Book contents
- The Russian Conquest of Central Asia
- The Russian Conquest of Central Asia
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Translation, Transliteration and Dates
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 Russia’s Steppe Frontier and the Napoleonic Generation
- 2 ‘Pray for the Camels’: The Winter Invasion of Khiva, 1839–41
- 3 ‘This Particularly Painful Place’: The Failure of the Syr-Darya Line as a Frontier, 1841–63
- 4 From Ayaguz to Almaty: The Conquest and Settlement of Semirechie, 1843–82
- 5 The Search for a ‘Natural’ Frontier and the Fall of Tashkent, 1863–5
- 6 War with Bukhara, 1866–8
- 7 The Fall of Khiva, 1872–3
- 8 ‘Those Who Should Be Spared’: The Conquest of Ferghana, 1875–6
- 9 ‘The Harder You Hit Them, the Longer They Will Be Quiet Afterwards’: The Conquest of Transcaspia, 1869–85
- 10 Aryanism on the Final Frontier of the Russian Empire: The Exploration and Annexation of the Pamirs, 1881–1905
- Epilogue: After the Conquest
- Sources and Bibliography
- Index
1 - Russia’s Steppe Frontier and the Napoleonic Generation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 November 2020
- The Russian Conquest of Central Asia
- The Russian Conquest of Central Asia
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Translation, Transliteration and Dates
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 Russia’s Steppe Frontier and the Napoleonic Generation
- 2 ‘Pray for the Camels’: The Winter Invasion of Khiva, 1839–41
- 3 ‘This Particularly Painful Place’: The Failure of the Syr-Darya Line as a Frontier, 1841–63
- 4 From Ayaguz to Almaty: The Conquest and Settlement of Semirechie, 1843–82
- 5 The Search for a ‘Natural’ Frontier and the Fall of Tashkent, 1863–5
- 6 War with Bukhara, 1866–8
- 7 The Fall of Khiva, 1872–3
- 8 ‘Those Who Should Be Spared’: The Conquest of Ferghana, 1875–6
- 9 ‘The Harder You Hit Them, the Longer They Will Be Quiet Afterwards’: The Conquest of Transcaspia, 1869–85
- 10 Aryanism on the Final Frontier of the Russian Empire: The Exploration and Annexation of the Pamirs, 1881–1905
- Epilogue: After the Conquest
- Sources and Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The decisions which triggered the Russian conquest of Central Asia were taken by the generation of soldiers and statesmen who came of age during the Napoleonic Wars – Nesselrode, Chernyshev, Speranskii and above all Count Vasily Perovskii, Governor of Orenburg during the 1830s. This chapter argues that Russia’s victory against Napoleon transformed the self-perception of the Empire’s ruling elite: Russia was now unquestionably a European Great Power, and as such the constant raiding, rebellion and other forms of ‘insolence’ on her steppe frontier could no longer be tolerated. An account of Russian relations with Persia and Afghanistan is followed by an overview of the empire’s relationship with the Qazaqs from the early eighteenth to the early nineteenth century, and the growing Russian frustration with the khanate of Khoqand, and above all with Khiva.
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- The Russian Conquest of Central AsiaA Study in Imperial Expansion, 1814–1914, pp. 52 - 82Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020