Kyrgyz National-State Formation at the Turn of the 1910s–1920s: Interpretations in the Historiography of Independent Kyrgyzstan

This article explores prevailing interpretations of the macro-crisis of Russian statehood at the turn of the 1910s and 1920s as presented in Kyrgyz historiography. Scholarly interest in this period – constituting a shared historical experience between the Russian and Kyrgyz peoples – is driven by the profound socio-political upheavals of the time, the ideological readings of which bear significant implications for contemporary Russo-Kyrgyz relations. The analysis centres on the origins and trajectory of the crisis, the principal actors involved, overarching historiographical assessments, and its socio-historical consequences. The study draws upon a broad range of sources, including seminal monographs, edited volumes, and history textbooks produced for both university and secondary education by Kyrgyz scholars. It demonstrates that contemporary Kyrgyz historiography has moved away from the Soviet-era class-based interpretive paradigm towards a more integrative approach to the study of national history and state formation. Increasingly, the crisis is portrayed as a decisive juncture in the national liberation movement, with particular emphasis on the 1916 uprising against what is characterised as the Russian Empire’s colonial oppression. Reappraisals of local political movements – such as the Kokand Autonomy and the Basmachi insurgency – have reframed them within the context of a broader struggle for Kyrgyz unity and independence. Elements of the crisis that may complicate or contradict dominant narratives of unification and sovereignty have received comparatively limited attention. Conversely, considerable focus has been placed on the traumatic impact of the 1916 revolt, including the substantial loss of life and the mass exodus to China. At the same time, the role of the Bolsheviks in addressing the consequences of the revolt, in redressing national inequalities, and in facilitating the establishment of Kyrgyz autonomy within the Soviet Union has contributed – despite some divergent perspectives – to a predominantly favourable assessment of the consolidation of Soviet authority in Turkestan by historians in post-independence Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan, historiography, Turkestan, 1916 Revolt, February Revolution, October Revolution, Civil War, Basmachi movement, Kokand Autonomy