CONSTRUCTION AND IMPORTANCE OF RAILWAYS ON THE TERRITORY OF THE EMIRATE OF BUKHARA

Abstract

After the conquest of Turkestan by the Russian Empire and the establishment of the

Turkestan Governorate-General, and the transformation of the Bukhara Emirate and the Khiva Khanate

into dependent states, the Russian Empire viewed the region as its domestic market for industrial products

and a source of raw materials (mainly cotton). In order to transport raw materials from the region cheaply,

it was necessary to establish a transport infrastructure. For this reason, the construction of the Trans-

Caspian (Central Asian) Railway began, and the opening ceremony of the railway was held in Samarkand

on May 15, 1888. In this article, we have presented our opinions on the construction of the railway, which

was of great importance in connecting the internal regions of the Bukhara Emirate, including the regions

of Central Bukhara (Karshi, Termez), with Bukhara, the progress of construction work, the debates on

moving the construction from Bukhara or Samarkand, the escalation of these debates to the government

level, the commissioning and initial operation of the railway, the reasons for the delay in the completion of

the railway, and the importance of the railway for the population of the Bukhara Emirate, based on facts

and evidence from sources and historical literature