Kokand Rebellion of 1873–76

an uprising in the Kokand Khanate.

The Kokand Rebellion began as an antifeudal movement of the Kirghiz nomads and was provoked by the increase in taxes and duties imposed by the Kokand khan Khudayar. Some of the clergy and the feudal lords joined the rebellion, which was headed by Ishak Mullah Hasan ogly (who operated under the name Pulat-bey). However the participation of representatives of the secular and religious aristocracy in individual stages of the rebellion did not fundamentally alter the popular character of the uprising, since its basic motive force was the broad popular masses, who opposed both the khan’s yoke and the military expansion of Russian tsarism. Khudayar sent a punitive detachment against the insurgents. However, the head of the expedition, Abd al-Rahman Aftobachi, failed to suppress the rebellion. From 1874 to mid-1875, clashes occurred between the rebels and the khan’s troops.

The turning point for the uprising was the conspiracy against Khudayar by his military leaders, which was joined by his son, Nasir al-Din bey (the ruler of Andizhan), and his brother, Murat bey (the ruler of Margelan). The conspirators and their detachments joined Pulat-bey. Khudayar turned for aid to the Turkestan governor-general and in the summer of 1875 fled to Tashkent, seeking the protection of the Russian troops. Nasir al-Din was proclaimed khan. Behind the backs of other insurgents, he then concluded a treaty with the Turkestan governor-general, K. P. Kaufman, on Sept. 22, 1875, and acknowledged himself to be a vassal of Russia. The treacherous politics of Nasir al-Din led to a new rebellion not only against the khan but also against Russian tsarism. Pulat-bey was proclaimed khan in place of Nasir al-Din. The insurgents gained a series of successes, but in January and February 1876 Russian troops under General M. D. Skobelev crushed the rebels at Andizhan and Assak. Pulat and 5,000 rebels concentrated in the fortress of Uchkurgan, but Skobelev seized the fortress. Pulat managed to flee but soon was captured and executed (March 1876).