colony · Central Asia and the Steppe

Turkestan Governorate-General

1867 CE – 1917 CE · capital Tashkent

The Russian colonial government of Central Asia, ruled from Tashkent, which turned the region's oases into a cotton economy.

Origins

After Russian forces took Tashkent in 1865, the Turkestan Governorate-General was created in 1867 under General Konstantin von Kaufmann. It expanded through the conquest of Samarkand in 1868 and the Khanate of Kokand in 1876, and in the late 1890s absorbed the Transcaspian region, conquered after the storming of Geok Tepe in 1881.

Rule and society

The governor-general held wide military and civil powers, with the Emirate of Bukhara and the Khanate of Khiva left as protectorates. Russia built the Trans-Caspian and Orenburg-Tashkent railways and promoted American cotton, which became the region's main crop. Muslim courts and customs were mostly left in place, but Russian settlers took land on the steppe. The Jadid movement campaigned for educational reform.

Decline and legacy

A revolt in 1916 against wartime labour conscription was brutally suppressed. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the Tashkent Soviet seized power, and the region became the Turkestan ASSR in 1918.

Lineage

Turkestan Governorate-GeneralTurkestan ASSR 1918 CE – 1924 CE

Connections (1)

  • Turkestan Governorate-General was a colony of Russian Empire1867 CE – 1917 CE

More states of Central Asia and the Steppe →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Turkestan Governorate-General. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turkestan-governorate-general
MLA
“Turkestan Governorate-General.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turkestan-governorate-general. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Turkestan Governorate-General.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turkestan-governorate-general.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Turkestan Governorate-General’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turkestan-governorate-general (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻