The Basmachi movement (Russian: Басмачество,Basmachestvo) or Basmachi Revolt was an uprising againstRussian Imperial and Soviet rule by the Muslim, largely Turkicpeoples of Central Asia.
The movement's roots lay in the 1916 violence that erupted over conscription of Muslims by the Russian Empire for service in World War I.[9] In the months following the October 1917 Revolution, renewed violence developed into a major uprising centered in theFerghana Valley, soon spreading across all of Soviet Turkestan. Guerrilla and conventional warfare lasted for years in various regions, and the violence was both anti-Soviet and anti-Russian.
After major Red Army campaigns and concessions regarding economic and Islamic practices in the mid-1920s, the military fortunes and popular support of the Basmachi declined.[10]Although resistance flared up again in response tocollectivization,[11] the Sovietization of Central Asia proceeded apace and the struggle ended.
The pattern for resistance to Russian rule was set by the ethnic violence of the 1916 uprising. After the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917 and the Russian Civil War began, Turkestani Muslim political movements attempted to cooperate with the Bolshevik Tashkent Soviet, forming the Kokand Autonomous Government in the Ferghana Valley. The Bolsheviks launched an assault on Kokand and carried out a general massacre, sparking an uprising that seized control of Ferghana and much of Turkestan. Basmachi movements also experienced success in Khiva and Bokhara when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Muslim regimes there.
The fortunes of the decentralized movement fluctuated throughout the early 1920s, based on whether the Soviets were offering religious and economic concessions or were provoking the populace with harsh policies. A former Turkish generalEnver Pasha joined the Basmachi and led the movement at its height. He was killed in battle, however, and extensive campaigns by veteran Red Army units dealt the Basmachi many defeats. A round of more serious religious concessions started to win over the war-weary population and the Basmachi movement eventually withered away.
Character of the movement
The Basmachi movement was a national liberation movement[12] that sought to end foreign rule over the Central Asian territories then known as Turkestan, and also the protectorates of Khiva and Bokhara. "Basmach" is a Turkic word which refers to a bandit or marauder, such as the bands of thieves that preyed on caravans in the region.[13] The term Basmachi was often used in Soviet sources because of its pejorative meaning.[14]
The Soviets portrayed the movement as being composed of brigands motivated by Islamic fundamentalism, waging acounterrevolutionary war with the support of British agents.[15] In reality, the Basmachi were a diverse and multi-faceted that received negligible foreign aid. The Basmachi were not viewed favorably by Western Powers, who saw the Basmachi as potential enemies due to the Pan-Turkist or Pan-Islamist ideologies of some of their leaders. However, some Basmachi groups received support from British and Turkish intelligence services and in order to cut off this outside help, special military detachments of the Red Army masqueraded as Basmachi forces and successfully intercepted supplies.
Although many fighters were motivated by calls for jihad,[16] the Basmachi drew support from many ideological camps and major sectors of the population. At some point or another the Basmachi attracted the support of Jadid reformers, pan-Turkic ideologues and leftist Turkestani nationalists.[17] Peasants and nomads, long opposed to Russian colonial rule, reacted with hostility to anti-Islamic policies and Soviet requisitioning of food and livestock. The fact that Bolshevism in Turkestan was dominated by Russian colonists in Tashkent[18] made Tsarist and Soviet rule appear identical. The ranks of the Basmachi were filled with those left jobless by poor economic conditions, and those who felt that they were opposing an attack on their way of life.[19] The first Basmachi fighters were bandits, as their name suggests, and they reverted to brigandage as the movement fizzled later on.[20] Although the Basmachi were relatively united at certain points, the movement suffered from atomization overall. Rivalry between various leaders and more serious ethnic disputes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks orTurkmen posed major problems to the movement.
Basmachi movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The movement's roots lay in the 1916 violence that erupted over conscription of Muslims by the Russian Empire for service in World War I.[9] In the months following the October 1917 Revolution, renewed violence developed into a major uprising centered in theFerghana Valley, soon spreading across all of Soviet Turkestan. Guerrilla and conventional warfare lasted for years in various regions, and the violence was both anti-Soviet and anti-Russian.
After major Red Army campaigns and concessions regarding economic and Islamic practices in the mid-1920s, the military fortunes and popular support of the Basmachi declined.[10]Although resistance flared up again in response tocollectivization,[11] the Sovietization of Central Asia proceeded apace and the struggle ended.
The pattern for resistance to Russian rule was set by the ethnic violence of the 1916 uprising. After the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917 and the Russian Civil War began, Turkestani Muslim political movements attempted to cooperate with the Bolshevik Tashkent Soviet, forming the Kokand Autonomous Government in the Ferghana Valley. The Bolsheviks launched an assault on Kokand and carried out a general massacre, sparking an uprising that seized control of Ferghana and much of Turkestan. Basmachi movements also experienced success in Khiva and Bokhara when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Muslim regimes there.
The fortunes of the decentralized movement fluctuated throughout the early 1920s, based on whether the Soviets were offering religious and economic concessions or were provoking the populace with harsh policies. A former Turkish generalEnver Pasha joined the Basmachi and led the movement at its height. He was killed in battle, however, and extensive campaigns by veteran Red Army units dealt the Basmachi many defeats. A round of more serious religious concessions started to win over the war-weary population and the Basmachi movement eventually withered away.
Character of the movement
The Basmachi movement was a national liberation movement[12] that sought to end foreign rule over the Central Asian territories then known as Turkestan, and also the protectorates of Khiva and Bokhara. "Basmach" is a Turkic word which refers to a bandit or marauder, such as the bands of thieves that preyed on caravans in the region.[13] The term Basmachi was often used in Soviet sources because of its pejorative meaning.[14]
The Soviets portrayed the movement as being composed of brigands motivated by Islamic fundamentalism, waging acounterrevolutionary war with the support of British agents.[15] In reality, the Basmachi were a diverse and multi-faceted that received negligible foreign aid. The Basmachi were not viewed favorably by Western Powers, who saw the Basmachi as potential enemies due to the Pan-Turkist or Pan-Islamist ideologies of some of their leaders. However, some Basmachi groups received support from British and Turkish intelligence services and in order to cut off this outside help, special military detachments of the Red Army masqueraded as Basmachi forces and successfully intercepted supplies.
Although many fighters were motivated by calls for jihad,[16] the Basmachi drew support from many ideological camps and major sectors of the population. At some point or another the Basmachi attracted the support of Jadid reformers, pan-Turkic ideologues and leftist Turkestani nationalists.[17] Peasants and nomads, long opposed to Russian colonial rule, reacted with hostility to anti-Islamic policies and Soviet requisitioning of food and livestock. The fact that Bolshevism in Turkestan was dominated by Russian colonists in Tashkent[18] made Tsarist and Soviet rule appear identical. The ranks of the Basmachi were filled with those left jobless by poor economic conditions, and those who felt that they were opposing an attack on their way of life.[19] The first Basmachi fighters were bandits, as their name suggests, and they reverted to brigandage as the movement fizzled later on.[20] Although the Basmachi were relatively united at certain points, the movement suffered from atomization overall. Rivalry between various leaders and more serious ethnic disputes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks orTurkmen posed major problems to the movement.
Basmachi movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
