other · Central Asia and the Steppe
Transcaspian Government
Origins
In July 1918 railway workers and Socialist Revolutionaries in Ashgabat overthrew the local Soviet authorities of the Turkestan ASSR, forming the Transcaspian Provisional Government under Fyodor Funtikov. Facing Red forces from Tashkent, it appealed for help to the British in Persia.
Rule and society
The government controlled the Trans-Caspian railway from Krasnovodsk towards Merv, relying on Turkmen and Russian volunteers and a small British force under General Wilfrid Malleson. In September 1918 its men shot the 26 Baku Commissars in the desert east of Krasnovodsk, an event that became a major Soviet symbol of British intervention.
Decline and legacy
After the British withdrew in 1919, the Red Army advanced along the railway, taking Ashgabat in July 1919 and Krasnovodsk in February 1920. Transcaspia returned to the Turkestan ASSR and later became the Turkmen SSR.
On the connections map
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- Transcaspian Government was a protectorate of British Empire1918 CE – 1919 CE
- Transcaspian Government was conquered by Turkestan ASSR1919 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Transcaspian Government. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/transcaspian-government
- MLA
- “Transcaspian Government.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/transcaspian-government. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Transcaspian Government.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/transcaspian-government.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Transcaspian Government’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/transcaspian-government (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻