Social and economic conditions in Turkestan, second half of the 19th – early 20th century
Railways were built for both military and economic aims. According to the textbook, the line first ran from Krasnovodsk on the Caspian to Kyzyl-Arvat and Ashgabat; the first train reached Samarkand in 1888, in 1899 the railway reached Andijan through Tashkent, and in 1905 the line from Orenburg to Tashkent was completed. Troops could now be moved over more than 3 thousand kilometres from Krasnovodsk to Andijan with ease. Russian capital, banks and European goods entered the region, and cotton growing, mining and the oil-and-fat industry developed. But cotton was shipped mostly as raw material: in the region it was cleaned and pressed for oil, while finished cloth was woven in the central provinces. In 1867–1900, 175 enterprises were opened, and the working day was 16 hours. Cheap factory goods narrowed the market of craftsmen. From 1884 the high-yielding American cotton variety was sown; as cotton fields grew, grain and livestock products declined, and prices rose, especially in the Fergana Valley. In 1911–1913 the Syr Darya main canal was built.
On a map or in your notebook draw the route Krasnovodsk – Ashgabat – Samarkand – Tashkent – Andijan and write the years beside it: 1888, 1899, 1905.