title: Cypriot National Guard

text: A scramble for arms featured prominently throughout 1964, as the Cypriot National Guard compelled the civilian Government to solicit Soviet support. In early 1964, the Greek Cypriots acquired a large package of radars, communications and logistical support apparatus for SA-2F Guideline surface-air missiles, and only a NATO blockade of Limassol in 1965 prevented the live missile rounds and their TELs from being delivered. With no effective air-defence measure in place, the Greek Cypriots utilised the radars at one western and one eastern coastal mountain points in the Pentadaktylos Mountains stretching across the north of the island. These radars provided both air and surface tracking capability for aircraft and shipping.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: In late 1964, it was reported that Greek Cypriot Naval crews had been sent to Egypt to train on Soviet Komar class fast attack craft. Western media sources assumed that Cyprus was being prepared to receive Komar class vessels, although Cyprus eventually chose cheaper naval vessels in the form of six P-4 Skinhead motor torpedo boats (MTBs).


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: In February 1965, the Cyprus Naval Command entered the six MTBs into service under the naval pennants 20 to 25, and the designations T-1, -2, -3, -4, -5 and -6. These vessels were extremely fast and could be used to attack Turkish warships and landing vessels in littoral waters using a pair of 533mm torpedoes. In addition, each vessel mounted a twin 25mm general-purpose A/A gun. These were all stationed at a purpose-built naval squadron base at Boghazi, named Base Chrysulis.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: In 1970, the P-01 Arion was renamed "Leventis" in honour of a private sponsor who paid for the refurbishment of the vessel. The Leventis was given the new pennant "15". Her sister ship, P-03 Dedalos, was removed from the Navy list in 1971.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: At some point in 1973, the T-5 motor torpedo boat (No.24) was removed from Navy lists and disarmed. She was stripped of useful materials, and left as a hulk at Naval Base Chrysulis. Around the same time, three Type-108 motor torpedo boats of unknown designation were delivered from Yugoslavia, but did not enter active service and were laid up at Boghazi.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: Just prior to the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus in 1974, the Cyprus Government ordered two Esterel-32L fast patrol boats from France. These were embargoed as a result of the conflict, and would be delivered to Greece instead in 1975.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: On 15 July 1974, EOKA-B and elements of the Cyprus National Guard loyal to the Greek military junta overthrew President Archbishop Makarios and replaced him with Nikos Sampson. Makarios escaped an initial attempt to capture him at the Archbishopric in Nicosia, and fled to Paphos. The naval patrol vessel Leventis (No.15) was quickly dispatched to Paphos to begin shelling a radio station there which was being operated by pro-Makarios elements.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: On 20 July 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus in a surprise-attack, without issuing a declaration of war. A naval force of Turkish vessels was detected by coastal radar at Apostolos Andreas approaching the coast, and a second force of naval vessels was sighted off the coast of Kyrenia during the early hours. The Cyprus National Guard Naval Command quickly ordered its two motor torpedo boats, T-1 (under the command of Lieutenant Junior Grade Nicolaos Verikios) and T-3 (under the command of Lieutenant Elefterios Tsomakis), both based at Kyrenia, to attack the Turkish flotilla directly. Both vessels were promptly sunk by combined air and sea attack. The rest of the Cyprus Navy vessels were scuttled by their own crews at Naval base "Chrysulis" in Boghazi on 14 August 1974. After the conflict, two boats were re-floated by Turkish troops and transferred to Golcuk Naval Museum, Turkey (on display with incorrect pennant numbers 11 and 12).


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: In February 2017, the Cyprus Navy was given an offshore patrol vessel by the Sultanate of Oman. The Al Mabrukah training and patrol vessel displaced 930 tons and was 62 metres long, making it far larger than any vessel previously operated by the Cyprus Navy. The vessel was refitted and modernised for the donation process, and came equipped with a large helicopter pad and expanded accommodation facilities, making it suitable for use as a support ship under its new designation, A620 Alasia. However the low speed of the ship, combined with its age, highlighted mechanical difficulties with the ship's propulsion, and following its use in the TELES-2017 naval exercise in May 2017, the ship was laid up at Larnaca Port, requiring repair.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: In 2018, the Cyprus Navy received a Sa’ar 62. The P-61 has the capability to bring state-of-the-art surveillance and labelling systems for marine, ground and aerial targets. It was purchased by the Republic of Cyprus through a transnational agreement with Israel and was built by the Israeli shipyards in Haifa. The new vessel has a displacement of 430 tons, an overall length of 62 meters, a maximum speed of 32 knots, and carries up to 30 crewmembers plus a Special Forces unit. Installed on the vessel are multiple sophisticated systems including 2 Rafael Typhoon Weapon Stations with a single 23mm gun each, advanced radar, two TOPLITE electro-optical payloads, SATCOM, navigation systems, command and control systems, and more. Among others, the vessel is armed with two 12.7mm heavy machine guns but also it is Fitted for But Not With (FFBNW) a Rafael MLS-NLOS system. In late 2018, an option was exercised to purchase a second vessel of the type.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: In June 1987, the Cyprus National Guard Air Command purchased a batch of six Aerospatiale SA-342L Gazelle scout anti-tank helicopters with 1200 Euromissile HOT-2 wire-guided anti-tank missiles (the interchangeable live rounds to be shared with the Army for use on their VAB-VCAC tank destroyers). The six aircraft were delivered from January 1988 onward, and were issued the serial numbers 351, 352, 353, 354, 355 and 356, drawn from Aerospatiale 21XX and 22XX series construction numbers. Of these aircraft, five examples (excluding 351) have been noted in regular use with the Cyprus National Guard airborne forces, suggesting number 351 had been withdrawn for use as spare parts, or as a technical training air frame, prior to 2004. The Gazelles were delivered in a three-tone desert camouflage consisting of light sand, dark sand and drab-olive tones - this camouflage has been retained to the present day. All aircraft utilize a low-visibility Cyprus flag fin-flash and a low-visibility Hellenic Air Force styled roundel marking at the midsection of the tail boom. The designation SA-342L is inscribed above the fin flash, along with the three-digit serial number.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: In 2001–2002, Cyprus discreetly acquired 12 new-build examples (serial numbers 811–822 inclusively) of the Mil Mi-35P Hind-F attack helicopter type from the Russian Federation, following a lengthy tender process which included reported competition from the Mil Mi-28 Havoc, and Denel Rooivalk. The helicopters were first made public at a surprise three-ship flypast of the funeral of Lt General Evangelos Florakis on 12 July 2002 (himself killed in the crash of Cypriot Air Command Bell-206L Long Ranger "112" on 10 July 2002 whilst observing a command and control exercise at night). The Mi-35s were initially supplied in an unusual matt-black (and presumably infra-red absorbent) camouflage suitable for night operations, but lacked the optional FLIR turret and identification friend-or-foe systems made available for the more advanced Russian Mi-24PN. Aside from their monotone camouflage, the aircraft carried a small, high-contrast Cyprus Republic tail fin flag, and a high visibility Hellenic Air Force styled blue-on-white roundel on the tail at the midpoint. Bright red danger markings were applied to the rotor tips and to the end of the tail boom.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: The Cypriot Mi-35 helicopters were initially equipped for the deployment of fixed-mount 30mm heavy cannon, and a capacity for 80mm (3.1 inch) S-8 rockets in AP and HE-FRAG configurations, as well as for anti-tank missiles in the 9K114 and 9M120 versions.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: On 10 September 2005, National Guard Pilatus PC-9M turboprop aircraft "902" crashed into a church bell tower while performing an unauthorized flight maneuver near Kollossi in Limassol Cyprus, having deviated 80 km from the planned flight path. The aircraft was destroyed, and its two pilots killed.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: On 5 July 2006, a National Guard Mi-35P Hind attack helicopter (serial number 822) crashed near the Paphos-Limassol motorway shortly after departing from Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos. The aircraft was written off and both crew members (a Russian instructor and Cypriot student) killed.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: The SA-342L Gazelle anti-tank helicopter force remains in service to present day, although example 356 is no longer thought to be operational. The four remaining Gazelle anti-tank helicopters are thought to have undergone an overhaul, reportedly completed in August 2014 at Valence-Chabeuil airport by Aerotec Group. The four Gazelle helicopters were assigned to 450ME / 1st Platoon, which has been implemented at Andreas Papandreou Air Base (in Paphos district) following the closure of Lakatamia air base (in Nicosia district) in April 2013. Their prior host unit, 449MAE Helicopter Squadron, was disbanded with the closure of Lakatamia AB.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: On 28 November 2017 the Cypriot Defence Ministry announced the planned acquisition of eight helicopters, four SA-342L Gazelle scout anti-tank helicopters, to be acquired from France with night and all-weather capability, and four attack helicopters to be selected by tender. The four existing Gazelle helicopters in the Air Force would be upgraded, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were also being sought as part of a combined Unmanned Air System package.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: The Cyprus armed forces operate a pool of three Army Special Forces Groups (plus one auxiliary) known colloquially as LOK (Greek: ΛΟΚ - Λόχοι Ορεινών Καταδρομών, Lochoi Oreinōn Katadromōn). All LOK Groups are part of the Army Special Forces Command DKD (Greek: ΔΚΔ - Διοίκησης Καταδρομών - Diikisis Katadromon), and a soldier belonging to the Brigade is called a Raider (Greek: Kαταδρομέας, Kαταδρομείς - Katadromeas, Katadromeis). Cyprus Special Forces training is based closely on their Greek Counterparts. The formation is more commonly referred to as the Raider Forces (Greek: Δυνάμεις Kαταδρομών, "Dynameis Katadromon").


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: All members of the Brigade wear the unit insignia depicting a winged sword, representative of the "deadly, silent and swift" nature of special forces operations. A scroll runs across the sword and wings with the motto "Who Dares Wins" ( - "O Tolmon Nika"), a tribute to the Free Greek Special Forces that served with the 1st Special Air Service (1 SAS) Brigade during World War II. The unit flash is emblazoned with Δυναμεισ Καταδρομων (Raider Forces). While on operation, low-visibility patches are worn.


title: Cypriot National Guard

text: The Navy has a Special Forces Group known as Omada Ypovrixion Katastrofon (). Similar to United States Navy SEALs. Roles include amongst others Amphibious Assault, Special Reconnaissance of coastal targets and combating events of terrorism/ incursion occurring in the EEZ of Cyprus.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: Misty, known as in Japan, is a fictional character in the "Pokémon" franchise owned by Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri. She has appeared as a Gym Leader in the "Pokémon" video games "Pokémon Red" and "Blue", "Pokémon Gold" and "Silver", and their respective remakes. She was a protagonist in the ongoing anime for the first five seasons, travelling alongside Ash Ketchum and Brock to become the world's best trainer of Water-type Pokémon before departing home to Cerulean City to run the family gym, but made recurring appearances after. The character has also appeared in manga like "Pokémon Adventures". She specialises in Water Type Pokémon. Her Japanese voice actress is Mayumi Iizuka, while her English voice was supplied by Rachael Lillis and Michele Knotz, while her Korean voice was supplied by Ji Mi-Ae, Lee Chi-Hyeon, Kim Hyeon-Ji and Yeo Minjeong.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: Misty's character design was overseen by Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida, and for the anime the design was overseen by Sayuri Ichishi. Her Japanese voice actress, Mayumi Iizuka, stated that during her audition the director asked her to act like herself, and in doing so she landed the role. As a result, she considers Misty to be the one character she has voiced who most represents herself. Mayumi keeps track of her character's promotional appearances in merchandise and other material, additionally providing fans with insights on possible future cameos in the anime series.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: In the video games "Pokémon Red", "Blue", "Yellow", "FireRed" & "LeafGreen", "Pokémon Gold", "Silver", "Crystal", "Pokémon HeartGold" and "SoulSilver", and , Misty is the Gym Leader of Cerulean City. She specializes in Water-type Pokémon. Misty, in her anime form, also appears as a trophy in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" and as a gym leader in "Pokémon Puzzle League". Additionally, she appears on "Pokémon Channel" on a full Japanese Pichu Bros. Disc. The disc differs from the other Japanese disc, as Misty's (Kasumi) voice actor is the narrator. Misty, as well as most of the gym leaders in Pokémon history, reappear in ""Pokémon Black 2" and "White 2"" as part of the Pokémon World Tournament.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: The anime follows the quest of one of the main characters, Ash Ketchum, as he and his friends travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners. Misty is a stubborn tomboy who trains Water Pokémon and has three siblings, Daisy, Lily and Violet. She left the Gym to her three older sisters prior to traveling with Ash in the anime, although she still retained the title of Gym Leader despite this. She first comes across Ash when she accidentally fishes him and his Pikachu out of a river while fishing for water Pokémon. Soon after this incident, Ash "borrows" her bike in an attempt to flee from a flock of wild Spearow. The bike is later charred by an attack from Pikachu. Misty tells Ash she will not leave him alone until he replaces the bike and commits to follow him on his journey, and the two soon become best friends. After retrieving her repaired bike at the end of the Johto League Silver Conference, she returns to the Cerulean Gym and resumes her duties as the Gym Leader.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: Misty becomes a central character in "Pokémon Chronicles", a spin-off to the "Pokémon" anime, and appears in several specials and episodes. She maintains her friendship with Ash and eventually goes to Hoenn to meet up with him, meeting May and Max, and sees him again when he returns to Pallet following a long stint in Hoenn. She also appeared in an arc composed of at least two episodes of the "" series, where she and Brock meet Ash and his friends in Kanto, and later appears in two more episodes of the "Sun & Moon" series when she reunites with Ash in Alola. Misty will make another appearance in "" as Ash's journey with the show comes to end.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: In the early episodes, Misty is depicted as having a short temper, stubborn temperament, and little patience. As the series progresses, however, she gradually shows herself to be kind and sensible. Misty becomes the parental guardian of Togepi, caring for it throughout the series. Misty constantly reins in Brock when he becomes enamored with pretty girls, often pulling him away by the ear. She is also terrified of most Bug-type Pokémon. Misty aims to be a world-class Water-type Pokémon trainer despite her sisters' ridicule.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: The Misty character that appears in the "" manga series, which is loosely based on the anime, is similar to the Misty in the anime, while the Misty in "Pokémon Adventures" is similar to the Misty in the video games. She appears throughout "Electric Tale of Pikachu", traveling on occasion with Ash. In "Pokémon Adventures", When Red, the protagonist of the manga, first meets her, she is trying to recapture her Gyarados with help of her Staryu, which has been brainwashed by Team Rocket. They decide to team up and confront Team Rocket. The next morning, after spending the night resting in Misty's mansion, Misty leads Red to her Gym and reveals herself to be the Gym Leader. They have a battle, and though Misty quickly gained the upper hand and easily defeated Red with her fast and strong Starmie, she is worried that if they do not prepare themselves, Team Rocket will defeat them easily. Red decides that he might actually need training, and agrees to train. At that point, they become close friends.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: In "Pocket Monsters", Red, the protagonist of the series, is seeking a Moon Stone along with his Pikachu and his Clefairy (one that speaks human language). When they meet Misty, Clefairy notices that she is wearing a Moon Stone as a necklace. Misty declares that they battle her if they wish to have it. While the Clefairy is initially pumped up to battle, he quickly changes his mind when he sees that his opponent is a massive Blastoise. After a while, the battle is won when Clefairy sucks up all the water in a nearby river and releases the water onto Misty's Pokémon, sending it flying into the sky. Just when Misty is about to reward Red's group with the prize they sought, the stone is stolen.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: The book "The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture" described Misty's portrayal in the anime as a mother figure, calling her a "nurturing component" for the original trio of herself, Ash and Brock. It further described her as an "unusually 'complete' girl of the cartoon world", noting both her feminine sentimentality and her "explosive rage". "Anime Classics Zettai!: 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces" praised the character as being "particularly nuanced" and described her as contributing heavily to the series' appeal. "Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon" stated that though the anime focused on Ash, Misty was a distinctly significant character especially to young female consumers, neither "butch" nor "dizzily feminine", seemingly "carefully constructed to appeal to preadolescent girls". It added that, unlike other aggressive female characters in the series, Misty did not sacrifice her femininity to succeed, making the character further popular with young American women, a contrast to Japanese children who focused more on the individual Pokémon species to identify with.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: In studies on the reactions boys and girls had to the concept of Misty as a heroine in the series, girls accepted it and were eager to associate themselves with the character, while boys attempted to belittle her efforts. On the other hand, children of both genders felt the character alongside Brock gave Ash a sense of identity and moral support, which researchers attributed to the concept of group identity. In another study, children were shown to associate the attributes of attractiveness and aggressiveness, while college students described the character as romantic. "Pikachu's Global Adventure" additionally stated Misty also served as a source of non-threatening sexuality for both older and younger male viewers, though the context of such was presented in a more subtle way for North American localizations of the series.


title: Misty (Pokémon)

text: In 2013, nearing Halloween, Archie Comics illustrator Ryan Jampole utilized Misty as one of the 31 costumes for the character Roll from the Archie Comics adaptation of the "Mega Man" franchise.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: In physics and electrical engineering, a cutoff frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a boundary in a system's frequency response at which energy flowing through the system begins to be reduced (attenuated or reflected) rather than passing through.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: Typically in electronic systems such as filters and communication channels, cutoff frequency applies to an edge in a lowpass, highpass, bandpass, or band-stop characteristic – a frequency characterizing a boundary between a passband and a stopband. It is sometimes taken to be the point in the filter response where a transition band and passband meet, for example, as defined by a half-power point (a frequency for which the output of the circuit is −3 dB of the nominal passband value). Alternatively, a stopband corner frequency may be specified as a point where a transition band and a stopband meet: a frequency for which the attenuation is larger than the required stopband attenuation, which for example may be 30 dB or 100 dB.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: In the case of a waveguide or an antenna, the cutoff frequencies correspond to the lower and upper cutoff wavelengths.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: In electronics, cutoff frequency or corner frequency is the frequency either above or below which the power output of a circuit, such as a line, amplifier, or electronic filter has fallen to a given proportion of the power in the passband. Most frequently this proportion is one half the passband power, also referred to as the 3 dB point since a fall of 3 dB corresponds approximately to half power. As a voltage ratio this is a fall to formula_1 of the passband voltage. Other ratios besides the 3 dB point may also be relevant, for example see below. Far from the cutoff frequency in the transition band, the rate of increase of attenuation (roll-off) with logarithm of frequency is asymptotic to a constant. For a first-order network, the roll-off is −20 dB per decade (−6 dB per octave.)


title: Cutoff frequency

text: Sometimes other ratios are more convenient than the 3 dB point. For instance, in the case of the Chebyshev filter it is usual to define the cutoff frequency as the point after the last peak in the frequency response at which the level has fallen to the design value of the passband ripple. The amount of ripple in this class of filter can be set by the designer to any desired value, hence the ratio used could be any value.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: In radio communication, skywave communication is a technique in which radio waves are transmitted at an angle into the sky and reflected back to Earth by layers of charged particles in the ionosphere. In this context, the term "cutoff frequency" refers to the maximum usable frequency, the frequency above which a radio wave fails to reflect off the ionosphere at the incidence angle required for transmission between two specified points by reflection from the layer.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: The cutoff frequency of an electromagnetic waveguide is the lowest frequency for which a mode will propagate in it. In fiber optics, it is more common to consider the cutoff wavelength, the maximum wavelength that will propagate in an optical fiber or waveguide. The cutoff frequency is found with the characteristic equation of the Helmholtz equation for electromagnetic waves, which is derived from the electromagnetic wave equation by setting the longitudinal wave number equal to zero and solving for the frequency. Thus, any exciting frequency lower than the cutoff frequency will attenuate, rather than propagate. The following derivation assumes lossless walls. The value of c, the speed of light, should be taken to be the group velocity of light in whatever material fills the waveguide.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: where formula_7 are the mode numbers for the rectangle's sides of length formula_8 and formula_9 respectively. For TE modes, formula_10 (but formula_11 is not allowed), while for TM modes formula_12.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: The cutoff frequency of the TM mode (next higher from dominant mode TE) in a waveguide of circular cross-section (the transverse-magnetic mode with no angular dependence and lowest radial dependence) is given by


title: Cutoff frequency

text: where formula_14 is the radius of the waveguide, and formula_15 is the first root of formula_16, the Bessel function of the first kind of order 1.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: However, the dominant mode cutoff frequency can be reduced by the introduction of baffle inside the circular cross-section waveguide. For a single-mode optical fiber, the cutoff wavelength is the wavelength at which the normalized frequency is approximately equal to 2.405.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: The function formula_21 here refers to whichever field (the electric field or the magnetic field) has no vector component in the longitudinal direction - the "transverse" field. It is a property of all the eigenmodes of the electromagnetic waveguide that at least one of the two fields is transverse. The "z" axis is defined to be along the axis of the waveguide.


title: Cutoff frequency

text: The "longitudinal" derivative in the Laplacian can further be reduced by considering only functions of the form


title: Cutoff frequency

text: where subscript T indicates a 2-dimensional transverse Laplacian. The final step depends on the geometry of the waveguide. The easiest geometry to solve is the rectangular waveguide. In that case, the remainder of the Laplacian can be evaluated to its characteristic equation by considering solutions of the form


title: Cutoff frequency

text: The transverse wavenumbers can be specified from the standing wave boundary conditions for a rectangular geometry cross-section with dimensions and :


title: Cutoff frequency

text: where and are the two integers representing a specific eigenmode. Performing the final substitution, we obtain


title: Cutoff frequency

text: which is the dispersion relation in the rectangular waveguide. The cutoff frequency formula_30 is the critical frequency between propagation and attenuation, which corresponds to the frequency at which the longitudinal wavenumber formula_31 is zero. It is given by


title: Cutoff frequency

text: The wave equations are also valid below the cutoff frequency, where the longitudinal wave number is imaginary. In this case, the field decays exponentially along the waveguide axis and the wave is thus evanescent.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix (24 October 1949 – 18 October 2013) was a Mexican drug lord and former leader of the Tijuana Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. He was the oldest of seven brothers and headed the criminal organization early in the 1990s alongside them. Through his brother Benjamín, Francisco Rafael joined the Tijuana Cartel in 1989 following the arrest of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, one of the most prominent drug czars in Mexico during the 1980s. When the Arellano Félix took control of the organization in the early 1990s, tensions with the rival Sinaloa Cartel prompted violent attacks and slayings from both fronts.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: The drug lord was arrested in 1993 in Tijuana, Baja California, and imprisoned at Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, a maximum security prison. In 2006, he was extradited to the United States pending charges on drug trafficking in a California federal district court. He was released from prison two years later and deported back to Mexico. Back in his home country, Francisco Rafael had no other pending criminal charges. While celebrating his birthday in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, on 18 October 2013, a gunman disguised as a clown shot him dead.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, on 24 October 1949, to Benjamín Francisco Arellano Sánchez (father) and Norma Alicia Félix Zazueta (mother). His father was from the state of Durango but emigrated to Sinaloa, where he met his wife, in the 1940s. The couple had eleven children, Francisco Rafael being the eldest of his seven brothers (Benjamín, Carlos Alberto, Eduardo, Ramón Eduardo, Luis Fernando, Francisco Javier) and four sisters (Alicia María, Enedina, Norma Isabel and Leticia). He also had two half-brothers, Jesús and Manuel Arellano, but their second surnames remain confidential. Francisco Rafael grew up in a modest house in Miguel Hidalgo St. #566 in Culiacán, blocks away from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, and lived there for about 20 years. Neighbors recall that the Arellano Félix brothers were "cheerful boys" without addictions and inclined to selling clothes, licor, and candy that they brought illegally from the United States. Francisco Rafael went to "Álvaro Obregón" elementary school a couple of streets away from their house. He later attended "Emilio Obeso" middle school in the same neighborhood. At a young age, Francisco Rafael dropped out of middle school to help out his father, a mechanic. Alongside his brothers Benjamín and Ramón, however, he also smuggled contraband from Tijuana. His affinity towards music led him and his two brothers to form a musical group known as "Sonido Escorpión" and later renamed as "Los Escorpiones". By the 1970s, his family moved to Guadalajara, Jalisco, but Francisco Rafael stayed in Culiacán, where he owned an event center known as "El Chaplín". He then moved years later to Mazatlán and opened a discothèque, "Frankie Oh". The discothèque was a major nightlife attraction in Mazatlán during the mid-1980s. With an estimated US$5 million investment to build it, "Frankie Oh" had the capacity to host 2,500 people; it had an internal waterfall and a large dance floor surrounded by a fish tank. The nightclub's theme also mirrored a zoo because it had several exotic animals, including two lions, in the entrances and in the surroundings. The only non-living animal was a giant metal statue of a scorpion which was both a water fountain and the logo of the nightclub. Francisco Rafael usually carried a diamond-encrusted scorpion necklace in reference to his astrological sign, the Scorpio.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: The disco hosted several famous Mexican and international artists, including but not limited to Luis Miguel, Emmanuel, Mijares, and Nelson Ned, Ricardo Montaner, among others. It also hosted car and motorcycle shows where Francisco Rafael performed with his Harley-Davidson. With his popularity rising in Mazatlán, he was named "Businessman of the Year" by a local radio station. Aside from managing the disco, Francisco Rafael organized beauty contests, sports tournaments, and made frequent appearances in social magazines. He was a close friend of former World Champion Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez, whom he considered as close as a brother of his. Francisco Rafael lived most of his early life as a businessman and playboy while his brothers, Benjamín and Ramón, became involved in the drug trade after moving to Tijuana in the 1980s. Francisco Rafael was first married to Victoria Barrionuevo and had three children (Francisco, Benjamín Arellano Barrionuevo, and an unnamed daughter); after separating and divorcing, he remarried, to Rocío del Carmen Lizárraga Lizárraga, whom he abducted several months after she was declared Carnival Queen of Mazatlán just after her 18th birthday in May 1990.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: Francisco Rafael's maternal aunt, Agustina Félix Zazueta, married Jesús Labra Avilés (alias "El Chuy"), a drug trafficker under the tutelage of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, the former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel and a high-profile drug lord in Mexico. Other sources say that the Arellano Félix brothers were nephews of the drug lord Félix Gallardo, who allegedly introduced them to the drug trade in Baja California. Benjamín worked with the drug trafficker Javier Caro Payán (cousin of Rafael Caro Quintero), who later fled to Canada after Félix Gallardo was arrested in 1989 and after he feared a coup from the Arellano Félix.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: With the leadership void open, Benjamín started to work full-time with his uncle Labra Avilés; Francisco Rafael, Ramón, and Javier later join them in Tijuana. The arrest of Félix Gallardo led to the disintegration of the Guadalajara Cartel into several drug trafficking organizations: in the western coast, a faction formed the Sinaloa Cartel; in the Ciudad Juárez border area, another group formed the Juárez Cartel; and in the Baja California border region, others formed the so-called Tijuana Cartel, which was formed by the Arellano Félix clan and lieutenants previously loyal to Félix Gallardo in the area. In December 1989, the Arellano Félix ordered their gunmen to decimate the Machi Ramírez, a once-prominent crime family that controlled the drug trade in Tijuana prior to their arrival. Once established in Tijuana, the Arellano Félix clan forged important relations with some of the most prominent families in the region.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: The flight, eventual arrest, and murder of Caro Payán angered his associates that headed the Sinaloa and Sonora Cartels. Two leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, now jailed in the United States, and his business partner Héctor "El Güero" Palma, attempted to take control of Tijuana from the hands of the Arellano Félix in the early 1990s. The antagonism lasted for several years and was accompanied by violent acts in the states of Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacán and Oaxaca.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: In 1989, "El Chapo" Guzmán sent Armando López (alias "El Rayo"), one of his most-trusted men, to speak with the Arellano Félix in Tijuana. Before he had a chance to speak face-to-face with them, López was killed by Ramón. The corpse was disposed in the outskirts of the city and the Tijuana Cartel ordered a hit on the remaining family members of the López family to prevent future reprisals. Two years later, Ramón killed another Sinaloa Cartel associate, Rigoberto Campos Salcido (alias "El Rigo"), prompting ever more intense conflicts with the rival cartel. In September 1992, the Tijuana Cartel ordered another hit against their rivals; in Iguala, Guerrero, lawyers of Félix Gallardo and several of his family members were kidnapped and killed by gunmen. "El Güero" Palma responded to the attacks by ordering several of his men to kill eight members of the Arellano Félix organization at the Christine discothèque in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Ramón and Francisco Javier were the prime targets but they escaped uninjured.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: The rivalry reached its apex on 24 May 1993 when gunmen affiliated with the Tijuana Cartel attempted to kill "El Chapo" Guzmán in the Guadalajara International Airport. In the raging fire, gunmen shot a luxurious vehicle thought to hold Guzmán; however, among those aboard was the Roman Catholic Cardinal, Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, who was killed at the scene, along with six other civilians. Guzmán successfully escaped the assassination attempt by leaving in a taxi. On 4 December 1993, Francisco Rafael was arrested by the Federal Judicial Police (PJF) in Tijuana for charges on drug trafficking, illegal use of weaponry under Mexican law, and complicity in the murder of Posadas Ocampo. He was sentenced to 10 years and three months and imprisoned at the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, a maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico. Unlike his brothers who eventually led the Tijuana Cartel and made it one of the leading and most violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico during the 1990s, Francisco Rafael was not a key player in the cartel's hegemony. His arrest in 1993 came before the family's downfall and the arrests and/or deaths of his brothers. In the Tijuana Cartel, his task was to coordinate the buying and selling of narcotics to the United States.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: A 1980 US indictment said that Francisco Rafael was under investigation by the DEA for alleged cocaine and heroin distribution in the San Diego area. The DEA had identified him as one of the cocaine suppliers and set up an undercover operation to arrest him and his associates by purchasing multi-ton shipments of cocaine. He admitted to have worked with drug distributor Ramón Torresillos-Rendón, and that he used him as a mediator for a drug transaction with an undercover federal agent. In court, Francisco Rafael admitted having sent Torresillos-Rendón and four other individuals to sell nine ounces of cocaine to the agent. He was arrested in California on 7 August 1980 and remained under custody until or around 8 September 1980 after paying a US$150,000 bond and promising to appear at every court session. Nonetheless, he fled to Mexico shortly afterwards and did not appear in court on 8 October 1980.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: On 2 June 2003, United States authorities requested the Mexican government to extradite Francisco Rafael. A Mexican federal judge approved the request the following year but the drug lord was not extradited to the United States until September 16, 2006. He was flown from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, via helicopter and handed over to U.S. authorities in a prison in Brownsville, Texas, after a 10-year sentence in Mexico. He was then transferred to the state of California pending federal charges on drug trafficking. On 18 June 2007, he pleaded guilty to the possession and distribution of cocaine before U.S. District Judge Irma E. Gonzalez in a San Diego federal court. In his testimony, he admitted to selling about 250 grams of cocaine to a supplier who negotiated with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in an unnamed motel in San Diego in 1980. In October 2007, Francisco Rafael was sentenced to six years in prison and with possibility to parole in four months given the time he had already served in prison.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: Though sentenced to six years in prison, Francisco Rafael was released on 4 March 2008 after serving only a year and five months. His lawyer confirmed he was credited with time served in Mexican jails. Once released, he was deported to Mexico through the Paso del Norte International Bridge ("Santa Fe") international bridge in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas. He had no pending charges in his home country. Mexican authorities watched Francisco Rafael from a distance as he merged through the multitude of people close to the border. It was unknown if his family was notified of his deportation but the authorities allege that shortly after his arrival he took a flight to Tijuana to see his wife and children. Upon his arrival, he moved to Mazatlán before relocating to Los Cabos, a resort town in the Baja California peninsula. He lived there with his wife in Cumbres del Tezal, an upper-middle-class neighborhood on a hill and with view towards the Arco de Cabo San Lucas. Instead of his actual name, Francisco Rafael went by his pseudonym Mauro Vázquez, and posed as a businessman, avid motorcyclist, and music producer.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: Francisco Rafael was celebrating his 64th birthday along with his wife, children, and friends at Ocean House, a beachfront banquet hall owned by Hotel Marbella in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur on 18 October 2013. There were about 80 to 100 attendees at the party, including prominent businessmen, politicians, celebrities, and sport figures such as former Mexican footballer Jared Borgetti and professional boxer Omar Chávez. The party also hosted a number of musical groups, including banda La Cabeña, El Mariachi de Los Cabos, and the former leading vocalist of Banda El Recodo. At around 8:00 p.m. that day, a black-colored SUV entered the private property and parked near the entrance of the ballroom. In the front seats of the car, according to eye-witness reports, were two men; in the back seat was a man dressed as a clown, who descended from the vehicle and headed towards the door that led to the kitchen. Once inside the ballroom, the clown identified Francisco Rafael at the center of the room and began to walk towards him. When the clown was about 1 m (3.3 ft) close, he pulled out a pistol from his costume and shot him point-blank in his head and then several times more as he fell to the ground, killing him on the scene. As the former drug lord lay dead near the entrance, the assassin ran through a rear exit while the attendees yelled, fell to the ground, and hid under the tables. Four more shots were heard outside the ballroom shortly after the attack; according to eyewitnesses, the clown had done this to scare off one of Francisco Rafael's sons, who was chasing him. The suspect then fled the crime scene in the black-colored SUV and headed towards the highway.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: The first to arrive at the crime scene were the municipal authorities of Los Cabos, followed by the Mexican Armed Forces and the federal and state police forces. Upon the arrival of the authorities, Francisco Rafael's wife—in between tears—informed them of the former drug lord's identity. The autopsy revealed that Francisco Rafael died of severe traumatic brain injury from shots in the thorax and head with a FN Five-seven pistol. The murder of Francisco Rafael initially fell under state jurisdiction because he was not wanted by the federal government when he was killed. Therefore, the murder investigation was started by the Baja California Sur authorities and not by the Office of the General Prosecutor (PGR). However, the PGR joined the case after it was requested by the state authorities.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: On 19 October 2013, the Baja California Sur state police escorted the corpse of Francisco Rafael and his family members to the port of Pichilingue. The body was then shipped by boat to his home state of Sinaloa. It was initially reported by the media that his corpse was to be cremated in Mazatlán; however, his remains were taken to the city of Los Mochis in the municipality of Ahome for cremation on 20 October 2013.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: Roughly twenty-four hours after the death of Francisco Rafael, the Mexican federal police arrested Manuel Aguirre Galindo (alias "El Caballo" – "The Horse"), a founder of the Tijuana Cartel and a high-ranking leader and money launderer who had been a fugitive for more than 20 years, in Mexico City. It is unknown who notified the authorities of his whereabouts but they allege that they were either notified by a rival gang or by members of the Arellano Félix clan. Among the hypotheses presented by "Zeta", a Tijuana-based magazine known for its investigative reports on the Tijuana Cartel, are as follows: (1) shortly after the murder of Francisco Rafael, the police interrogated his family and several of the party invitees, who may have shared information that led to Aguirre Galindo's arrest, given that the drug lord was allegedly responsible for providing security to Francisco Rafael; (2) the other hypothesis is that Aguirre Galindo's location was tipped by members of the Tijuana Cartel who were mad at him for failing to protect Francisco Rafael.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: The motives behind the murder case are officially unknown but Mexican authorities believe that given the circumstances and the players involved, the suspected source of fire was organized crime and that the motives possibly stemmed from "unpaid old debts, and old retributions". The authorities are working with two separate lines of investigation: (1) the first line alleges that Francisco Rafael was killed by members of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, a drug trafficking organization that fights for the control of the smuggling routes in the Baja California peninsula against the Sinaloa Cartel; (2) the second line alleges that Francisco Rafael was killed by members of the Sinaloa Cartel, specifically on orders of "El Chapo" Guzmán, the cartel's leader. "El Chapo" was nearly captured by the Mexican federal police in Los Cabos in March 2012, after an anonymous call informed the DEA that the drug lord was possibility hiding in three properties. Investigators allege that Francisco Rafael, although he was no longer involved in organized crime, might have tipped the authorities to his whereabouts and incurred "El Chapo's" wrath. They also believe that the attack might have been carried out by a local drug-dealing group in Los Cabos; the main suspect of this allegation is a man named Javier López Rivera or Javier Acosta López (alias "El Javier" and/or "El Javi"), the supposed leader of this crime cell. In this line of investigation, the authorities believe that the drug dealer sent two of his men to pick up the assassin who had arrived from Sinaloa at the Los Cabos International Airport. Two of the three men involved in the murder case, they allege, go by the aliases "Caín" and "El Chapito".


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: According to the Mexican authorities, the murder plot was possibly carried out with the collaboration of the Tijuana Cartel because no security measures were taken during the party and because the entrances were open to the public (when they are usually closed for private events). The investigation was further complicated by the fact that many of the invitees—fearing for their lives—fled from the scene when Francisco Rafael was killed by the clown. Out of the 80 to 100 attendees, only 20 of them stayed, many of them family members and employees of the banquet hall. When the authorities interrogated those who stayed and asked them whether they had recognized the assassin or any other physical features, none of them were able to give any details. Some stated that they did not even pay attention to the clown when he entered the crime scene, while others stated that they did not even recall exactly what the clown was wearing, remembering only that the assassin was wearing a blue-striped or purple shirt, a multicolored wig, and a red clown nose.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: On 7 November 2013, a person who was at the murder scene uploaded a 1:04 minute video on YouTube showing the scene before Francisco Rafael was killed. The video starts with the former vocalist of Banda El Recodo singing "El Señor de las Canas", a song by Vicente Fernández, alongside a mariachi group. As the film progresses, the camera turns to the sides and shows former footballer Jared Borgetti sitting at a table with Rocío del Carmen Lizárraga, wife of Francisco Rafael. Towards the last seconds of the video, a bald-looking man passes through the back of the tables in front of the camera and apparently gives a hand signal to the assassin before walking away. Then, a man dressed as a clown (the presumed assassin) passes through the crowd and heads towards Francisco Rafael. Seconds later, one shot was heard; most of the invitees were not aware of what had happened, and the music continued. Shortly afterwards, four more shots were heard from the rear. Following the second round of shots, the music stopped and the invitees started screaming. The video only captured a few seconds after the last four shots before concluding. The Baja California Sur authorities believe that the bald-looking man that appeared on the video shortly before the clown and apparently gave him a hand signal is involved in the murder plot. Eyewitnesses who sat at a table with the suspect stated that they did not know who he was but that they saw him greet Francisco Rafael during the party. The suspect reportedly made three phone calls during the party and sent several text messages. Investigators believe that the man was possibly communicating with the assassin; the authorities are investigating the text messages and phone calls made that day in the area through the Telcel database. With the surface of the video, the authorities were able to also gather more information about the assassin and the murder. They were able to identify other invitees, including former Cruz Azul footballer Héctor López. The video allowed the authorities to identify the physical characteristics of the assassin, including his skin color, approximate height, and the color of his clothing. The authorities are investigating whether any purchases made in custom or fabric stores in the area might lead them to the murderers.


title: Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

text: In January 2014, the PGR stated that the alleged mastermind of the murder was possibly José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa (alias "El Chino Ántrax"), the leader of Los Ántrax, an armed squadron of the Sinaloa Cartel. The agency revealed through several photographs that Francisco Rafael and Aréchiga Gamboa met at the fight promotion event of boxers Omar Chávez and Joachim Alcine in Los Cabos two days prior to the murder. The PGR hypothesized that the murder was possibly stemmed from Francisco Rafael's involvement in money laundering activities and as a message from the Los Ántrax to show that they were in charge of organized crime in Los Cabos. They also believe that Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, might have ordered the attack. The state authorities identified two other possible murderers: Noé Castro (alias "R1"), Aréchiga Gamboa's right-hand man in Los Cabos; and a man known by his alias "R13". They also conducted anthropometry studies to conclude if Aréchiga Gamboa fit the physical descriptions of the man featured in the video.


title: United States Secretary of Energy

text: The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act, establishing the department. The energy secretary and the department originally focused on energy production and regulation. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources, as well as energy education. After the end of the Cold War, the department's attention also turned toward radioactive waste disposal and the maintenance of environmental quality.


title: United States Secretary of Energy

text: Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger served as the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic president Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger's appointment marks the only time a president has chosen a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post. Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton's first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position. The first Hispanic to serve as Energy Secretary was Clinton's second energy secretary, Federico Peña. Spencer Abraham became the first Arab American to hold the position on January 20, 2001, serving under the administration of George W. Bush. Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under president Barack Obama. Chu was also the longest-serving secretary of energy and the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.


title: United States Secretary of Energy

text: President Joe Biden's nominee to be Secretary of Energy, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, was confirmed on February 25, 2021. Granholm is the second woman to lead the Department of Energy.


title: United States Secretary of Energy

text: In addition to responsibilities related to generation and use of energy, the secretary is the most senior official other than the president of the United States or Secretary of Defense with primary responsibility for the nation's ~3,800 viable nuclear weapons. This arrangement is intended to maintain full civilian control over strategic weapons, except as directed by the president for specific military uses. The department of energy is responsible for the building, maintenance, and disposal of all nuclear weapons within the United States' arsenal in addition to safeguarding these weapons when they are not actively deployed in military service. Under the terms of several successive treaties, most recently New START, the United States has reduced its strategic arsenal to 1500 deployed weapons. Consequently, many older legacy weapons systems have been dismantled or scheduled for dismantlement, with their core radioactive fuel - generally plutonium - being reprocessed into reactor-grade or space exploration fuel.


title: United States Secretary of Energy

text: As of , there are 10 living former secretaries of energy, the oldest being Donald Hodel (served 1982–1985, born 1935). The most recent secretary of energy to die was Charles Duncan Jr. (served 1979–1981, born 1926) on October 18, 2022. The most recently serving secretary of energy to die was Samuel Bodman (served 2005–2009, born 1938) on September 7, 2018.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The partially successful conquest of Central Asia by the Russian Empire took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. The land that became Russian Turkestan and later Soviet Central Asia is now divided between Kazakhstan in the north, Uzbekistan across the center, Kyrgyzstan in the east, Tajikistan in the southeast, and Turkmenistan in the southwest. The area was called Turkestan because most of its inhabitants spoke Turkic languages with the exception of Tajikistan, which speaks an Iranian language.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In the eighteenth century the Russian Empire gained increasing control over the Kazakh Steppe. The Russian conquest of Central Asia took place over several decades. In 1839 Russia failed to conquer the Khanate of Khiva south of the Aral Sea. In 1847–53 the Russians built a line of forts from the north side of the Aral Sea eastward up the Syr Darya river. In 1847–64 they crossed the eastern Kazakh Steppe and built a line of forts along the northern border of Kyrgyzstan. In 1864–68 they moved south from Kyrgyzstan, captured Tashkent and Samarkand and dominated the Khanates of Kokand and Bokhara. They now held a triangle whose southern point was south of Siberia and southeast of their supply bases on the Volga River. The next step was to turn this triangle into a rectangle by crossing the Caspian Sea. In 1873 the Russians conquered Khiva, and in 1881 they took western Turkmenistan. In 1884 they took the Merv oasis and eastern Turkmenistan. In 1885 further expansion south toward Afghanistan was blocked by the British. In 1893–95 the Russians occupied the high Pamir Mountains in the southeast.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The area was bounded on the west by the Caspian Sea, on the north by the Siberian forests and on the east by the mountains along the former Sino-Soviet border. The southern border was political rather than natural. It was about from north to south, wide in the north and wide in the south. Because the southeast corner (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) is mountainous the flat desert-steppe country is only about wide in the south. Using modern borders, the area was , about half the size of the United States without Alaska. On the east side two mountain ranges project into the desert. Between them is the well-populated Fergana Valley which is approximately the "notch" on the west side of Kyrgyzstan. North of this projection the mountain-steppe boundary extends along the north border of Kyrgyzstan about before the mountains turn north again.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Rainfall decreases from north to south. Dense population, and therefore cities and organized states, requires irrigation. Streams coming down from the eastern mountains support a fairly dense population, especially in the Ferghana Valley. There is a line of oases along the Persian border. The interior is watered by three great rivers. The Oxus or Amu Darya rises on the Afghan border and flows northwest into the Aral Sea, forming a large delta which was ruled by the Khanate of Khiva and has a long history under the name of Khwarezm. The Jaxartes or Syr Darya rises in the Ferghana Valley and flows northwest and then west to meet the northeast corner of the Aral Sea. Between them is the less-famous Zarafshan River which dries up before reaching the Oxus. It waters the great cities of Bokhara and Tamerlane's old capital of Samarkand.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The deserts in the south have enough grass to support a thin nomadic population. The Kyzylkum Desert is between the Oxus and Jaxartes. The Karakum Desert is southwest of the Oxus in Turkmenistan. Between the Aral and Caspian Seas is the thinly-populated Ustyurt Plateau.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: When the Russians arrived the organized states were the Khanate of Khiva in the Oxus delta south of the Aral Sea, the Khanate of Bukhara along the Oxus and Zarafshan and the Khanate of Kokand based in the Ferghana Valley. Bokhara had borders with the other two and all three were surrounded by nomads which the Khanates tried to control and tax.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Siberia: Russians first came into contact with Central Asia when, in 1582–1639, Cossack adventurers made themselves masters of the Siberian forests. They did not expand south because they were seeking furs. The Siberian Cossacks were skilled in forest travel and knew little of the steppe and since the forest tribes were few and weak while the steppe nomads were numerous and warlike. See Siberian River Routes and linked articles.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Up the Irtysh River: The Irtysh River rises in what is now China and flows northwest to the Russian base at Tobolsk (founded in 1587). It was thought possible to ascend this river and reach the riches of China and India. In 1654 Fyodor Baykov used this route to reach Peking. The main advance was made under Peter the Great. Some time before 1714 Colonel Bukhholts and 1500 men went upriver to a ‘Lake Yamysh’ and returned. In 1715 Bukhholts with 3000 men and 1500 soldiers went to Lake Yamysh again and started to build a fort. Since this was on the fringe of the Dzungar Khanate, the Dzungars drove them off. They retreated downriver and founded Omsk. In 1720 Ivan Likharev went upriver and founded Ust-Kamenogorsk. The Dzungars, having just been weakened by the Chinese, left them alone. Several other places were built on the Irtysh at about this time.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The Kazakh steppe: Since the Kazakhs were nomads they could not be conquered in the normal sense. Instead Russian power slowly increased. See History of Kazakhstan.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Around the southern Urals: In 1556 Russia conquered the Astrakhan Khanate on the north shore of the Caspian Sea. The surrounding area was held by the Nogai Horde.To the east of the Nogais were the Kazakhs and to the north, between the Volga and Urals, were the Bashkirs. Around this time some free Cossacks had established themselves on the Ural River. In 1602 they captured Konye-Urgench in Khivan territory. Returning laden with loot they were surrounded by the Khivans and slaughtered. A second expedition lost its way in the snow, starved, and the few survivors were enslaved by the Khivans. There seems to have been a third expedition which is ill-documented.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: At the time of Peter the Great there was a major push southeast. In addition to the Irtysh expeditions above there was the disastrous 1717 attempt to conquer Khiva. Following the Russo-Persian War (1722–1723) Russia briefly occupied the west side of the Caspian Sea.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: About 1734 another move was planned, which provoked the Bashkir War (1735–1740). Once Bashkiria was pacified, Russia's southeastern frontier was the Orenburg line roughly between the Urals and the Caspian Sea.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The area remained quiet for about a hundred years. In 1819 Nikolai Muraviev traveled from the Caspian Sea and contacted the Khan of Khiva.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The Siberian line: By the late eighteenth century Russia held a line of forts roughly along the current Kazakhstan border, which is approximately the boundary between forest and steppe. For reference these forts (and foundation dates) were:


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Guryev (1645), Uralsk (1613), Orenburg (1743), Orsk (1735). Troitsk (1743), Petropavlovsk (1753), Omsk (1716), Pavlodar (1720), Semipalitinsk (1718) Ust-Kamenogorsk (1720).


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Uralsk was an old settlement of free Cossacks. Orenburg, Orsk and Troitsk were founded as a result of the Bashkir War about 1740 and this section was called the Orenburg line. Orenburg was long the base from which Russia watched and tried to control the Kazakh steppe. The four eastern forts were along the Irtysh River. After China conquered Xinjiang in 1759 both empires had a few border posts near the current border.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Since the Kazakhs were nomads they could not be conquered in the normal sense. Instead Russian control slowly increased.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Although the Sunni Muslim Kazakhs had numerous settlements near the Kazakh-Russian border, and although they conducted frequent raids on Russian territory, the Tsardom of Russia only initiated contact with them in 1692 when Peter I met with Tauke Muhammad Khan. The Russians slowly began building trading posts along the Kazakh-Russian border over the next 20 years, gradually encroaching into Kazakh territory and displacing the locals.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Interactions intensified in 1718 during the reign of Kazakh ruler Abu'l-Khair Muhammed Khan, who initially requested the Russians to provide the Kazakh Khanate protection from the rising Dzungar Khanate to the east. Abu'l-Khair's son, Nur Ali Khan broke the alliance in 1752 and decided to wage war on Russia, while taking the help of the famous Kazakh commander Nasrullah Nauryzbai Bahadur. The rebellion against Russian encroachment went largely in vain, as the Kazakh troops were defeated on the battlefield numerous times. Nur Ali Khan then agreed to re-join Russian protection with his division of the khanate, the Junior jüz, being autonomous.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: By 1781, Abu'l-Mansur Khan, who ruled the Middle jüz division of the Kazakh Khanate, also entered the sphere of Russian influence and protection. Like his predecessor Abu'l-Khair, Abu'l-Mansur also sought better protection against the Qing. He united all three of the Kazakh jüzes and helped them all gain protection under the Russian Empire. During this time, Abu'l-Mansur also made Nasrullah Nauryzbai Bahadur one of his three standard-bearers in the Kazakh army. These moves allowed the Russians to penetrate further into the Central Asian heartland and interact with other Central Asian states.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: By 1837, tensions were rising in the Kazakh steppe once again. This time, the tensions were started by Kazakh co-rulers Ğubaidullah Khan, Sher Ghazi Khan, and Kenesary Khan, all of whom were sons of Qasim Sultan and grandsons of Abu'l-Mansur Khan. They launched a rebellion against Russia. The three co-rulers wanted to restore the relative independence that was present under previous Kazakh rulers such as Abu'l-Mansur, and they sought to resist taxation by the Russians.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1841, the three khans obtained the help of their younger cousin Aziz id-Din Bahadur, the son of Kazakh commander Nasrullah Nauryzbai Bahadur and gathered a large troop of well-trained Kazakhs to resist the Russian army. The Kazakhs captured a number of Kokand fortresses in Kazakhstan, including their former capital of Hazrat-e-Turkistan. They decided to hide in the mountainous region near Lake Balkhash, but were taken by surprise when a Kyrgyz khan named Ormon Khan disclosed their whereabouts to Russian troops. Gubaidullah, Sher Ghazi, and Kenesary were all captured and executed by Kyrgyz defectors who had been helping the Russians. By the end of 1847, the Russian army had captured the Kazakh capitals of Hazrat-e-Turkistan and Syghanaq, abolishing the Kazakh Khanate as a whole.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1839, Russia attempted to conquer Khiva. The Russians under Vasily Perovsky marched around 5,000 men south from Orenburg. The winter was unusually cold and most of his camels died, forcing him to turn back. See Khivan campaign of 1839.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Southward from the Siberian Line the obvious next step was a line of forts along the Syr Darya eastward from the Aral Sea. This brought Russia into conflict with the Khan of Kokand. In the early 19th century Kokand began expanding northwest from the Ferghana Valley. About 1814 they took Hazrat-i-Turkestan on the Syr Darya and around 1817 they built Ak-Mechet ('White Mosque') further downriver, as well as smaller forts on both sides of Ak-Mechet. The area was ruled by the Beg of Ak Mechet who taxed the local Kazakhs who wintered along the river and had recently driven the Karakalpaks southward. In peacetime Ak-Mechet had a garrison of 50 and Julek 40. The Khan of Khiva had a weak fort on the lower part of the river.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Given Perovsky's failure in 1839 Russia decided on a slow but sure approach. In 1847 Captain Schultz built Raimsk in the Syr delta. It was soon moved upriver to Kazalinsk. Both places were also called Fort Aralsk. Raiders from Khiva and Kokand attacked the local Kazakhs near the fort and were driven off by the Russians. Three sailing ships were built at Orenburg, disassembled, carried across to steppe and rebuilt. They were used to map the lake. In 1852/3 two steamers were carried in pieces from Sweden and launched on the Aral Sea. The local saxaul proving impractical, they had to be fueled with anthracite brought from the Don. At other times a steamer would tow a barge-load of saxaul and periodically stop to reload fuel. The Syr proved to be shallow, full of sand bars and difficult to navigate during the spring flood.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1852 a surveying party went upriver and was turned back before reaching Ak-Mechet. That summer Colonel Blaramberg and about 400 men were sent to raze Ak-Mechet on the pretext that Russia owned the north side of the river. The Kokandis responded by breaking the dykes and flooding the surrounding area. Having brought no scaling ladders or heavy artillery, Blaramberg saw that he could not take the citadel with its 25-foot-high walls. He therefore captured the outworks, burnt everything in the area and retired to Fort Aralsk. The later-famous Yakub Beg had commanded the fort at one time, but it is not clear if he was in command during this first battle. Next summer the Russians assembled a force of over 2000 men, over 2000 each of horses, camels and oxen, 777 wagons, bridging timber, pontoons and the steamer "Perovsky". To guarantee that there would be enough fodder to move this much from Orenburg to Fort Aralsk, the Kazakhs were forbidden to graze the lands north of the fort. Command was given to the same Perovsky who earlier had failed to reach Khiva. He left Aralsk in June and reached Ak-Mechet on July 2. The Kokandis had strengthened the fort and increased the garrison. A regular siege was begun. When the trenches neared the citadel, a mine was dug under the walls. At 3AM on 9 August 1853 the mine was exploded, creating a large breach. The breach was taken on the third try and by 4:30AM it was all over. 230 Kokandi bodies were counted out of the original 300-man garrison. The place was renamed Fort Perovsky.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: During the siege Padurov went upriver to Julek and found that its defenders had fled. He wrecked the fort as well as he could and returned with its abandoned guns. In September a large force from Kokand reoccupied Julek and advanced toward Fort Perovsky. The column sent to meet them had a hard day's fight, called for reinforcements but next morning found that the Kokandis had retreated. In December a Kokandi force (said to be 12000 men) surrounded Fort Perovsky. A 500-man sortie was soon surrounded and in trouble. Major Shkupa, seeing the enemy camp weakly defended, broke out and burned the camp. Two more sorties drove the Kokandis off in disorder.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Russia now held a line of forts along the west-flowing part of the Syr Darya. The area between the Aral and Caspian Seas was too thinly-populated to matter. The next question was whether Russia would extend the line east to the mountains (Fort Vernoye was founded in 1854) or continue southeast up the river to Kokand and the Ferghana Valley.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1847–1864 the Russians crossed the eastern Kazakh steppe and built a line of forts in the irrigated area along the northern Kyrgyz border. In 1864–68 they moved south, conquered Tashkent and Samarkand, confined the Khanate of Kokand to the Ferghana valley and made Bokhara a protectorate. This was the main event of the conquest. Our sources do not say why an eastern approach was chosen, but an obvious guess is that irrigation made it possible to move armies without crossing steppe or desert. This was important when transport required grass-fed horses and camels. We are not told how Russia supplied an army this far east, or if this was a problem. It is not clear why a forward policy was now adopted. It seems that different officials had different opinions and much was decided by local commanders and the luck of the battlefield. All sources report Russian victories over greatly superior forces with kill ratios approaching ten to one. Even if enemy numbers are exaggerated it seems clear that Russian weapons and tactics were now superior to the traditional Asian armies that they faced. All sources mention breechloading rifles without further explanation. Berdan rifles are mentioned without giving numbers. MacGahan, in his account of the Khivan campaign, contrasts explosive artillery to traditional cannonballs. Artillery and rifles could often keep Russian soldiers out of reach of hand weapons.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Advance from the northeast (1847–1864): The eastern end of the Kazakh steppe was called Semirechye by the Russians. South of this, along the modern Kyrgyz border, the Tien Shan mountains extend about to the west. Water coming down from the mountains provides irrigation for a line of towns and supports a natural caravan route. South of this mountain projection is the densely-populated Ferghana Valley ruled by the Khanate of Kokand. South of Ferghana is the Turkestan Range and then the land the ancients called Bactria. West of the northern range is the great city of Tashkent and west of the southern range is Tamerlane's old capital Samarkand.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1847 Kopal was founded southeast of Lake Balkash. In 1852 Russia crossed the Ili River and met Kazakh resistance and next year destroyed the Kazakh fort of Tuchubek. In 1854 they founded Fort Vernoye (Almaty) within sight of the mountains. Vernoye is about south of the Siberian Line. Eight years later, in 1862, Russia took Tokmak (Tokmok) and Pishpek (Bishkek). Russia placed a force at the Kastek pass to block a counterattack from Kokand. The Kokandis used a different pass, attacked an intermediate post, Kolpakovsky rushed from Kastek and completely defeated a much larger army. In 1864 Chernayev took command of the east, led 2500 men from Siberia, and captured Aulie-Ata (Taraz). Russia was now near the west end of the mountain range and about halfway between Vernoye and Ak-Mechet.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1851 Russia and China signed the Treaty of Kulja to regulate trade along what was becoming a new border. In 1864 they signed the Treaty of Tarbagatai which approximately established the current Chinese-Kazakh border. The Chinese thereby renounced any claims to the Kazakh steppe, to the extent that they had any.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Up the Syr Darya (1859–1864): Meanwhile, Russia was advancing southeast up the Syr Darya from Ak-Mechet. In 1859, Julek was taken from Kokand. In 1861 a Russian fort was built at Julek and Yani Kurgan (Zhanakorgan) upriver was taken. In 1862 Chernyaev reconnoitered the river as far as Hazrat-i-Turkestan and captured the small oasis of Suzak about east of the river. In June 1864 Veryovkin took Hazrat-i-Turkestan from Kokand. He hastened surrender by bombarding the famous mausoleum. Two Russian columns met in the gap between Hazrat and Aulie-Ata, thereby completing the Syr-Darya Line.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Tashkent (1865): About south of the new line was Chimkent (Shymkent) which belonged to Kokand. Chernayev easily took it on 3 October 1864. On 15 October he suddenly appeared before Tashkent, failed to take it by sudden assault and retreated to Chimkent. Kokand then tried and failed to re-take Hazrat-i-Turkestan. In April 1865 Chernayev made a second attack on Tashkent. Unable to take such a large place (it was said to have a garrison of 30,000) he occupied the town's water supply at Niazbek. The Kokand Regent Alim Kuli arrived with 6,000 more troops and almost defeated the Russians, but was killed in the fight. The inhabitants now offered to submit to the Emir of Bokhara in return for assistance. About 21 June a party of Bokharans entered the town and more Bokharan troops were on the move. In this critical position Chernayev determined to risk a storm. At 3 a.m. on 27 June, Captain Abramov scaled the wall and opened the Kamelan Gate, advanced along the wall and opened a second gate while another party took the Kokand gate. That day and the next there was constant street fighting, but on the morning of the 29th a deputation of elders offered surrender.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Campaign of 1866: The Bokhara was now involved in the war. In February 1866 Chernayev crossed the Hungry Steppe to the Bokharan fort of Jizzakh. Finding the task impossible, he withdrew to Tashkent followed by Bokharans who were soon joined by Kokandis. At this point Chernayev was recalled for insubordination and replaced by Romanovsky. Romanovsky prepared to attack Bohkara, the Amir moved first, the two forces met on the plain of Irjar. Note: Near Kattakurgan, Uzbekistan about halfway between Jizzakh and Bokhara. The Bukharians scattered, losing most of their artillery, supplies and treasures and more than 1,000 killed, while the Russians lost 12 wounded. Instead of following him, Romanovsky turned east and took Khujand, thus closing the mouth of the Fergana Valley. The losses of the Kokand residents were more than 2.5 thousand killed, 130 Russians killed and wounded. Then he moved west and took Ura-Tepe and Jizzakh from Bukhara. During the capture of Jizzak, the Bukharians lost 6,000 killed and 3,000 prisoners, as well as all the artillery. In total, during the campaign of 1866, the Russian troops lost 500 people killed and wounded, while the natives lost more than 12,000 killed. Defeats forced Bukhara to start peace talks.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Samarkand (1868): In July 1867 a new Province of Turkestan was created and placed under General von Kaufmann with its headquarters at Tashkent. The Bokharan Amir did not fully control his subjects, there were random raids and rebellions, so Kaufmann decided to hasten matters by attacking Samarkand. After he dispersed a Bokharan force Samarkand closed its gates to the Bokharan army and surrendered (May 1868). He left a garrison in Samarkand and left to deal with some outlying areas. The garrison was besieged and in great difficulty until Kaufmann returned. On June 2, 1868, in a decisive battle on the Zerabulak heights, the Russians defeated the main forces of the Bukhara Emir, losing less than 100 people, while the Bukhara army lost from 3.5 to 10,000. On 5 July 1868 a peace treaty was signed. The Khanate of Bokhara lost Samarkand and remained a semi-independent vassal until the revolution. The Khanate of Kokand had lost its western territory, was confined to the Ferghana valley and surrounding mountains and remained independent for about 10 years. According to the Bregel's Atlas, if nowhere else, in 1870 the now-vassal Khanate of Bokhara expanded east and annexed that part of Bactria enclosed by the Turkestan Range, the Pamir plateau and the Afghan border.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1875 the Kokand Khanate rebelled against Russian rule. Kokand commanders Abdurakhman and Pulat bey seized power in the khanate and began military operations against the Russians. By July 1875 most of the Khan's army and much of his family had deserted to the rebels, so he fled to the Russians at Kojent along with a million British pounds of treasure. Kaufmann invaded the Khanate on September 1, fought several battles and entered the capital on September 10, 1875. In October he transferred command to Mikhail Skobelev. Russian troops under the command of Skobelev and Kaufmann defeated the rebels at the Battle of Makhram. In 1876, the Russians freely entered Kokand, the leaders of the rebels were executed, and the khanate was abolished. Fergana Oblast was created in its place.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Russia now held an approximately triangular area bounded by the eastern mountains and the vassal Khanate of Bokhara along most of the Oxus. The southern point was about south of Siberia, southeast of Orenburg and southeast of the supply bases on the Volga. The next step was to turn this triangle into a rectangle by moving east across the Caspian Sea from the Caucasus. The Caucasus held many troops left over from the Russian conquest of the Caucasus but the Viceroy of the Caucasus had so far not been active in Turkestan. The Caucasus has a fairly dense population but the east side of the Caspian is desert with significant population only in the oases of Khiva and along the Kopet Dag and at Merv in the south. The main events were the defeat of Khiva in 1873, the conquest of the Turkomans in 1881, the annexation of Merv in 1884 and the Panjdeh area in 1885.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The decision to attack Khiva was made in December 1872. Khiva was an oasis surrounded by several hundred kilometres of desert. The Russians could easily defeat the Khivan army if they could move enough troops across the desert. The place was attacked from five directions. Kaufmann marched west from Tashkent and was joined by another army coming south from Aralsk. They met in the desert, ran short of water, abandoned part of their supplies and reached the Oxus in late May. Veryovkin left from Orenburg, had little difficulty moving along the west side of the Aral Sea and reached the northwest corner of the delta in mid-May. He was joined by Lomakin who had a hard time crossing the desert from the Caspian. Markozov started from Chikishlyar, ran short of water and was forced to turn back. Kaufmann crossed the Oxus, fought a few easy battles and on June 4 the Khan sued for peace. Meanwhile, Veryovkin, who was out of contact with Kaufmann, crossed the delta and attacked the city walls of Khiva until he was called off by Kaufmann. The Khanate of Khiva became a Russian protectorate and remained so until the Russian Revolution.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The Turkoman country remained unconquered. The area corresponded to the Karakum Desert and was inhabited by the Turkoman desert nomads. Irrigation supported a settled population along the Amu Darya in the northeast and along the north slope of the Kopet Dag mountains in the southwest. East of the Kopet Dag two rivers, the Murghab and Tejen, flow north from Afghanistan, supporting the oases of Tejen and Merv. The semi-sedentary population would drive their flocks out into the desert in spring and fall. The Turkomans had no organized state. Some served as mercenaries for Khiva. They habitually raided Persia and sold the resulting slaves in the Khiva slave market. They also bred desert-adapted horses that could usually outrun anything the Cossacks had. Unlike the rather antiquated armies of the Khanates, the Turkomans were good raiders and horsemen, but they could do little against the Russians' modern weapons and explosive artillery. As usual, the main problem was moving men and supplies across the desert.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: 1879: Lomakin's defeat at Geok Tepe: Lazarev landed a large force at Chikishlyar and began moving men and supplies up the Atrek River. He died suddenly and Lomakin took command. Lomakin crossed the Kopet Dagh with too few men, made an incompetent attack on Geok Tepe and was forced to retreat. The warlike Teke put up resistance Russian observers assessed as "worthy of the best European armies," proof of that being the heavy losses, over 25 percent, the Russians suffered in combat. Russian officers additionally noted that the Turkmen position was "fortified in an exemplary manner, according to all the rules of modern fortification."


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: 1881: Skobelev's bloody victory at Geok Tepe: Skobelev was put in command in March 1880. He spent most of the summer and fall moving men and supplies from Chikishlyar to the north side of the Kopet Dag. In December he marched southwest, besieged Geok Tepe for a month and took it by detonating a mine to breach the wall. At least 14,000 Tekes were killed. A week later he occupied Ashgabat southeast, but could go no farther. In May 1881 the occupied area was annexed as the Transcaspian Oblast. The eastern boundary of the oblast was undefined.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: 1884: The annexation of Merv: The Trans-Caspian Railway reached Kyzyl Arbat at the northwest end of the Kopet Dag in mid-September 1881. From October through December Lessar surveyed the north side of the Kopet Dag and reported that there would be no problem building a railway along it. From April 1882 he examined the country almost to Herat and reported that were no military obstacles between the Kopet Dag and Afghanistan. Nazirov or Nazir Beg went to Merv in disguise and then crossed the desert to Bukhara and Tashkent.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The irrigated area along the Kopet Dag ends east of Ashkebat. Farther east there is desert, then the small oasis of Tejent, more desert, and the much larger oasis of Merv. Merv had the great fortress of Kaushut Khan and was inhabited by Merv Tekes, who had also fought at Geok Tepe. As soon as the Russians were established in Askhabad, traders, and also spies, began moving between the Kopet Dag and Merv. Some elders from Merv went north to Petroalexandrovsk and offered a degree of submission to the Russians there. The Russians at Askhabad had to explain that both groups were part of the same empire. In February 1882 Alikhanov visited Merv and approached Makhdum Kuli Khan, who had been in command at Geok Tepe. In September Alikhanov persuaded Makhdum Kuli Khan to swear allegiance to the White Czar.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Skobelev had been replaced by Rohrberg in the spring of 1881, who was followed General Komarov in the spring of 1883. Near the end of 1883, General Komarov led 1500 men to occupy the Tejen oasis. After Komarov's occupation of Tejen, Alikhanov and Makhdum Kuli Khan went to Merv and called a meeting of elders, one threatening and the other persuading. Having no wish to repeat the slaughter at Geok Tepe, 28 elders went to Askhabad and on February 12 swore allegiance in the presence of General Komarov. A faction in Merv tried to resist but was too weak to accomplish anything. On March 16, 1884, Komarov occupied Merv. The subject Khanates of Khiva and Bukhara were now surrounded by Russian territory.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: 1885: Expansion stopped at Panjdeh: Between Merv and the current Afghan border lies about of semi-desert. South of that is the important border fort of Herat. In the summer of 1884 Britain and Russia agreed to demarcate the northwest Afghan border. The Russians did what they could to push the border south before it became frozen. When they captured the Afghan fort of Panjdeh, Britain came close to threatening war. Both sides backed down and the border was delineated between 1885 and 1886.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: Cost: Russian military expense records indicate that between 1869 and 1879 the Transcaspian campaign cost 4.8 million rubles, the 1879–1880 expedition 5.525 million rubles, and the 1880–1881 expedition 11 million rubles. Railroad construction to that point cost 4,429,991 rubles, and construction materials another 3.518 million rubles. Total expenses from 1869 to 1881 amounted to 29,274,991 rubles.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The natural eastern boundary of Russian Turkestan was the eastern mountains, but the exact line had to be settled. There were four main problems.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: 1867–1877: Yakub Beg: East of the Feghana Valley and southeast of Fort Vernoye on the other side of the mountains is the oval Tarim Basin which had belonged to China since 1759. During the Dungan Revolt (1862–77) China lost partial control of its western territories. A man named Yakub Beg made himself master of Kashgar and most of the Tarim Basin. Kaufmann twice thought of attacking him. In 1872 forces were massed on the border but this was called off because of the impending war against Khiva. In 1875 more serious plans were made. A mission was sent to the Khan of Kokand to ask permission to move forces through his domains. A revolt broke out and the Russian troops were used instead to annex Kokand (see below). In 1877 China re-conquered the Tarim Basin and Yakub Beg was killed.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: 1871–1883: temporary occupation of Kulja: The Tien Shan mountains run along the northern border of Kyrgyzstan. They continue east and separate Dzungaria in the north from the Tarim Basin in the south. On the Chinese side the Borohoro Mountains branch off creating the upper Ili River valley with its capital of Kulja (modern Yining City). Although normally part of Dzungaria the valley opens out onto the Russian-controlled steppe. In 1866 the Dungans captured Kulja and massacred its inhabitants. They soon began fighting with the Taranchis (Uigurs) who soon became dominant. In 1870 it appeared that Yakub Beg might move on Kulja so Kaufmann occupied the Muzart Pass. In June 1871 General Kolpakovsky crossed the border and occupied Kulja (4 July 1871). Some talked of permanent occupation but the Russian Foreign Office told the Chinese that the province would be returned as soon as the Emperor could send enough troops to maintain order. In 1877 China regained control of Chinese Turkestan and requested the return of Kulja. In September 1879 the Chinese ambassador concluded a treaty at Livadia but his government rejected it. This was replaced by the more favorable Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881). Russia finally evacuated Kulja in the spring of 1883. There were the usual border disputes and an additional protocol was signed at Chuguchak (Tacheng?) on October 19, 1883. The re-occupation of Kulja was one of the few Chinese successes against a Western power during the nineteenth century.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: 1893: Pamirs occupied: The southeast corner of Russian Turkestan was the high Pamirs which is now the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan. The high plateaus on the east are used for summer pasture. On the west side difficult gorges run down to the Panj river and Bactria. In 1871 Alexei Pavlovich Fedchenko got the Khan's permission to explore southward. He reached the Alay Valley but his escort would not permit him to go south onto the Pamir plateau. In 1876 Skobelev chased a rebel south to the Alay Valley and Kostenko went over the Kyzylart Pass and mapped the area around Karakul Lake on the northeast part of the plateau. In the next 20 years most of the area was mapped. In 1891 the Russians informed Francis Younghusband that he was on their territory and later escorted a Lieutenant Davidson out of the area ('Pamir Incident'). In 1892 a battalion of Russians under Mikhail Ionov entered the area and camped near the present Murghab, Tajikistan in the northeast. Next year they built a proper fort there (Pamirskiy Post). In 1895 their base was moved west to Khorog facing the Afghans. In 1893 the Durand Line established the Wakhan Corridor between the Russian Pamirs and British India.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The Great Game refers to British attempts to block Russian expansion southeast toward British India. Although there was much talk of a possible Russian invasion of India and a number of British agents and adventurers penetrated central Asia, the British did nothing serious to prevent the Russian conquest of Turkestan, with one exception. Whenever Russian agents approached Afghanistan they reacted very strongly, seeing Afghanistan as a necessary buffer state for the defense of India.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: A Russian invasion of India seems improbable, but a number of British writers considered how it might be done. When little was known about the geography it was thought that they could reach Khiva and sail up the Oxus to Afghanistan. More realistically they might gain Persian support and cross northern Persia. Once in Afghanistan they would swell their armies with offers of loot and invade India. Alternatively, they might invade India and provoke a native rebellion. The goal would probably not be the conquest of India but to put pressure on the British while Russia did something more important such as taking Constantinople.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1801 there was some loose talk of a joint Franco-Russian invasion of India. During the Russo-Persian War (1804–13) both British and French agents were active in Persia, their goals varying depending on which power was allied with Russia at the time. In 1810 Charles Christie and Henry Pottinger crossed western Afghanistan and eastern Persia. Christie was killed in 1812 supporting the Persians at the Battle of Aslanduz. In 1819 Muraviev reached Khiva. A Russian mission reached Bokhara in 1820. In 1825 Moorcroft reached Bukhara. In 1830 Arthur Conolly tried to reach Khiva from Persia but was turned back by bandits and continued on to Herat and British India. In 1832 Alexander Burnes reached Bokhara.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The period from 1837 to 1842 was especially active. In 1839, at the time of Perovsky's failed attack on Khiva, Abbot went to Khiva to negotiate the release of Russian slaves held there in order to remove a pretext for the invasion. He failed. Next year Richmond Shakespear went after him, was successful, and led 416 Russian slaves to the Caspian. In 1837 Jan Prosper Witkiewicz reached Kabul. In 1838 Persia besieged Herat, with British and Russian agents supporting the two sides. Britain ended the siege by occupying a Persian island. In 1838 Charles Stoddart went to Bokhara and was arrested. In 1841 Arthur Conolly went to secure his release and both were executed in 1842. During the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) Britain invaded Afghanistan, was driven out, re-invaded and withdrew.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The British took Sindh in 1843 and Punjab in 1849, thereby gaining the Indus River and a border with Afghanistan. The Crimean War occurred in 1853–56. A second Persian attack on Herat led to the Anglo-Persian War of 1856–57. The Indian Mutiny occurred in 1857–58. This was about the time Russian was building forts east from the Aral Sea (1847–53). The Russian capture of Tashkent (1865) and Samarkand(1868) produced no British response.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: In 1875, following the conquest of Khiva, Frederick Gustavus Burnaby rode from Orenburg to Khiva, an event that was only important because of his widely-read book. Kaufmann's intrigues in Kabul provoked the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878–80. During the second battle of Geok Tepe Colonel Charles Stewart was on the south side of the mountain doing something that has never been clarified.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: On the Chinese side of the mountains a line of passes corresponding the Karakoram Highway provided a trade and pilgrim route from the Tarim Basin to India. It was not clear whether this could be used by an army. At the time of Yakub Beg both Russian and British agents were active at his court. A number of Indians in the British service mapped the area around the Pamirs. Russian expansion in the Pamirs provoked the British to move northward and gain control of places like Hunza and Chitral.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The Great Game came to an end with the demarcation of the northern Afghan border in 1886 and 1893 and the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907.


title: Russian conquest of Central Asia

text: The Japanese manga "A Bride's Story", written by Kaoru Mori, takes time during the Russian conquest in Central Asia.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Mikaël Samy Silvestre (born 9 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Silvestre began his career at Rennes in 1996, before moving to Italian club Inter Milan in 1998. He joined Manchester United in 1999, where he won five Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in his final season at the club in 2008. He then joined Arsenal, followed by a move to German side Werder Bremen two years later. After a further two years in Germany, he moved to the United States to play for Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer, before signing for Indian Super League side Chennaiyin in 2014, where he retired at the end of the season.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Silvestre has also played for the France national team, earning 40 caps between 2001 and 2006. He represented France at two FIFA World Cups (2002 and 2006, winning a runners-up medal in the latter edition of the tournament), UEFA Euro 2004, and two conquests of the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Silvestre started playing football with the Rennes Football Academy in Brittany and began his league career with the French club in the 1995–96 season. His time at the club helped build his reputation, and in the 1997–98 season was signed by Inter Milan. He made 31 appearances for Inter in Serie A, Coppa Italia and in the UEFA Champions League.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Despite an approach from Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier, Silvestre signed for Manchester United for £4 million on 10 September 1999, and made his debut against Liverpool at Anfield the next day. In his first season at Manchester United he replaced an injured Ronny Johnsen in the centre of defence with Jaap Stam; By the 2001–02 season, Silvestre had established himself in defence ahead of the veteran Denis Irwin, and was proving to be adept both in defence and in getting forward at left back. He set up numerous goals for Ruud van Nistelrooy, notably away to Deportivo de La Coruña in a 2–0 towards the end of the season.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: During the next season he carried on initially where he left off at the left of Manchester United's back four, but following injury to Rio Ferdinand and the poor performance of an aging Laurent Blanc, he was switched to his favoured position of central defence. This first happened at half-time in the UEFA Champions League match away in Basel on 26 November 2002 when the team were 1–0 down and struggling with a young John O'Shea looking shaky at the heart of the defence. Silvestre and O'Shea were switched for the second half and the team immediately looked more solid defensively. From this point Silvestre forged a successful partnership mid-season with Wes Brown at the heart of the defence until Ferdinand's return, looking calm and assured. Using his pace to good effect, while continuing to provide goals with his accurate diagonal balls.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: The beginning of the 2003–04 season saw Silvestre paired with Ferdinand in the centre of the team's defence. However, this was cut short following Ferdinand's eight-month ban for missing a drug test. In the latter half of this season when being paired with an unfit Wes Brown, Manchester United's defence proved to be rather less secure and both Brown and Silvestre were at fault for numerous goals and despite winning the FA Cup with a 3–0 victory over Millwall, this uncertainty at the heart of the defence was to continue into the start of the 2004–05 season.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Competition for places grew significantly during the January transfer window in 2006 with the signings of Nemanja Vidić and Patrice Evra. Although both struggled to adapt initially, both went on to establish themselves as firm fan favourites and key members of the Manchester United squad. Following the partnership of Vidić and Ferdinand at the heart of the defence, and Evra's holding of the left-back position, Silvestre found it more difficult to secure a place in the Manchester United starting line-up. However, his form improved toward the end of the season. He admitted that he was given the option to leave during the January transfer window during 2006, with an opportunity to join former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier at Lyon. He did however decide to stay and fight for his place at United.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: On 11 August 2006, his loyalty to the club was rewarded with a new contract extending his stay at the club until at least 2009. Alex Ferguson commented: "Mikael has been an important member of the squad for seven years now. His experience at the Club will help the younger players as they develop and he has a central role to play in the first team."