| Semirechyenskaya Oblast Семиреченская область Semirechyenskaya oblast' | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oblast ofRussia | |||||||||||
| 1867–1924 | |||||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Verniy | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 23 July 1867 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 27 October 1924 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan | ||||||||||
TheSemirechyenskaya Oblast (Russian:Семиреченская область) was anoblast (province) of theRussian Empire. It corresponded approximately to most of present-day southeasternKazakhstan and northeasternKyrgyzstan. It was created out of the territories of the northern part of theKhanate of Kokand that had been part of theKazakh Khanate. The name "Semirechye" ("Seven Rivers") itself is the direct Russian translation of the historical region ofJetysu. Its site of government was Verniy (now namedAlmaty).
The Russian government seized the Semirechyenskaya region in 1854[1] and created the province the same year. It was administered as part ofGovernor-Generalship of the Steppes (which was known as the Governor-Generalship of the Western Siberia before 1882) between 1854 and 1867 and again between 1882 and 1899, and part ofRussian Turkistan between 1867 and 1882 and again between 1899 and 1917. Russian control of the region was recognized by theTreaty of Saint Petersburg (1881) between Russia andChina.
On April 30, 1918 the region became part of theTurkestan ASSR. On October 27, 1924, as a result of thenational-territorial reorganisation of Soviet Central Asia, the northern part of the region became part of theKirgiz ASSR (already created in 1920 and renamed the Kazakh ASSR in 1925 and then established as the union-level Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic), while the southern part became theKara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast (eventually the Kirghiz ASSR and SR) within theRSFSR.
It covered a region called Semiriche (southeastern Kazakhstan and northern Kyrgyzstan), the Chui Valley and the mountainous regions of Tien Shan.
It was found in the southeastern part of theTurkestan Governor-General. In the north it bordered the Semipalatinsk region, from the south and east - China (on the Bedel Pass to the southwest by the Tian Shan Range), and from the west the Fergana and Syr Darya oblasts. The oblast covered the territory of lakesBalkhash,Issyk-Kul,Ala-Kul.
As of 1897, the Semirechye Oblast was divided into 6uyezds:
| Uyezd | Uyezd city (pop.) | Area, sqversta | Population[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verniy | Verniy (22,744) | 58330 | 223,883 |
| Dzharkent | Dzharkent (16,094) | 5160 | 122,636 |
| Kopal | Kopal (6,183) | 69100 | 136,421 |
| Lepsinsk | Lepsinsk (3,230) | 87080 | 180,829 |
| Pishpek | Pishpek (6,615) | 80480 | 176,577 |
| Przhevalsk | Przhevalsk (8,108) | 47760 | 147,517 |
Its major outposts includedFort Ili (nowQonayev) at thehead of navigation on theIli River.
As of 1897, 987,863 people populated the oblast.Kazakhs andKyrgyz (united as Kirgiz in estimation) constituted the majority of the population. Significant minorities consisted ofRussians andTaranchi. Total Turkic speaking were 878,209 (88,9%).
| TOTAL | 987,863 | 100% |
|---|---|---|
| Kyrgyz | 794,815 | 80.5% |
| Russians | 76,839 | 7.8% |
| Taranchi | 55,999 | 6.2% |
| Sart | 14,895 | 1.5% |
| Chinese | 14,130 | 1.4% |
43°15′00″N76°54′00″E / 43.2500°N 76.9000°E /43.2500; 76.9000
