Ibrahim Bek
Encyclopedia
Ibrahim Bek was the leader of an anti-Soviet
group known as the Basmachi. Ibrahimbek was a member of the Uzbek Lakai tribe in Eastern Bukhara
and led an organized resistance against the Soviet military in the 1920s. A religious conservative and loyal to the ousted Emir of Bukhara
he had little dealings with "reformist" basmachi who had jadids in their ranks. He actively fought against Enver Pasha during his brief time in Central Asia. Despite being a good guerrilla leader, Ibrahim was essentially a relic of an older time and was to find his increasingly sophisticated military tactics out of step with the political nature of the Russian Civil War
.
Bek and his Basmachi were engaged and defeated by Red Army
units of the Turkestan Military District
under the command of Mikhail Frunze
in the spring of 1925. The Soviets asserted that Bek had been provided assistance by British intelligence
services.
Bek was eventually forced to flee south into Afghanistan
, from where he along with Fazail Maksum led several cross-border raids back into the newly organized Soviet Socialist republic of Tajikistan
. Bek was betrayed by Tajik villagers, captured and later executed by Soviet authorities in 1931. By mid-1931, his Basmachi followers had been largely defeated by the Red Army.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
group known as the Basmachi. Ibrahimbek was a member of the Uzbek Lakai tribe in Eastern Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
and led an organized resistance against the Soviet military in the 1920s. A religious conservative and loyal to the ousted Emir of Bukhara
Emirate of Bukhara
The Emirate of Bukhara was a Central Asian state that existed from 1785 to 1920. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known formerly as Transoxiana. Its core territory was the land along the lower Zarafshan River, and its urban centres were the ancient cities of...
he had little dealings with "reformist" basmachi who had jadids in their ranks. He actively fought against Enver Pasha during his brief time in Central Asia. Despite being a good guerrilla leader, Ibrahim was essentially a relic of an older time and was to find his increasingly sophisticated military tactics out of step with the political nature of the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
.
Bek and his Basmachi were engaged and defeated by Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
units of the Turkestan Military District
Turkestan Military District
The Turkestan Military District was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 Russian military reform when by order of Minister D.A. Milyutinym the territory of Russia was...
under the command of Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917.-Life and Political Activity:Frunze was born in Bishkek, then a small Imperial Russian garrison town in the Kyrgyz part of Turkestan, to a Moldovan medical practitioner and his Russian wife...
in the spring of 1925. The Soviets asserted that Bek had been provided assistance by British intelligence
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
services.
Bek was eventually forced to flee south into Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, from where he along with Fazail Maksum led several cross-border raids back into the newly organized Soviet Socialist republic of Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
. Bek was betrayed by Tajik villagers, captured and later executed by Soviet authorities in 1931. By mid-1931, his Basmachi followers had been largely defeated by the Red Army.