Veto on the progress of Central Asia

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

World trade is one of the most accurate indicators of the cultural level of a people. If in his everyday life trade relations occupy an outstanding place, then his general cultural level is high - and vice versa.

Trade routes are not only a source of exchange of goods, but also an enduring storehouse - a market for the exchange of knowledge, technologies and industries. The richest Khorezm state has sunk into oblivion, only because of the change in the river bed of the ample Amu Darya, and for many centuries the adjacent states of Central Asia were mired in the religious darkness of ignorance.

Technological advances provided new opportunities for bridging distances for the exchange of goods, and the San Stefano Peace Treaty opened Turkey to the construction of trade routes.

“The importance of connecting Europe with India by rail is so obvious that there is nothing to say about it. This combination is required not only by the commercial interests of one or another power, but also by the cultural interests of all mankind.

Europe can and must, finally, bring its civilization into this dormant World, awaken to life with knowledge these hundreds of millions of people of Central Asia who are stagnant in Islamism or paganism, and bring to light the enormous riches of the region, which are still hidden in the bowels of the earth."

This is how the official press organs of many European countries wrote, this is what progressive people of developed countries thought, reflecting on the future of the Earth and designing ways of development.

The tasks set by engineers and scientists are the connection of Europe with the countries of the Middle East, China and India by rail. The starting points of the railway lines in all projects were the ports of Turkey, like Skutari (Istanbul), Iskanderum and Constantinople, where the road goes through the bridge on the Bosphorus (the possibility of its construction is beyond doubt).

Some projects link the road cities of Turkey, Syria - Konya, Aleppo, Baghdad and Bassora, and go to the Persian Gulf at the mouth of the Shat al-Arab.

Its benefits are mainly of a political nature, because it cuts through the whole of Asia Minor and makes Turkey completely dependent on England, since it is obvious that this road can be built exclusively on British capital.

Projects offering to build a railway between some of the points on the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf do not relieve the overload and difficulties of navigating the Persian Gulf. As well as overcoming the mountain peaks Birigir and Alla-dag, and in addition requires a port in Shat al-Arab.

Other projects from Constantinople the road goes to Scutari, through Turkey and Persia to Tehran, then through Herat and Afghanistan to India.

The difficulties encountered on the way, although they cannot be considered insurmountable for the construction of the railway, nevertheless they must be very significant, because the terrain generally consists of a series of terraces from 2,000 to 5,000 pounds. height above sea level.

The closest way this task lay with England, which, as a naval power, ruled the sea routes and set its own rules to other countries.

The coveted country of all Europeans, the richest India became the ultimate goal of all projected roads, where England pursued purely selfish goals.

She exploited her and, infected with prejudice against Russia, tried to protect herself by seizing the trade of Turkey, Persia, and the countries of Central Asia, prejudiced to establish these states as vassals.

To this end, the British undertook numerous studies in order to find out whether it is possible to connect the Euphrates railway with one of the ports of northern Syria. The researches of engineers showed that this enterprise was impracticable and its only result was the establishment in Iran of a shipping company along the Tigris and Euphrates.

Meanwhile, the desire of France to conquer the Isthmus of Suez was fulfilled, one circumstance hindered its fulfillment - the resistance of Great Britain: the powerful power did not really want to give up even a little bit of its power over the seas, just as it zealously watched the encroachments on its own huge colonial empire.

The complexity of the situation lay in the fact that Great Britain at that time had a great influence in the Ottoman Empire, which included Egypt since the 16th century, and the British did not have much difficulty in imposing a Turkish "veto" on the Egyptian project of competitors that was so inconvenient for them.

While the British were considering their projects, the builder of the Suez Canal, Lesseps, proposed his project to connect France with Calcutta through Russia.

The line, designed by him, had approximately 11, 700 kilometers, of which 8, 600 were already built or were being built railways, therefore, it remained to carry them again only from Orenburg to Samarkand and from Samarkand to Pishaver, to which the line was supposed to adjoin, connecting Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Lagor.

Lesseps' proposal was met favorably by the Russian government and, after additional research, it was supposed to move it further east and link it with the line being gradually drawn from Moscow to Siberia.

Then Yekaterinburg would become the center of the routes between Siberian, European and Central Asian roads. From it the path should go to Troitsk, Turkestan and Tashkent. Further Lesseps proposes to lead the road near the flat upland of the Pamirs, along eastern Turkestan and further through Kashgar to Yarkand and possibly to Kashmir.

Communication in this direction will indeed be safer, but the road will have to pass through four high mountain ranges, including the Himalayan. To this must be added that it is still unknown whether the British would have led the way to Nishaver, since their trade with Afghanistan is not significant and, in addition, the population of these districts is distinguished by unfriendliness to the British.

For England, communication through Persia is much more profitable, and, of course, Tehran cannot be avoided. However, all the difficulties on the line designed by Lesseps, turn out to be on the section between the English and Russian networks. The last section through the Hindu Kush mountain range should be arranged by the British together with the Russians.

As for Russia, the studies of General Beznosikov showed that the construction of the railway to Samarkand itself does not present any particular difficulties. He proposed two directions: one from Orenburg to the Aktobe fortification, Perovsk, Turkestan, Chimkent, Tashkent, Jizzakh and Samarkand.

Another is from Orenburg to the Karabutak fort, to the upper reaches of the Turgai River and the lower reaches of the Saras along the southern slope of the Karatau to Turkestan, Chimkent, Tashkent, Khojent, Ura-Tyube, Dzhizak and Samarkand. At the end of his research, General Beznosikov reported them to the Russian Geographical Society.

G. Baranovsky proposed another option: to draw the Russian line from Saratov to Guryev, for 700 versts, then to the Kasarma tract on the shores of the Aral Sea, through a desert abundant with salt lakes and oil, for 580 versts.

Further along the southwestern coast of the Aral Sea, through the Amu Darya to Kungrad, through the sandy steppe to Karakul and Bukhara, for 840 versts, and finally, through Karshi to the confluence of the Tapalak River into the Amu Darya, for 400 versts …

Thus, the most convenient way to India was the line starting from Yekaterinburg and going through Samarkand, Bukhara to Amu Darya.

In addition, there were a number of projects aimed at connecting Europe with India through the Caucasus and Persia. G. Statkovsy proposed to lead the road from Vladikavkaz to Tiflis, Erivan and Tabriz or to the northern part of Percy.

Other starting points will be Baku and Poti. From Baku, the road runs along flat terrain along the Kacpian Sea to Astara, past Anzeli and Rasht, along the Mazaderan coast to Astrabad, Shahrud, or from Rasht along the Kizil-Ozan gorge to Qazvin and Tehran.

The latter direction has important advantages. From Baku, along the sea coast to Astara, for 260 versts, there are no important difficulties, except for one crossing over the river. Kuru.

In this direction, from the Russian border of Astara to Tehran, there will be only about 230 versts. The entire direction of this road, from st. Cool in the Russian limits to Astara, it would be 880 versts of railroad along the flattest terrain and through the richest and most populated districts in the Caucasian region. The remaining 530 versts would also run through one of the industrially best Persian provinces - Gilan.

Thus, it would be most profitable for Russia to connect the Transcaucasia and the Orenburg and Turkestan territories with India in two ways - through Astara (Persia) and Samarkand.

If these directions were adopted, then the Anglo-German trade could then choose one of the two paths mentioned, since the construction of a bridge across the Bosphorus and the construction of a road through Asia Minor could hardly have been accomplished at that time.

Another unfulfilled project: connecting Tashkent with Shanghai by rail through Kuldja, but by secret decision Kuldja and the entire East Turkestan were transferred to China in 1882, about which the Russian press wrote with regret.

At the same time, one should not lose sight of the fact that in those years there was an idea to turn the Amu Darya current into the Caspian Sea to the same channel - then, of course, significant changes should follow in the projects under consideration and Krasnovodsk will become an important trading point.

It is not known how the fate of the projects would have developed, but at the end of the 19th century in South Africa, the richest gold mines were opened. England turned its predatory gaze on the small settlement of the Dutch, declaring their territory theirs.

None of the European powers have put in a good word for the South Africans, so far none of the great powers have put their veto on this outrageous war.

In this regard, "Russia" in 1900, in one of its leading articles, writes:

- "that England did not at all deserve such generosity and such an attitude towards itself on the part of other powers, especially on the part of Russia."

The newspaper continues:

“Who supported the highlanders of the Caucasus?

Who cherishes the Armenians' dreams of Greater Armenia? England.

Who prevented the Russian troops from entering Constantinople in 1878? English fleet …

Who mutilated the San Stefano Peace Treaty? Lord Beaconsfield, above all.

Who caused the clash with Afghan troops at Kushka? British officer-instructors, after the defeat, sought protection from the Afghans from their winner, General Komarov.

Who is watching our every step in Central Asia, Persia and China?

Who prepares the Japanese for a clash with Russia?

All England and England. She is our primordial enemy, our most dangerous enemy."

This is what they write in more than one "Russia", the entire metropolitan and European press is full of articles sympathetic to the Boers and expresses a desire that the unequal bloody struggle be ended as soon as possible.

British ruling circles have always sought to expand colonial possessions - important sources of income, markets for British products and suppliers of valuable agricultural raw materials. The success of the British expansion was favored by the connivance of the European powers.

By creating her own British industrial companies, using her military power, she exercises their protection and complete freedom of action. Companies have the right to occupy new lands, exploit them, keep an army for this, carry out trial and reprisals and other actions for their protection. Like all such companies, it is distinguished by cruelty and indiscriminate means in relation to the local population.