Basmachi movement The Basmachi movement ( ) or Basmachi Revolt was an uprising against Russian Imperial and Soviet rule by the Muslim , largely Turkic peoples of Central Asia . The movement ' s roots lay in the 1916 violence that erupted over conscription of Muslims by the Russian Empire for service in World War I . In the months following the October 1917 Revolution , renewed violence developed into a major uprising centered in the Ferghana Valley , soon spreading across all of Soviet Turkestan . Guerrilla and conventional warfare lasted for years in various regions , and the violence was both anti - Soviet and anti - Russian . After major Red Army campaigns and concessions regarding economic and Islamic practices in the mid - 1920s , the military fortunes and popular support of the Basmachi declined . Although resistance flared up again in response to collectivization , the Sovietization of Central Asia proceeded apace and the struggle ended . Summary . The pattern for resistance to Russian rule was set by the ethnic violence of the 1916 uprising . After the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917 and the Russian Civil War began , Turkestani Muslim political movements attempted to cooperate with the Bolshevik Tashkent Soviet , forming the Kokand Autonomous Government in the Ferghana Valley . The Bolsheviks launched an assault on Kokand and carried out a general massacre , sparking an uprising that seized control of Ferghana and much of Turkestan . Basmachi movements also experienced success in Khiva and Bokhara when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Muslim regimes there . The fortunes of the decentralized movement fluctuated throughout the early 1920s , based on whether the Soviets were offering religious and economic concessions or were provoking the populace with harsh policies . A former Turkish general Enver Pasha joined the Basmachi and led the movement at its height . He was killed in battle , however , and extensive campaigns by veteran Red Army units dealt the Basmachi many defeats . A round of more serious religious concessions started to win over the war - weary population and the Basmachi movement eventually withered away . Character of the movement . The Basmachi movement was a national liberation movement that sought to end foreign rule over the Central Asian territories then known as Turkestan , and also the protectorates of Khiva and Bokhara . " Basmach " is a Turkic word which refers to a bandit or marauder , such as the bands of thieves that preyed on caravans in the region . The term Basmachi was often used in Soviet sources because of its pejorative meaning . The Soviets portrayed the movement as being composed of brigands motivated by Islamic fundamentalism , waging a counterrevolution ary war with the support of British agents . In reality , the Basmachi were a diverse and multi - faceted that received negligible foreign aid . The Basmachi were not viewed favorably by Western Powers , who saw the Basmachi as potential enemies due to the Pan - Turkist or Pan - Islamist ideologies of some of their leaders . However , some Basmachi groups received support from British and Turkish intelligence services and in order to cut off this outside help , special military detachments of the Red Army masqueraded as Basmachi forces and successfully intercepted supplies . Although many fighters were motivated by calls for jihad , the Basmachi drew support from many ideological camps and major sectors of the population . At some point or another the Basmachi attracted the support of Jadid reformers , pan - Turkic ideologues and leftist Turkestani nationalists . Peasants and nomads , long opposed to Russian colonial rule , reacted with hostility to anti - Islamic policies and Soviet requisitioning of food and livestock . The fact that Bolshevism in Turkestan was dominated by Russian colonists in Tashkent made Tsarist and Soviet rule appear identical . The ranks of the Basmachi were filled with those left jobless by poor economic conditions , and those who felt that they were opposing an attack on their way of life . The first Basmachi fighters were bandits , as their name suggests , and they reverted to brigandage as the movement fizzled later on . Although the Basmachi were relatively united at certain points , the movement suffered from atomization overall . Rivalry between various leaders and more serious ethnic disputes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks or Turkmen posed major problems to the movement . Economic and historical background . Russian Turkestan was ruled from Tashkent as a Krai or Governor - Generalship . To the east of Tashkent , the Ferghana Valley was an ethnically diverse , densely - populated region that was divided between settled farmers ( often called Sart s ) and nomads ( mostly Kyrgyz ) . Under Russian rule , it was converted to a major cotton - growing region . The resulting economic development brought some small - scale industry to the region , but the native shop workers were worse off than their Russian counterparts , and the new wealth from cotton was spread very unevenly . On the whole , living standards did not improve , and many farmers became indebted . Cotton price fixing during the First World War made matters worse , and a large , landless rural proletariat soon developed . Muslim clergy decried the gambling and alcoholism that became commonplace , and crime rose considerably . Many criminals organized into bands , forming the basis for the early Basmachi movement when it began in the Ferghana Valley . Origins of the conflict . Major violence in Russian Turkestan broke out in 1916 , when the Tsarist government ended its exemption of Muslims from military service . The result was a general revolt , centered in modern - day Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan , which was only put down by martial law . Tensions between Central Asians ( especially Kazakhs ) and Russian settlers led to large - scale massacres on both sides . Thousands died , and hundreds of thousands more fled , often into neighboring Republic of China . The 1916 rebellion was the first anti - Russian incident on a mass scale in Central Asia , and it set the stage for native resistance after the fall of Tsar Nicholas II in the following year . The Kokand autonomy and the start of hostilities . In the aftermath of the February Revolution , Muslim political forces began to organize . Members of the All - Russian Muslim council formed the Shura - i Islam ( Islamic Council ) , a Jadidist body that sought a federated , democratic state with autonomy for Muslims . More conservative religious scholars formed the Ulema Jemyeti ( Board of Learned Men ) , more concerned with safeguarding Islamic institutions and Sharia law . Together , these Muslim nationalists formed a coalition , but this fell apart after the October Revolution , when the Jadids lent their support to the Bolsheviks who had seized power . The Tashkent Soviet of Soldiers ' and Workers ' Deputies , an organization dominated by Russian railway workers and colonial proletarians , rejected Muslim participation in government . Stung by this apparent reaffirmation of colonial rule , the Shura - i Islam reunited with Ulema Jemyeti to form the Kokand Autonomous Government . This was to be the nucleus of an autonomous state in Turkestan , governed by Sharia law . The Tashkent Soviet initially recognized the authority of Kokand , but restricted its jurisdiction to the Muslim old section of Tashkent , and demanded the final say in regional affairs . After violent riots in Tashkent , relations broke down , and despite the leftist leanings of many of its members , Kokand aligned itself with the Whites . Politically and militarily weak , the Muslim government began looking around for protection . To this end , a band of armed robbers led by Irgash Bay were amnestied and recruited to defend Kokand . This force , however , was unable to resist an attack on Kokand by the forces of the Tashkent Soviet . Red Army soldiers and Armenian Dashnaks thoroughly pillaged Kokand , carrying out what was described as a " pogrom , " in which as many as 14 , 000 people died . This massacre , along with the execution of many Ferghana peasants who were suspected of hording cotton and food , incensed the Muslim population . Irgash Bay took up arms against the Soviets , declaring himself " Supreme Leader of the Islamic Army , " and the Basmachi rebellion started in earnest . Meanwhile , Soviet troops temporarily deposed Emir Sayeed Alim Khan of Bokhara in favor of the leftist Young Bokharans faction led by Faizullah Khojaev . Russian troops were repulsed by the populace after a period of looting , and the Emir retained his throne for the moment . In the Khanate of Khiva , Basmachi leader Junaid Khan overthrew the Russian puppet and suppressed the modernizing movement of the leftist Young Khivans . First phase of the revolt in the Ferghana Valley . Irgash ' s claims to leadership of an army of the faithful won recognition by the clergy of the Ferghana Valley , and he soon controlled a sizable fighting force . Widespread nationalization campaigns carried out from Tashkent had caused economic collapse , and the Ferghana Valley faced famine in absence of grain imports . All these factors drove people to join the Basmachi . The Tashkent Soviet was unable to contain the insurgency , and the end of 1918 decentralized bands of fighters , totaling roughly 20 , 000 , controlled Ferghana and the countryside surrounding Tashkent . Irgash faced rival commanders such as Madamin Bay , who was supported by more moderate Muslim factions , but he secured formal , nominal leadership of the movement at a council in March 1919 . With Tashkent in a vulnerable military position , the Bolsheviks left Russian settlers to organize their own defense . This often involved brutal reprisals for Basmachi attacks by Soviet forces and Russian farmers both . The harsh policies of War Communism , however , caused the peasants army to sour on the Tashkent Soviet . In May 1919 , Madamin Bay formed an alliance with the settlers , entailing a non - aggression pact and a coalition army . The new allies made plans for establishing a joint Russian - Muslim state , with power sharing arrangements and cultural rights for both groups . Disputes over the Islamic orientation of the Basmachi led to the break - up of the alliance , however , and both Madamin and the settlers suffered defeats at the hands of the Muslim Volga Tatar Red Brigade . The inhabitants of the Ferghana Valley were exhausted after the punishing winter of 1919 - 20 , and the Madamin Bay defected to the Soviet side in March . Meanwhile , famine relief reached the region under the more liberal New Economic Policy , while land reform and amnesty placated Ferghana residents . s a result , the Basmachi movement lost control of most populated areas and shrank overall . The pacification of Ferghana did not last long . During the summer of 1920 the Soviets felt secure enough to requisition food and mobilize Muslim conscripts . The result was a renewed uprising and new Basmachi groups proliferated , fueled by religious slogans . Renewed conflict would see the Basmachi movement spread across Turkestan . The Basmachi in Khiva and Bukhara . In January 1920 , the Red Army captured Khiva and set up a Young Khivan provisional government . Junaid Khan fled into the desert with his followers , and the Basmachi movement in the Khworezm region was born . Before the end of the year , the Soviets deposed the Young Khivans government , and the Muslim nationalists fled to join Junaid , strengthening his forces considerably . In August of that year , the Emir of Bokhara was finally deposed . From exile in Afghanistan , the Emir directed the Bokhara Basmachi movement , supported by the angry populace and clergy . Fighters operating on behalf of the Emir were under the command of Ibrahim Bay , a tribal leader . Basmachi forces operated with success in both Khiva and Bokhara for an extended period . The insurgency also began spreading to Kazakhstan , as well as the Tajik and Turkmen lands . Enver Pasha and the height of the Basmachi movement . In November 1921 , General İsmail Enver , former Turkish war minister , arrived in Bokhara in order to assist the Soviet war effort . Instead of doing so , he defected and became the single most important Basmachi leader , centralizing and revitalizing the movement . Enver Pasha intended to create a pan - Turkic confederation encompassing all of Central Asia , as well as Anatolia and Chinese lands . His call for jihad attracted much support , and he managed to transform the Basmachi guerillas into a formidable army of 16 , 000 men . By early 1922 , a considerable part of the Bukharan People ' s Soviet Republic , including Samarkand and Dushanbe , was under Basmachi control . Meanwhile , Dungan Muslim Magaza Masanchi formed the Dungan Cavalry Regiment to fight for the Soviets against the Basmachi . The defeat of the movement . Now fearing the total loss of Turkestan , the Soviet authorities once again adopted a double strategy to crush the rebellion : political reconciliation and cultural concessions along with overwhelming military power . Religious concessions reinstated Sharia law , while Koran schools and waqf lands were restored . Moscow sought to indigenize the fight with the creation of a volunteer militia composed of Muslim peasants , called the Red Sticks , and it is estimated that 15 - 25 percent of Soviet troops in this region were Muslim . The Soviets primarily relied on thousands of regular Red Army troops , veterans of the Civil War , now bolstered by air support . The strategy of concessions with airstrikes was successful , and when in May 1922 Enver Pasha rejected a peace offer and issued an ultimatum demanding that all Red Army troops be withdrawn from Turkestan within fifteen days , Moscow was well prepared for a confrontation . In June 1922 Soviet units led by General Kakurin defeated the Basmachi forces in the Battle of Kafrun . The Red Army began to drive the rebels eastwards , retaking considerable territory . Enver himself was killed in a failed last - ditch cavalry charge on August 4 , 1922 , near Baldzhuan in present - day Tajikistan ) . His successor , Selim Pasha , continued the struggle but finally fled to Afghanistan in 1923 . A Basmachi presence remained in the Ferghana Valley until 1924 , and fighters there were led by Kurshirmat , who had renewed the revolt in 1920 . British intelligence reported that Kurshirmat possessed forces of 5 , 000 - 6 , 000 men . After years of war , however , popular support for the Basmachi cause was drying up . Peasants wanted to return to work , especially now that Soviet policies had made Turkestan livable again . Kurshirmat ' s forces shrank to around 2 , 000 , many resorting to banditry , and he soon fled to Afghanistan . Turkestan was at this point exhausted by war . 200 , 000 people had fled Tajik lands , leaving two - thirds of arable land abandoned . Lesser devastation could be observed in Ferghana . Intermittent Basmachi operations after the Soviet victory . After the Basmachi movement was destroyed as a political and military force , the fighters that remained hid in mountainous areas and conducted a guerrilla war . The Basmachi uprising had died out in most parts of Central Asia by 1926 . However , skirmishes and occasional fighting along the border with Afghanistan continued until the early 1930s . Junaid Khan threatened Khiva in 1926 , but was finally exiled in 1928 . Two prominent commanders , Faizal Maksum and Ibrahim Bay , continued to operate out of Afghanistan and conducted a number of raids into the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic in 1929 . Ibrahim Bay led a brief resurgence of the movement when collectivization fueled resistance and succeeded in delaying the policy until 1931 in Turkmenistan , but he was soon caught and executed . The movement then largely died out . In Kyrgyzstan , the last strongholds of the Basmachi were destroyed by 1934 . Aftermath . Indigenous leaders began to cooperate with Soviet authorities and large numbers of Central Asians joined the Soviet Communist Party under Lenin and Stalin ' s indigenization policy . Many gained high positions in the governments of the Uzbek , Tajik , Kyrgyz , Kazakh and Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic s , formed out of the Turkestani Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924 . During the Sovietization of Central Asia , Islam became the focus of antireligious campaigns . The government closed most mosques , repressing Islamic cleric and targeting symbols of Islamic identity such as the veil . Uzbeks who remained practicing Muslims were deemed nationalist and often targeted for imprisonment or execution . Stalinist collectivization and industrialization proceeded as elsewhere in the Soviet Union . In popular culture . The rebellion featured in several " Red Westerns " , such as " White Sun of the Desert " , " The Seventh Bullet " and " The Bodyguard " .