Summary
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 general Enver 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.
Read more about this topic: Basmachi Movement
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