Russian Residents of the Murghab Sovereign’s Estate as an Ethnic Minority of the Murghab Oasis

Abstract

The problem of the relationships of the Russian minority within the closed socio-economic systems on the periphery of the Russian Empire is of significant interest in the context of understanding its phenomenon. In modern historical science, questions remain open about the meaning of existence of these ethno-civilizational enclaves, and of their role in the life of the indigenous population. It is not obvious whether this majority was in an oppressed position. Thе article examines these issues using the example of the Murghab Sovereign’s Estate. From 1887 to 1917, a modern agro-industrial complex was formed in the Murghab oasis. It provided for the production and primary processing of cotton in the interests of not only the Russian economy, but also local residents (primarily the Turkmen). The Turkmens received irrigated land, acclimatized plants, progressive agriculture, and exemption from non-production duties. This undoubtedly contributed to the growth of the standard of living of the indigenous population. The estate administration consistently implemented measures aimed at improving the social (medicine, education, sedentarization, formation of new labor skills) and economic (increased income) conditions of the poorest part of the Turkmens so that the sovereign’s estate retained its attractiveness in the eyes of local residents and increased the authority of the imperial power. The estate administration consistently implemented measures aimed at improving the social (medicine, education, sedentarization, formation of new work skills) and economic (increasing income) conditions of the poorest part of the Turkmen. This was done for the sovereign’s estate to remain attractive to local residents and to increase the authority of the imperial power. The undertaken research convinces that the Russian minority did not act as a colonizer, exclusively engaged in the exploitation of the indigenous population and its resources. It actively created the preconditions for the integration of the Turkmen and other representatives of the subregion into the single socio-economic and political space of the Russian Empire. The article is addressed to specialists in the history of the Russian Empire’s policy in national peripheries.