Bukei Khanate

(Bukei Horde or Inner Horde), a vassal Kazakh khanate formed in 1801 in the area between the Urals and the Volga from 5,000 families of the Small Horde who had moved to the area. It was named after Sultan Bukei Nuraliev, whom the tsarist government confirmed as khan in 1812. The population of the Bukei Khanate increased continuously from 7,500 families in 1812 to 20,000 families in 1845. After Bukei’s death in 1815, the Bukei Khanate was ruled by his brother Shigai, and after 1823, by Bukei’s son Dzhanger. The intensification of feudal and colonial oppression led to a peasant uprising in 1836-37, which was cruelly suppressed by the tsarist authorities. After Dzhanger’s death in 1845, the khan’s authority was abolished and the administration was transferred to the Provisional Council, which was directed by Russian officials. In 1876 the Bukei Khanate was incorporated into Astrakhan Province.