RUDN Journal of Law (Dec 2017)
RUSSIAN PROTECTORATE OVER BUKHARA AS IT EVALUATED BY BUKHARAN ELITE OF 19TH - BEGINNING OF 20TH CENTURY
Abstract
Goal. Article devoted to analysis of information and evaluations of the members of the Bukharan elite of the 1870s - 1910s on legal transformations made by Russian authorities in the Bukharan Emir-ate which since 1868 was under the protectorate of the Russian Empire. Author used works of contem-poraries - Bukharan officials who were loyal to emir’s government (Sadr-i Ziya, Salimbek) or criti-cized them (A. Donish, A. Sami) as well as oppositionists who demanded reforms (A. Fitrat, S. Ayni). Methods. Using methods of historical legal, formal legal and comparative legal analysis the au-thor characterizes attitude of contemporaries on the interference of the Russian authorities in the inter-nal affairs of Bukhara in general and their evaluation of transformations made by Russians in different fields of legal relations - taxation, trade, criminal and judicial and even the public health. Results. Author finds that social status and political vies of members of the Bukharan elite (au-thors of analyzed works) substantially affected their evaluation of transformations made in the Bukha-ran Emirate with initiative of Russian authorities. Conservative officials criticized these transformations and opposed any reforms in Bukhara. Reformers (jadids or Young Bukharans) evaluated many of trans-formations positively. At that it makes sense to note the contradictory position of some authors: they welcome changes carried out by Russian authorities but at the same were afraid that Emirate would lose completely its independence to Russia and its development would continued in the “Russian” (i.e. Eu-ropean) way without considering national and religious specific features, traditions of Central Asian state and law. Nevertheless, in fact, all authors demonstrated their adaptation for new political and legal realities, realized that influence of Russia became “fait accompli” and sometimes even gave information on getting out profit (by themselves or their familiars) in the changed circumstances in different fields of legal relations. Conclusions. The information of Bukharan contemporaries on the legal transformations in Bukha-ra under the Russian protectorate is a valuable addition to the legal monuments and notes of Russian and western contemporaries related to this subject.
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