The Significance of the Orenburg – Tashkent Railway for the Socio-Economic Development of the Turkestan Region

Introduction. The article is devoted to the analysis of the significance of the Orenburg – Tashkent railway in the socio-economic life of the Turkestan region. This railway line is considered as a mechanism that opened the way for the entry of the region into capitalist relations. The purpose of the work is to define the impact of socio-economic changes resulting from the construction of the railway on the development of the region. Methods and materials. The research is based on the principles of objectivism and historicism, which reject dogmas and concepts and do not align with any political ideology. As a result of working with republican and regional archival funds, the authors introduced new statistical data concerning the construction and operation of the railway into scientific circulation. Analysis. Among other regions of the empire, Turkestan is distinguished by its geographical and socio-economic character. There is a reason to believe that before the construction of the railway, there were no cities in this region where large production facilities were concentrated. The vast majority of residents led a semi-nomadic lifestyle. It was difficult for the peasants to get their goods transported to other consumer environments. It can be argued that this development trend has changed dramatically with the construction of this railway. Due to the activity of the railway, the export-import potential of the region has increased. Turkestan has received ample opportunities to export salt, cotton, santonin, wool, and various types of dried fruits. Results. As a result of the research work, a peculiar approach to the factors that contributed to the construction of the Orenburg – Tashkent railway was revealed. As one of them, it is concluded that the factor of the construction of the highway was carried out not because of competition between the British and Russian Empires (as noted in many studies), but with the aim of involving an isolated part of the empire in integration processes. In general, the railway line had a significant impact on the transition of the region from old feudal relations to a partial agrarian-industrial form. Authors’ contribution. Y.K. Omarbayev is the author and organizer of the idea of implementing this scientific work. He outlined the purpose and objectives of the article. G.T. Zhoraeva, was engaged in the collection, classification, and analysis of archival documents that make up the main source base of the article. In addition, under her leadership, a comparative analysis of scientific papers devoted to the construction and commissioning of the Orenburg – Tashkent railway was carried out. The author classified the available scientific publications by historical periods and sought to determine their historical and ideological directions. A.A. Nurmukhambetov worked with historical facts and photo documents within the framework of the topic and conducted a comparative analysis of differences between the statistical data reflected in other publications on the history of the construction of the Orenburg – Tashkent railway.