The Urtatagai conflict was a conflict between the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and the

Emirate of Afghanistan The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (until 1855) ) was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from t ...

in the mid-1920s over the control of the island of Urtatagai, which is an island on the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

river that had been claimed by Afghanistan since 1900, although it was under Russian control until 1920, when remnants of the Imperial Russian Army evacuated the island to aid the White Movement in the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. The Afghan Army had earlier unsuccessfully tried to enforce its claim on Urtatagai in a border conflict in 1913, and in 1920 Afghan forces were finally able to capture the island unopposed. On 27 November 1925, due to repeated incursions into Soviet territory by Basmachi rebels using the island as a base, as well as the Soviet claim to the Island, 340 Soviet troops landed on the island of Urtatagai, and a clash with the island's garrison saw 12 people killed, and 5 Afghans were taken prisoner. On 18 December, the Prime Minister of Afghanistan issued a letter of protest, making four key demands: * That the Soviets abandon the island * That prisoners of war be returned * That Afghan losses be recovered * That official apologies be rendered On 19 December, after the Soviets failed to answer the letter, the Afghan Government began to deploy troops towards the North. To the surprise of the Soviet leadership, Western press took interest in the conflict, and supported the Afghan government. With potential war looming, the Soviet leadership decided to let a joint commission decide Urtatagai's fate, which ruled in favour of Afghanistan. On 28 February 1926, the Soviets transferred the island to Afghanistan in a ceremony. Negotiations regarding official Soviet recognition ensued for the following months, and after the Afghan government agreed to restrain Basmachi border raids, the Soviet government officially recognized Urtatagai as part of the Afghan state on 15 August 1926.

References

Conflicts in 1925 Conflicts in 1926 Wars involving Afghanistan Wars involving the Soviet Union 1925 in Afghanistan 1926 in Afghanistan {{Russian Conflicts