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Uzbekistan
Entering the Twentieth Century
By the turn of the twentieth century, the Russian Empire was
in complete control of Central Asia. The territory of Uzbekistan
was divided into three political groupings: the khanates of Bukhoro
and Khiva and the Guberniya (Governorate General) of Turkestan,
the last of which was under direct control of the Ministry of
War of Russia (see fig. 3). The final decade of the twentieth
century finds the three regions united under the independent and
sovereign Republic of Uzbekistan. The intervening decades were
a period of revolution, oppression, massive disruptions, and colonial
rule.
After 1900 the khanates continued to enjoy a certain degree of
autonomy in their internal affairs. However, they ultimately were
subservient to the Russian governor general in Tashkent, who ruled
the region in the name of Tsar Nicholas II. The Russian Empire
exercised direct control over large tracts of territory in Central
Asia, allowing the khanates to rule a large portion of their ancient
lands for themselves. In this period, large numbers of Russians,
attracted by the climate and the available land, immigrated into
Central Asia. After 1900, increased contact with Russian civilization
began to have an impact on the lives of Central Asians in the
larger population centers where the Russians settled.
Data as of March 1996
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