Basmachi Revolt

The Basmachi movement (Russian: Басмачество, Basmachestvo) or Basmachi Revolt was a Muslim and largely Turkic uprising against Russian Empire and Soviet Russia rule in Central Asia. The movement started in 1916 during World War I as an anti-tsarist and anti-Russian revolt and it developed into a long-time civil war against the Soviets. Soviet sources portrayed it as a movement of Islamic traditionalists, together with common thugs and rabble-rous... more

The Basmachi movement (Russian: Басмачество, Basmachestvo) or Basmachi Revolt was a Muslim and largely Turkic uprising against Russian Empire and Soviet Russia rule in Central Asia. The movement started in 1916 during World War I as an anti-tsarist and anti-Russian revolt and it developed into a long-time civil war against the Soviets. Soviet sources portrayed it as a movement of Islamic traditionalists, together with common thugs and rabble-rousers as well as Islamic radicals. The rebels who started the revolt were called Basmachi, or 'Bandits', a deliberately pejorative term. Other historians would argue that many ordinary peasants and nomads who opposed the cultural imperialism of Russia, and perhaps more importantly objected to Soviet harsh policies and requisitioning of food and livestock, were an important component of the rebel base, also taking into account that Soviet authorities continued the colonization politics of the tsarist regime. However, Muslim traditionalism and Pan... less