The Bashkir Uprising of 1735–1740. Through the Prusm of Bashkir-Kazakh Relations

The article examines Bashkir-Kazakh relations in the 1730s-1740s against the background of several interrelated events.The extensive construction of defensive lines and fortresses along the eastern and southern borders of the Bashkir territory, which complemented the Old (mid-17th century) and New (early 1730s) Transamian fortified lines previously erected in the west, became a key factor leading to one of the largest and bloodiest armed conflicts of the 18th century -the Bashkir Uprising of 1737-1742, also known as the Russian-Bashkir War (the Karasakala movement).The Bashkir nobility clearly realized that the successful implementation of the tasks assigned to the Orenburg expedition would mean a dense ring of military fortifications around Bashkiria, the transformation of the region into an internal province of the Russian Empire and a serious restriction of traditional ties with the Kazakhs and other neighboring peoples.For the Bashkirs, the situation was also aggravated by the systemic colonization policy of the authorities, carried out in the run-up to the uprising.Among the most significant government measures were: the mass resettlement of non-indigenous people to the region, especially after the decree of February 11, 1736, which allowed the alienation of Bashkir patrimonial lands in favor of Russian nobles, industrialists, officers, knights and other "foreigners"; a sharp increase in the tax burden and duties; as well as economic restrictions, including interference traditional environmental management, in particular the right of access to forest resources.The article also examines contradictory accounts regarding the role of Karasakal in the uprising, analyzes the causes and circumstances of Kazakh involvement in the Bashkir uprising, including the presence of Khan Sameke and Sultan Barak in Bashkortostan in 1737, the Bashkirs contacts with Khan Abulkhair and Sultan Abylai, the migration of some Bashkir groups to Kazakh territories, and the activities of Russian authorities who attempted to use Kazakh allies loyal to the empire to suppress the rebellion.Special attention is paid to the appeals made by the Bashkir rebels to the Kazakh khans, requesting that a representative of the Jochid dynasty be sent to rule over them.This reflects the continued influence of late-Horde traditions of clan-based self-governance under the nominal leadership of a "khan-pupil".The article further explores joint actions taken by Kazakh and Bashkir leaders against imperial forces and Bashkir units loyal to the Russian crown, as well as the motivations behind the decisions of Kazakh khans and Bashkir rebel commanders.These events are analyzed within the broader context of the complex foreign policy dynamics of that era.