“Currently, the gaze of all of Europe is again turned to Central Asia and focused on the Ferghana region. Before the Pamir issue, which had caused a fuss at the time, had calmed down, Ferghana again excited the whole of Europe with an unprecedented event in the region, the announcement of the “Gazavat” (holy war) by the native population of Turkestan.

As recognized by the government, an unexpected attack by the natives on a two-company camp of the 20th Turkestan line-personnel battalion in Andijan was caused by religious fanaticism. According to the interim correctional post of the Turkestan Governor General, Gen. Leith. Korolkova, the attack occurred under the following circumstances: 

On May 18, just before dawn, from the village of Don-Kishlak, adjacent to the right flank of the camps with gardens, a gang of natives, more than a thousand people, crept in complete silence to the camp - on horseback in front, on foot - immediately surrounded the extreme hut, busy with three platoons of the 4th company, and rushed into the aisles, then began to beat and slaughter the soldiers with quiet exclamations, “ur”; day service and company watch were among the first to be killed; a two-company duty officer, wounded in the head and shoulder, rushed to the 5th company, people of the 4th company, who managed to grab shotguns, fighting off with bayonets and butts, made their way to her. The lower ranks of the 6th company were awakened by the duty officer and sergeant major; part of them with bayonets began to repel the natives, while the other received guard cartridges, of which there was one box. The second lieutenant Narseladze, who was sleeping in a nearby hut, after firing ammunition, opened fire and rushed at the rebels with hostility. The natives fought back with drafts, daggers, batiks, stakes and sickles and began to retreat, firing back - then the mullah reading the Koran and 10 people with badges nearby were killed, the rest killed and wounded were taken away by quickly retreating rebels. Narseladze shot from a horse with a shot from a revolver, and a soldier killed a bayonet of a man with a green banner. No more than a quarter of an hour passed from the start of the attack to flight. There were one hundred and sixty-three lower ranks in the camp. In view of the panic fear of the Russian population of the city, the next night their wives and children were gathered in a fortress, where the entire garrison was located and where money had been transferred from the post office and the treasury. With the arrival of companies from Osh and Margelan and the arrival of the military governor General Povalo-Shveikovsky, the life of the city went calmer. The company that arrived from Margelan departed the next day.
Lieutenant Agabekov was sent in pursuit of the fleeing party, capturing the leader of the gang, a native, a resident of Margelan district, Ishan-Mogomet-Ali-Khalifa. Then, on May 23, in the evening, a prominent employee of Ishan-Subtankul was caught by one of the volost foremen.
According to further reports from the Turkestan authorities on May 23 and 25, a document was found in Andijan in the Koran of the murdered mullah, who recited the Qur'an during the attack on the camp. The document is an appeal for a holy war and has the stamps of twelve residents of different counties of the region. In addition to Ishan, his assistant was arrested with 38 rebels; capture continues; the county is apparently calm; precautions taken. In Kuwa, seven suspicious people were arrested by an officer guarding the road and it was certified that some residents who were absent in recent days are now secretly returning to the villages. In Andijan, there are 91 detained people, suspicious and gang members. By May 25, only one hundred and six people had been arrested in Osh, two of whom had signed up for a holy war; in the city and counties calmly.
Lieutenant General Korolkov visited the infirmary, fortress and camp in Andijan, where from inspection and polls he was convinced that the lower chips of the 4th and 5th companies of the 20th line-personnel battalion, which had withstood and repelled the attack, and their superiors acted well done and supported the glory of the Turkestan troops. Despite severe wounds, mainly head wounds, the victims had a peppy appearance. In the fortress, Lieutenant General Korolkov visited Ishan, the leader of the gang. This is a man of about 45, born in the village of Tajik, Mintyubinskoy volost; he has four wives, as many children; illiterate; during a survey during his arrest, he said that after the Russians conquered the land, the people began a strong corruption of morals, deviations from Sharia requirements, weakening of family foundations. Although the Russian government treated the people gently, it forbade pilgrimage, deprived of waqf incomes and did not care about maintaining morality and family principles. A year ago, he allegedly described this sad situation to the Turkish Sultan, asking for advice and instructions, and, according to him, this year he received a response from the Caliph, in which the latter appointed him as his assistant and advised him to influence the people so that the requirements of the Sharia are fulfilled, and he sent as a gift an old bathrobe. Regarding the attack of May 18, he explained that he acted under the influence of mental disorder, but now he understands that it is pointless to rise against the Great White Tsar.

Currently, in Andijan, in addition to temporarily correcting the post of the Turkestan Governor General, Lieutenant General Korolkov, there are also business travelers on the High Command, including Major General Tchaikovsky to correct the position of the Ferghana Governor, and Major General Ionov, to command all troops assigned to capture Ishan’s gang and establish order. At the highest command, the Ferghana military governor, who allowed the formation of a gang and an attack on Russian troops among the deep world, was removed from office.

According to the latest information, the order was not violated anywhere else. Tashkent honorable natives, with the permission of the governor, expressed loyal feelings, indignation at the villainous attack in Andijan and asked to allow them to collect among themselves the sums for the families of the killed lower ranks. 

This unfortunate event on the far outskirts of Russia almost coincided with another highly joyful one - with the opening of the Samarkand-Andijan railway, which connected Andijan with Tashkent and was of great importance for the development of the Turkestan Territory in general and the Ferghana Region in particular. Both of these events aroused interest in the Ferghana Region throughout Russia, which, unfortunately, was still very little known. The scene of the gang of Ishan-Oshsky and Namangan counties, previously unknown even in geography textbooks, after the census turned out to be equal to the counties of central Russia in European Russia. In the whole Ferghana region, according to the latest census, there were up to two million people.


Along with two other regions of the Turkestan Territory, such as Syr-Darya and Samarkand, Ferghana deserves special attention, both in terms of its political position at the foot of the Pamirs and the wealth of the manufacturing industry and the uncountable innumerable mineral treasures located in its mountain systems. The Ferghana region was formed in 1876 during the conquest of the Kokan Khanate and consists of five districts, such as: Margelan (led by the regional city Margelan), Kokansky, Namangan, Andijan and Osh. The Ferghana region is located between 38 and 42 ° north latitude and 39 1/2 and 44 1/2 east longitude and borders on the Syr-Darya region in the north-west and north, and the Semirechensk region in the north-east; in the east with the Chinese possessions (Kashgar) and in the south with the Pamir khanates: Vakhan, Shugnan and Roshan, and finally in the west with the Samarkand region and the adjacent beks of Bukhara, Karategin and Darvaz. The area of ​​the region, including the Pamirs, occupies 130,000 quad. Verst. In climatic, soil and other respects, the Ferghana region is divided into three zones: upper, middle and lower. The first is made up of the Tien Shan mountain systems surrounding the Ferghana region with a ring that opens only in the west near Khojent. These mountains, reaching up to 23,000 feet above sea level, are covered with eternal snow, passable and almost unexplored. Middle belt - represents the upland area of ​​the Pamirs, as well as slopes, gorges of mountains and foothills, in which the nomadic population, using the spring and autumn rains falling here, is engaged in tillage and cattle breeding; and finally, the third belt is a flat, slightly sloping westward valley, oblong in shape, and comprises 20,000 square meters. versts located exclusively under agricultural cultivation, which is especially promoted by the extraordinary fertility of the soil, consisting of clay silt, known as “forests”. This valley is like one blooming garden, overflowing with all kinds of fruits and various cereals. Many vineyards, rich fields of cotton, alfalfa, corn, dzhugari and rice pleasantly caress the eye and clearly remind of the innumerable wealth of the region, located in the rivers of wild and difficult to civilize natives. The climate of the Ferghana Valley is distinguished by its unusual evenness. Since February, usually full spring comes, everything turns green, and the temperature reaches up to 20 °. In March, it rises rapidly, and already in May, unbearable heat becomes painful even for residents of the south. In June, July and August, the temperature rises to 43 ° in the shade, and at the end of October it drops sharply, no heat is replaced by wet rainy weather, which sometimes lasts until January, when snow falls for a short period and light frosts are held. Sometimes winters are not at all it happens. 

Thus, for 6 months, intense heat and terrible drought reign over Ferghana, which turns during this time into one incandescent furnace. In view of these unfavorable conditions, the population had to and has to wage a struggle with nature all the time in the sense of irrigating their lands. Since time immemorial, the entire Ferghana region, with the exception of mountainous areas, where the earth is irrigated by atmospheric moisture, has become covered by a network of irrigation facilities and irrigated by irrigation canals, i.e. artificially dug ditches that supply residents and their fields with clean running water, which provides the native with the main source of subsistence. Therefore, the most important issue in the region for its well-being and wealth is an irrigation issue, which currently constitutes the grudge of the day in our Central Asian possessions.

The Ferghana Valley is in very favorable conditions for artificial irrigation, the sources of which are the Naryn and Kara-Darya rivers, which form at the connection of the river. Cheese Daria. But, unfortunately, irrigation water is distributed unevenly in the region. A consequence of this state of affairs is that in the Ferghana region, which has a relatively sufficient amount of water for full irrigation, a lot of land is either completely empty or cultivated once every few years, and at the same time in other parts of the region, land that is quite suitable for cultivation, turn into impassable swamps, due to the abundance of water. In order to develop in the field of irrigation, our government has undertaken a number of hard and grandiose work entrusted to the head of irrigation in the region, engineer Sokovich, for many years tirelessly working in irrigation for the benefit of the region. Among the many structures made by Mr. Sokovich, the work on digging the enormous Balykchinsky canal between the river deserves special attention. Kara-Darya (which changed its course and left a huge expanse of land without water) and Ulugnar-aryk. The Balykchinsky Canal is remarkable in that it crosses the deep Sukiskensky ravine, having a width of 16 soot, through an iron gutter placed on stone foundations, so that water passes over the ravine, as it were, over a large iron bridge. This construction was worth a lot of work and money. Along with it, in the area of ​​Uke-Suarasy (interfluve), lying between the rivers Naryv and Kara-Darya, a canal was excavated, the length of which is determined at 45 versts.

Ulugnar-aryk is a wonderful picture, dug up by Khan Khudoyar, the last lord of the Kokan Khanate. Cuddled along the banks by huge talas, it carries its cold waters evenly and smoothly in the shade and resembles a wide river rather than a canal dug by human hands. For 70 miles it stretches majestically among the green carpet of fields and villages (villages). In places, a ditch passes over the earth, in artificially made shores, in some places it flows in huge recesses, and all these works were carried out without preliminary research, without technicians and engineers. The need for water and eastern despotism were the main engines of work. Incredible horrors tell the natives about the digging of this huge canal. Hundreds of thousands of people died during work from hunger and exhaustion. Many were beheaded for negligence, many remained poor, without a piece of bread, deprived of their homes, destroyed for the canal. Some of the landowners who had their property taken away, threw themselves down on their land and did not give it away, saying that they would rather die than give up their hatch, but they would be beheaded right there and there. And now, soaked in blood and sweat, Ulugnar-aryk is now already lengthened by Russian technicians and will discharge its waters into the river. Cheese Daria.

It is interesting that this canal, throughout its entire length, crosses over other banks and under its bottom, by means of pipes and wooden gutters, so that it is not at all an obstacle to other irrigation canals.

Sart family. Ferghana Valley. Thanks to the existing irrigation facilities, many new plows have been produced in recent years, and the whole Russian village of Pokrovskoye has appeared in Osh County, formed from families of Russian immigrants, the number of which is increasing every year. Thanks to the development of irrigation, culture has also developed, despite the fact that the lazy sarts, which are mainly populated by the Ferghana region, are difficult to civilize. For example, until now they do not use European agricultural implements and resort to the most primitive methods of cultivating the land. In addition, due to their phlegmatic nature and prevailing favorable living conditions, sarts (Fig. On page 516) are content with very little, like idle life, and a small part of them, without their own corner, go to hired day laborers (mardikers), but cost only they get a few tens of rubles, as they immediately try to become grocers (shopkeepers) and open trade, which is the most honorable occupation in Central Asia.

Favorite entertainment of Sarts is visiting teahouses (teahouses), gossip and political conversations. At the bazaar everything is known that is being done in Afghanistan and India, in general everything that applies only to the East. Here, gambling in dice, a fight of quails, dance of batches, i.e. boys dressed in a women's dress. Another part of the population, the Kirghiz usually wander in the mountains and in the summer gather in the valley of the big Alai, where their cattle use luxurious grass. Chicken people are prettier than sarts. Kyrgyzstan is a wonderful dzhigit (rider), a wonderful hunter and is distinguished by his straightforwardness and honesty of character, but he is not a worker at all, and his only favorite work is to graze cattle and seldom and rarely plow and sow a small piece of land; nevertheless, the rest of the work and even a pack of horses when wandering from place to place is carried out by his wives, and he travels from morning to evening to neighboring villages and collects news to which the resident of the East is always a great hunter. As for the other population of Ferghana - Tajiks and Uzbeks, they are scattered throughout the region, and the former inhabit mainly Pamir khanates conquered by the Afghans. Russians inhabit only cities, as well as the village of Pokrovskoye, in Osh County. The predominantly Russian population consists of military personnel, civilians, ranks, the merchant class, and in a very small number of petty bourgeois class.

It is nice to see Turkestan cities populated by Russians. Correctly and beautifully planned streets lined with huge pyramidal poplars, the murmur of irrigation canals everywhere. Little white, or painted, always clean, brick houses with a fruit shady garden with a bath. Unusually clean, teeming with a motley crowd, a bazaar where vital products are sold at incredibly cheap prices (meat 3 kilos pounds, lamb-5 kilos). Fruits are also terribly cheap, for example, the price of grapes reaches 1/2 k. Pound. Peaches wallow along the paths of orchards and along the streets, and almost no one eats them, and apricots (apricots), wonderful melons that you can’t get in Europe for money, pears, apples, etc. - all this for nothing. These are the characteristic features of Turkestan cities. I am not talking about Tashkent, which is undoubtedly better than many of our provincial cities in European Russia, but I will say, for example, about Kokand and Margelan. At every step you can find there beautiful buildings, large shops; In addition, there are several hotels at the disposal of visitors, and no matter how many times I heard reviews from foreigners visiting Central Asia, they always spoke with enthusiasm about Turkestan cities, and were only surprised at how this unfavorable view of Europe formed about Turkestan. Meanwhile, speaking of Turkestan, we are concentrating the whole concept of this region near the name “Tashkent”, and of the Ferghana region and, for example, the city of Margelan, where there is a district court, a club and a theater, where, as in Europe they ride bicycles, where they have fun and live, let’s say, a less noisy, but still quite European life — few people have a clue.

Now, with the opening of the railway from Samarkand to Andijan, the Russian life in Turkestan will be even better and more comfortably furnished. Industry will develop rapidly, and the Ferghana region will unite more closely with the heart of Russia. At present, gardening and winemaking has already reached enormous development in the Ferghana region; there are many winemakers supplying Fergana with lovely pure grape wine from 70 grape varieties. Sericulture is also becoming larger every year, the mortality rate of the silkworm has almost disappeared. Significant development of sericulture was facilitated by the installation of gyms and the permission of the Governor General to bring foreign grena. A great merit in this matter belongs to Mr. Aloisi, who opened a free school of sericulture in the city of Kokand; in 1894, in just one year of existence of the Aloisi grena, cocoons were collected for the season 74,096 pounds.

The encouraging picture is represented by the school of sericulture in the city of Aloisi in Kokand. A huge house on two floors (a rarity in Turkestan), set aside for school, was built at the expense of Aloisi. In large rooms, set along tables, bearded sart pupils sitting in skullcaps and dressing gowns in microscopes in skullcaps and diligently examining grena with a microscope. On the walls are paintings depicting an enlarged view of a silkworm disease. Mr. Aloisi himself is right there, explaining and lecturing to his students, or observing the work of the "microscopists." These students receive a salary from Mr. Aloisi; at the end of the course of study, they receive from him a gift of microscope and grena and are released for classes, by sericulture. Thus, Mr. Aloisi makes experienced silkworms from his working students, and, of course, strengthens silkworming in the region, without receiving any benefits from the treasury.

The most prominent place from the mining industry, undoubtedly, in Ferghana was cotton growing. All the fields of Ferghana, on which slender ears of barley and wheat used to swing, are now planted with cotton. Each native, who only has a piece of land, sows cotton on it and, collecting it, is lucky to sell, thus providing himself for the whole winter. He does not even think about bread; he eats rice, which is sown a lot in the region. However, such a clap company could not help but respond harmfully to other products: bread rose in price, meat reached 4 kopecks, per pound (the price is very high) and even had to write out bread from European Russia. Again, all these complications stemmed from the lack of a railway, with which the whole picture will completely change. The land will be more and more populated by Russians, now still incredulously related to Turkestan and imagining this part of Russia full of uncountable riches as something terrible.

Turkestan Territory, and especially Ferghana Oblast, is one of the “best places in our vast homeland, and it will not take ten years for the inhabitants of European Russia to go there, as they now seek in the Crimea and the Caucasus.”

Author B. Tageev. "Niva" No. 26 for 1898

Ferghana Valley Attractions

Madrasah of Narbut Biya
LAKE KURBANKUL (BLUE LAKE)
The building of the male gymnasium
Monument Al-Fergani
The tomb of the rulers of "Damai Shakhon"
Military assembly building
Ferghana Regional Museum of Local Lore
Mausoleum of Burhanuddin Al-Marginani