Faizullah Khojaev
Encyclopedia
Fayzulla Ubaydullayevich Khodzhayev ' onMouseout='HidePop("79731")' href="/topics/Bukhara">Bukhara
—March 1938, Moscow
) was an Uzbek
politician.
Khodzhayev was born in to a family of wealthy traders. He was sent to Moscow by his father in 1907. There he realized the tremendous gap between contemporary European society and technology, and the ancient, tradition-bound ways of his homeland.
He joined the Pan-Turkist
Jadid
movement of like-minded reformers in 1916, and, with his father's fortune, established the Young Bukharan Party
. Seeing the Russian Revolution
as an opportunity, the Young Bukharan Party invited the Bolsheviks of the Tashkent Soviet
to seize Bukhara by force in 1917. When this attempted invasion failed, Khojaev was forced to flee to Tashkent
, and was only able to return after the Emir
of Bukhara fled in September 1920.
Appointed head of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
, he barely escaped assassination by Basmachi
leader Enver Pasha
. With the reorganization of Central Asia
and subsequent purge of suspected Uzbek nationalists
in 1923-1924, Khodzhayev rose to become President of the Council of People's Commissars of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. However, he opposed Joseph Stalin
's heavy-handed control, particularly in the matter of cotton
monoculture
.
Khodzhayev was arrested
on charges to which he confessed at trial in 1937, tried in Moscow as a "Trotskyite
and a Rightist
" and executed on March 13, 1938. There is no evidence that he was forced to confess.
Officially rehabilitated
in 1966, he remains a controversial figure in modern Uzbekistan
. On the one hand, he is seen as a traitor who sold his country and people into Soviet servitude. On the other hand, he is seen as an idealist, who sought modernization and independence for Turkestan
, but was caught up in forces beyond his control.
There are few monuments to him in modern Uzbekistan, and although his father's house in Bukhara is preserved as a monument, it is styled as "House of a Wealthy Local Merchant", with very little emphasis on Khodzhayev himself.
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...
—March 1938, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was an Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
politician.
Khodzhayev was born in to a family of wealthy traders. He was sent to Moscow by his father in 1907. There he realized the tremendous gap between contemporary European society and technology, and the ancient, tradition-bound ways of his homeland.
He joined the Pan-Turkist
Pan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism is a nationalist movement that emerged in 1880s among the Turkic intellectuals of the Russian Empire, with the aim of cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.-Name:...
Jadid
Jadid
The Jadids were Muslim modernist reformers within the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century. They normally referred to themselves by the Turkic terms Taraqqiparvarlar , Ziyalilar , or simply Yäşlär/Yoshlar...
movement of like-minded reformers in 1916, and, with his father's fortune, established the Young Bukharan Party
Yeni Bukharlylar
Young Bukharians was a jadid secret society founded in Bukhara in 1909.They took their name from the Young Turks, mixing their ideology with a violently revolutionary emphasis. In March 1918 they tried to seize power in Bukhara, with help from the Tashkent Soviet, and the Young Bukharians had to...
. Seeing the Russian Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
as an opportunity, the Young Bukharan Party invited the Bolsheviks of the Tashkent Soviet
Tashkent Soviet
The Tashkent Soviet was a public organisation set up in Tashkent during the Russian Revolution.The Tashkent Soviet was established on 2 March 1917 at an inaugural meeting which consisted of thirty five workers from the Central Asian Railway. It was headed by a technician by the name of I. I. Bel'kov...
to seize Bukhara by force in 1917. When this attempted invasion failed, Khojaev was forced to flee to Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, and was only able to return after the Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
of Bukhara fled in September 1920.
Appointed head of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet state which governed the former Emirate of Bukhara during the period immediately following the Russian Revolution from 1920-1925. In 1924 its name was changed to the Bukharan Soviet Socialist Republic...
, he barely escaped assassination by Basmachi
Basmachi Revolt
The Basmachi movement or Basmachi Revolt was an uprising against Russian Imperial and Soviet rule by the Muslim, largely Turkic peoples of Central Asia....
leader Enver Pasha
Ismail Enver
Enver Pasha or Ismail Enver Pasha , title was changed with his military ranks such as Enver Efendi , Enver Bey , Enver Pasha, higher than Mirliva) was an Ottoman military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution...
. With the reorganization of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and subsequent purge of suspected Uzbek nationalists
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in 1923-1924, Khodzhayev rose to become President of the Council of People's Commissars of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. However, he opposed Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's heavy-handed control, particularly in the matter of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
monoculture
Monoculture
Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. It is also known as a way of farming practice of growing large stands of a single species. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from...
.
Khodzhayev was arrested
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
on charges to which he confessed at trial in 1937, tried in Moscow as a "Trotskyite
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
and a Rightist
Right Opposition
The Right Opposition was the name given to the tendency made up of Nikolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Mikhail Tomsky and their supporters within the Soviet Union in the late 1920s...
" and executed on March 13, 1938. There is no evidence that he was forced to confess.
Officially rehabilitated
Rehabilitation (Soviet)
Rehabilitation in the context of the former Soviet Union, and the Post-Soviet states, was the restoration of a person who was criminally prosecuted without due basis, to the state of acquittal...
in 1966, he remains a controversial figure in modern Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. On the one hand, he is seen as a traitor who sold his country and people into Soviet servitude. On the other hand, he is seen as an idealist, who sought modernization and independence for Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
, but was caught up in forces beyond his control.
There are few monuments to him in modern Uzbekistan, and although his father's house in Bukhara is preserved as a monument, it is styled as "House of a Wealthy Local Merchant", with very little emphasis on Khodzhayev himself.