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Central Asian Khanates

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The special issue of the Flag Bulletin entitled "Flags of Non-Russian Peoples Under Soviet Rule" by Prof. Walter Trembicky with contributions by Whitney Smith and Karlis Dzirkalis (Vol VIII, No. 3, Summer 1969) included flag information on Turkestan, which includes Bukhara, Khiva, Kokand and Alash Orda. The information given is that of the post-czarist, pre-Soviet period (c1917-1924).

In December, 1917, the Kokand Autonomous State became independent under Mustafa Chokai-Beg who hoisted a flag modeled on the Turkish flag, Red over Dark Blue with the star and crescent in the center.

Kokand Autonomous State 1917-1918

by Dave Martucci

Bukhara became independent in April 1917 under an emir (not named in the FB). The flag shown is a Royal Standard; a three pointed light green flag with an orange border bearing black ornamentation; in the center is a star and crescent over the hand of Fatima, in gold, with the name of the emir written in arabic script near the hoist and the "shahada" near the fly, also in gold. Orange cloth wrapped around the pole secured the flag and bore black diamond shapes; the three points of the flag also had black diamond shaped tassels. The staff was painted green with a gold spearhead and crescent emblem at the top.

When the emir fled to Afghanistan, the Bukharan Social People's Republic was established. It was reported to have flown a red flag with a crescent in the center and the initials of the state in Cyrillic letters in the hoist. Probably these emblems were white or gold.

According to the extracts of the State Constitution that can be found in the Flag Bulletin Vol. XI, No. 1, Winter 1972 ("Soviet State Symbolism: Flags and Arms of the USSR and its Constituent parts, 1917-1971"), the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic flag adopted September 23, 1921 was Green over Red with "a design in the middle of them of a gold crescent, inside of which is situated a gold five-pointed star. On the upper green cloth, in the left corner near the staff, shall be placed the letters 'BNSR'."

A new constitution adopted October 11, 1923 changed the background of the flag to all red. On November 19, 1924 the name of the state was changed to the Bukharan Siviet Socialist Republic and presumably the initials on the flag also changed to 'BSSR' but the state was overthrown on the 24th of that same month by the Uzbek SSR Temporary Revolutionary Committee.

The Alash Orda State which existed December 1917-May 1919, is supposed to have had a red flag with a yellow star and crescent. The article in FB VIII:3 also states that in Alash Orda, as in other parts of Turkestan, a green flag with a white crescent and star was sometimes used.

Alash Orda State 1917-1919

by Dave Martucci 10 August 1996

Alternate design

by Dave Martucci 10 August 1996

The flag of the Khivan Khanate in the pre-Soviet period is unknown.

At Samarkand in September 1921, the Union of Central Asian Islamic National Insurgent Organizations instituted an all-Turkestani flag. This flag was accepted by the Turkestani state constitution in April 1922 and was very popular and used until January 1924 when the last part of Turkestani territory fell to the Red Army. The flag consisted of nine alternating stripes of 5 red and 4 white, with an orange rectangle, bearing a white star and crescent, located next to the hoist between the two upper and two lower stripes. Around all four sides of the flag was a very narrow light blue border. The pole was topped by a Wolf's Head.

Turkestan 1921-1924

by Dave Martucci 10 August 1996

Basmashi flag

by Thanh-Tâm Lê

The article has more information about this flag and its symbolism, which I will abstract and send to the list along with some gifs of the Kokand, Bukharan, Alash Orda and Turkestan flags. The Bukharan Emirate flag is very complicated and will have to wait until I can find a scanner I can use.

Dave Martucci 10 August 1996

The Kokand Autonomous Government fell in the Winter of 1918. Below is an excerpt from a paper I have written which explains the history of the Kokand government.

Beginning in January of 1917 mass protests against the Tsarist government occurred in the Russian of capital Petrograd and in the city of Moscow. The riots became epidemic and on February 27th the Tsar abdicated. A provisional government was formed while the Bolsheviks refused to participate and instead they set up Soviets in major urban centers. The February Revolution of 1917 left Central Asia with no central government to report. As a result a political vacuum formed in Central Asia and the region was swept back into chaos. Tsarist officials in Central Asia reacted to the czar's downfall by forming the "Turkestan Committee" which was contrasted by the Bolsheviks, composed mostly of Russian settlers and railway workers, who formed the Tashkent Soviet. The result was two fold: first, the rival Tsarist and Bolshevik camps soon started fighting, and second, the lack of Muslim representation in either camp forced the indigenous population to organize their own defense. The Muslim intelligentsia responded by forming the "Extraordinary all-Muslim Conference" which took place in Tashkent and demanded Muslim autonomy for Central Asia within a Russian federated republic. In addition, peaceful demonstrations of Muslims took place in Tashkent demanding Muslim autonomy. The heart of the Muslim response was in the Fergana Valley where in early November 1917 a fourth meeting of the "Extraordinary Regional Muslim Congress" took place and it was decide to form a Muslim based government. The new government was under the leadership of Mustafa Chokayev and was named the "Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkestan", also know as the "Kokand government", named after the city which housed the new Muslim authority. The Kokand government was formed in response to Vladimir Lenin's appeal "to the Muslims of Turkestan" to rise against the Czarist government and allow the Muslims "self-determination according to [Central Asia's] model." The capacity of the Kokand government was limited by the fact that it represented only a small area within the Fergana Valley centered around the city of Kokand rather than the whole of Russian Turkestan. In addition, the "Kokand government" was situated in Russian Turkistan, the area under direct Russian control, and therefore it had a minor affect on populaces of the Khanates of Khiva and Bukhara. But the fate of Central Asia depended on the success of the Kokand government.

The formation of the Kokand government coincided with rebellion against Russian rule throughout the Muslim areas of the Russian Empire. Bashkurdistan had declared territorial autonomy in January of