Political and Humanistic Role of Guljamal Khan during and after the Annexation of Merv to Russia

Dedicated to Guljamal Khan (um), a representative of the Turkmen tribe of Tekin, who played an important role in the socio-economic and political development of this part of Central Asia (the southern region of modern Turkmenistan) in the late XIX -early XX centuries.The article states that in the most difficult times for the Tekin tribe -the period of the military conquest of the Akhal (1881) and the annexation of the Merv (1884) oases by Russia, Guljamal, despite the traditional role of a silent housewife for a Turkmen woman who had no political rights, contributed to the decision of the council of tribal elders on the peaceful settlement and the establishment of Russian control in The Merv oasis.As a result, the long wars, economic and political instability on the Merv and then on the entire Turkmen land were put to an end.In the longstanding confrontation between the Russian Empire and Great Britain, Russia won for Central Asia and the Middle East.The study of the humanistic role of Guljamal was also able to reveal new gender facets of the First World War.Using the example of an empathetic reading of her messages (appeals) to the highest authorities of the Russian government, an attempt was made to reconstruct the attitude of the militant and courageous Tekin people to the Supreme Decree of June 25, 1916 on the mobilization of the foreign population of Central Asia for works on the construction of defensive structures in the area of the active army, the motives of the political and humanistic position of Guljamal, defended, as in the years the annexation of Merv to Russia, the ideals of goodness and justice, the right of its people to national and cultural identity, honor and dignity.