Basmachi Movement - First Phase of The Revolt in The Ferghana Valley

First Phase of The Revolt in The Ferghana Valley

Irgash's claims to leadership of an army of the faithful won recognition by the clergy of the Ferghana Valley, and he soon controlled a sizable fighting force. Widespread nationalization campaigns carried out from Tashkent had caused economic collapse, and the Ferghana Valley faced famine in absence of grain imports. All these factors drove people to join the Basmachi. The Tashkent Soviet was unable to contain the insurgency, and the end of 1918 decentralized bands of fighters, totaling roughly 20,000, controlled Ferghana and the countryside surrounding Tashkent. Irgash faced rival commanders such as Madamin Bay, who was supported by more moderate Muslim factions, but he secured formal, nominal leadership of the movement at a council in March 1919.

With Tashkent in a vulnerable military position, the Bolsheviks left Russian settlers to organize their own defense. This often involved brutal reprisals for Basmachi attacks by Soviet forces and Russian farmers both. The harsh policies of War Communism, however, caused the peasants army to sour on the Tashkent Soviet. In May 1919, Madamin Bay formed an alliance with the settlers, entailing a non-aggression pact and a coalition army. The new allies made plans for establishing a joint Russian-Muslim state, with power sharing arrangements and cultural rights for both groups. Disputes over the Islamic orientation of the Basmachi led to the break-up of the alliance, however, and both Madamin and the settlers suffered defeats at the hands of the Muslim Volga Tatar Red Brigade. The inhabitants of the Ferghana Valley were exhausted after the punishing winter of 1919-20, and the Madamin Bay defected to the Soviet side in March. Meanwhile, famine relief reached the region under the more liberal NEP policy, while land reform and amnesty placated Ferghana residents. s a result, the Basmachi movement lost control of most populated areas and shrank overall.

The pacification of Ferghana did not last long. During the summer of 1920 the Soviets felt secure enough to requisition food and mobilize Muslim conscripts. The result was a renewed uprising and new Basmachi groups proliferated, fueled by religious slogans. Renewed conflict would see the Basmachi movement spread across Turkestan.