The Steppe Region in the Political, Economic, and Cultural Space of the Russian Empire: A View of Russian Counterintelligence (1914-1917)
The article contains an analysis of previously unknown archival materials that reveal the specifics of the Omsk Gendarmery Administration's information and analytical work, in which jurisdiction the population of the Steppe Territory (the unofficial name of the modern North-Eastern part of Kazakhstan, which included the Akmola and Semipalatinsk regions) was located. Particular attention is paid to the awareness of the Omsk Gendarmery Administration's leadership and employees, as well as that of the Omsk and Pavlodar branches of the Siberian Railway gendarmery police department about the Muslim population (Kazakhs and Tatars) of the Steppe Territory, their moods, attitudes towards various political, economic and military events taking place in the Russian Empire in 1910-1917. The conclusion is made about the specifics of perception by the Russian counterintelligence of the situation in the Steppe Region and its possible connection with the events of the Turkestan uprising of 1916. The activities of the gendarmery and police units in the Steppe Territory were based on circular instructions from the Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire to organize work among the Muslim population, to monitor the activities of societies in the cities of Omsk, Semipalatinsk and Akmolinsk, and to monitor public sentiment, including among Muslims, primarily correspondents and subscribers of Muslim newspapers and magazines published in the cities of Orenburg, Ufa and Kazan. Under the gendarmery and police units' special control were those who were engaged in pan-Islamist and pan-Turkist propaganda, immigrants from Turkey. It was suggested that the agitation of pan-Turkists and pan-Islamists could find a response among individuals and groups, serve as an impetus for the disturbance among Muslims. The Omsk Gendarmery Administration in its assessments of the situation in the region didn't accuse the Muslims of the Steppe Territory indiscriminately of adhering to the ideas of pan-Islamism and pan-Turkism, Turkophilism, and other anti-government sentiments.