The Transcaspian Government was set up by Railway workers of the Trans-Caspian Railway in 1918 and lasted until July 1919. It was based at Ashgabat.
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Autonomous sentiments were developing amongst the local Turkmen population, with the formation of the Turkmen National Army (TNA) in February 1918. Concerned about this, the Bolshevik dominated Ashgabat Soviet appealed to Kolesov, leader of the Tashkent Soviet for military support, and declared it would carry out a census of all arms bearing men in the Russian majority town on 17 June 1918. However this sparked off two days of rioting. The Tashkent Soviet dispatched some Red Guards led by V. Frolov and a Cheka contingent who arrived on 24 June and disarmed the Turkmen Cavalry Squadron, which was the core of the TNA.[1] Frolov declared martial law and several leaders of the railway workers' leaders were shot, before Frolov proceeded to Kizyl-Arvat to continue restoring Bolshevik control. However when he arrived here, the local railway workers had heard of the events in Ashgabat, and had armed themselves. Frolov and a number of his bodyguards were shot and the remainder disarmed.[2]
On 14 July, 1918 The Ashkhabad Executive Committee was founded by Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries following a successful revolt against the Bolsheviks of Tashkent. This committee took the name of the Trans Caspian Provisional Government in November 1918, but is generally referred to as the Transcaspian Government.[3]
The initial leadership consisted of:
The Committee had around 1000 armed men, which consisted of Armenian and Russian troops. British opinion of these forces was less than complimentary. General Wilfred Malleson had been dispatched by the British Government to resist the Bolshevik forces, and assisted the Transcaspian forces by sending them a machine gun team across the border from India. This team stopped the Transcaspian forces being completely overun by the Bolsheviks, early in the conflict.
Malleson then sent an Anglo Indian unit to assist in what became referred to as the Malleson Mission. The combined Anglo-Indian and Transcaspian force then went on to successfully engage the Bolsheviks, pushing them out of some of the major cities.
The Government was largely in a weak position. It had no economy, and was exisiting on the money it had gained from the soviets when it took over. The main economy was based on cotton, however it had no means to export this. It largely sought funds from the British, which it did not get, even for food the British military had used and promised to pay for.
Under the leadership of Fyodor Funtikov, they executed the 26 Baku Commissars. This incurred the wrath of the Russian Communist leadership in Moscow. A British Officer who was present Reginald Teague-Jones received some blame for this incident.
In December 1918 there was a crisis in the Transcaspian Government. The Government felt it could not control the capital, and asked help from the British who helped by sending troops there. However the Government was fragile, Malleson's opinion being that they had at best a tenuous grip on their forces and people. In addition, Malleson had promised funds and not delivered them. The people started protesting and the Committee resigned. It was replaced by another committe, which was appointed by Teague-Jones. The New committee gradually eventually came under the influence of Denisin's Southern White Russian army, and his men came to bolster the force. However when the British withdrew in 1919, the Bolsheviks went on the offensive and defeated the Transcaspian forces. By 1920 the Tashkent Soviet had regained control of the area and the Transcaspian Government was no longer.