of coordination. Both Osman Khoja and Enver Pasha could 
not provide this. 
Interviewer: 
What are the reasons behind Young Bukharans’ cooperation with the 
Bolsheviks? 
Timur Kocaoğlu:
Young Bukharans were a political movement but they did not 
have armed force. They organized public strikes in the years of 1919 and 1920 in 
order to collapse the Emir. But, every strike and uprising was suppressed bloodily by 
the Emir and his soldiers.
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For that reason, the leftist wing of Young Bukharans 
agreed with the Bolsheviks and asked for help from Red Army to collapse the Emir’s 
authority. On the other side, Bukharan and Russian relations were very close. For 
example, there were a Russian garrison and a great deal of Russian soldiers in 
Dushanbe city. Bukharan Emir Alim Khan got educated in Moscow and had strong 
commercial links with Russia.