Portraits of Central Asian Rulers

This was a turbulent time for its leaders. The old state boundaries that had divided most of Central Asia into three states since the 16th century – the Emirate of Bukhara, the Khanate of Khiva, and the Khanate of Kokand – were crumbling, and traditional foundations were collapsing. In 1867, the Turkestan Governor-Generalship was established on the territory conquered by Russia, which included the lands of the Khanate of Kokand. Tashkent, which had previously belonged to Kokand, became the capital of the Turkestan region. In 1868, the Emirate of Bukhara suffered a defeat. Having lost part of its possessions, including Samarkand, the emir was forced to accept the protectorate of Tsarist Russia. In 1873, Russian troops entered Khiva – the capital of the Khanate of Khiva – and although its independence was preserved, its foreign policy came under the control of Russian authorities. On historical photographs from the last third of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the faces of those who participated in these and subsequent events, which determined the history and fate of the region for almost half a century, are captured. Their actions largely determined how relations with Russia would develop, whether peace and order would be preserved. Understanding the historical role of these individuals, photographers sought to capture their portraits.

You can learn more about the topic in the book-album “Uzbekistan in historic photographs of the 19th - early 20th centuries in the collections of Russian archives” (Volume XXXVII) in the series “Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan”. 

The main sponsor of the project is the oil service company Eriell-Group.