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'The Russians in Akhal' [‎50r] (51/68)

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The record is made up of 1 file (34 folios). It was created in Mar 1882. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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51
c Henvey’a Precis, 1872—75, p. 83.
Ibid t p. 85.
Parliamentary Papers, Central Asia, No. 2,
1873.
Governor General of India to Secretary of
State, No. 70, 1873.—-Mr. Forsyth “might,
“ if he thought it advisable, inform the
Atalik Ghazi of this statementan ac
credited agent from Kashgar being at the
time sub rosd at St. Petersburg.
Michell’s Memorandum on Eastern Tur
kestan, 1874, p. 10.
The Viceroy (Lord Northbrook) to the
Marquis of Salisbury, India, No. 58, 8th
September 1874.
Secretary of State to Government of India,
22nd January 1875.
Plowden’s Afghan Precis, 1872—1879,
p. 150.
had^ represented to the Russian Government the
anxiety felt by the Amir on the score of the
Russian operations against the Turcomans, which
were calculated to produce complications with the
Amir of Afghanistan, our Government, at the
invitation of the Russian Chancellor, advised the
Amir to render impossible the eventuality which he
(the Amir) foresaw, by “ giving the Turcomans to
“ understand plainly beforehand that, if they
“ challenge measures of severity by acts of plunder
“ against us (the Russians), they must not reckon
“ on any aid or shelter from hinl. ,,
The British Government had on a former occasion
been made use of by the Imperial Chancellor as a
means of communication with a Central *Asian
potentate (the Amir of Kashgar), whom the
Government of India was invited to assure, on
Prince Gorchakoff s authority, that Russia had na
hostile intentions towards him.
But the worth of this assurance was perfectly
measurable by the allegation that “ it rested entirely
“ with them (the Turcomans) to live on a good
“ understanding with us (Russians), and even to
“ derive advantage from our proximity ” ....
and by the further passage that “ if these trouble-
“ some tribes betook themselves to acts of aggression
<f and brigandage against us, w r e should be forced
“ to chastise them.” This same reservation has
been made by the Russian Government in every
instance since the circular despatch of Prince
Gorchakoff of the 21st November (3rd December)
1864.
The proceedings of General Lomakin among the
Turcomans of the Gurgan, his violation of Persian
territory (crossing the Gurgan to Kurreem Kala),
and the action taken by him in regard to the Tek6s
of Akhal, coupled with the Russian relations with
those of Merv in 1874, aroused the apprehensions
of the Persian Government, while they still con
tinued to cause anxiety to the Amir of Afghan
istan.
Moved by the Russian encroachments in the
Turcoman country, the India Government observed
that the Russian proceedings could “not fail to
“ excite uneasiness and alarm ” both “ in the minds
“ of our Persian ” as w~ell as our “Afghan allies,’*
and that “they demand the serious attention of
“ Her Majesty’s Government.”
“Having with anxious attention followed the
“ progress of events in Central Asia and on the
“ frontier of Persia and Afghanistan,” and “ seeing
“ that they were sufficiently grave to inspire
“ solicitude, and to suggest the necessity of timely
“ precaution,” the Marquis of Salisbury, opening
with a reference to the “ scantiness of the infor-
“ mation supplied by the Indian Government, and
expressing the opinion that “ more exact and con-
“ stant information is necessary to the conduct of
“ a circumspect policy at the present juncture,”
instructed the Government of India to procure the
assent of the Amir of Afghanistan (an assent which

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Content

The memorandum is divided into four parts. The first part (folios 26-41) outlines Russian activities and aims in the Trans-Caspian region from 1716-1880; it narrates the extension of Russian influence over the Turcoman [Turkmen] tribes in the region to their eventual absorption into the Russian Empire to form part of Transcaspia. As a result it includes information concerning Russian military expeditions and various efforts made by them to coerce the Turcomen tribes into becoming Russian subjects, and some of the Turcoman efforts to resist. More especially it includes details on the establishment of a Russian naval base at Ashurada and the Russian occupation of Krasnovodsk [Turkmenbashi].

The second part (folios 42-48) concerns attempts by the Turcoman tribes to seek the protection of either Afghanistan or Persia. It includes a translation of a document (folios 44v-47) sent by Adul Hassan Khan, Governor of Kuchan, to Rukn-ud-dowla, Governor of Khorassa, which concerns the submission of the Teke tribes of Atamish and Tokhtamest to Persia; a Russian take on the situation claiming that the tribes rejected the Persian offer is included alongside. The terms of an agreement between the Shah of Persia and the Merv [Mary] Teke — in which the latter become Persian subjects — is located on folios 47v-48.

The third part (folios 49-52) focuses on the attempts by the Amir of Afghanistan, Shrere-Ali-Khan [Sher Ali Khan], to seek British protection against Russian aggression; the Amir is concerned that a Russian advance on the Merv would be a prelude to an attack on Afghanistan, or that the Russians may pursue any retreating Turcoman into Afghanistan.

The fourth and final part (folios 53-58) outlines Persia's efforts to secure its northern frontier against Russian encroachment, and the interventions that the British have made to assist with this resistance. It also discusses diplomatic exchanges to affect a joint Anglo-Russian agreement to maintain the integrity of Persia.

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1 file (34 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at f 25, and terminates at f 58, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Pagination: the item also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'The Russians in Akhal' [‎50r] (51/68), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/C78, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025852016.0x000034> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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