The Siberian Bukharans (self-designation: ''Poğarlı'') are an ethnographic and sociocultural group in Siberia. They constituted a significant part of the Tobol-Irtysh and Tom groups of

Siberian Tatars Siberian Tatars () are the Indigenous peoples of Siberia, indigenous Turkic languages, Turkic-speaking population of the forests and steppes of southern Western Siberia, originating in areas stretching from somewhat east of the Ural Mountains to ...

. The legend has it that their ancestors came from

Khanate of Bukhara The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its capital during the reign of Ubaidullah Khan. The Khana ...

, but geneticists have found out that they came from Western

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

.Five genofonds of five subethnoses of Siberian Tatars
/ref> They were merchants and started to settle in the area in the 17th century Compare: after the start of the

Russian conquest of Siberia The Russian conquest of Siberia took place during 1581–1778, when the Khanate of Sibir became a loose political structure of vassalages that were being undermined by the activities of Russian explorers. Although outnumbered, the Russians pr ...

in the 1580s. However, some settled in the area as early as the 15th and 16th centuries. Their name as an ethnic group — ''Bukharan'' appeared in documents until the early 1930s. Now that name refers to people from the city of

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

. Russians formerly used the term "Bukharan" to refer to any caravan merchant from Central Asia, since the Russians did not always have a clear understanding of the geography and peoples further south. Since Muslim Siberian Bukharans had legal advantages and privileges under Russia, Baraba Tatars pretended to be them. Due to the Bukharans frequently intermarrying with the Siberian Tatars, many eventually assimilated with the Tatars and adopted the Tatar language. Most are now listed with the Tatars in recent censuses. However, some are still aware of their Bukharan origins.

Population

The Siberian Bukharans maintained their own identity and were quite numerous. They numbered 23,700 in 1926. Their main bases of settlement were Tobolsk, Tara and

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...

. In the Tobolsk Governorate there were several Bukharan towns in different uyezds. In Tarsk uyezd of the Tobolsk Governorate Bukharan Town (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Бухарская волость), where the population was primarily Bukharans, existed until the early 20th century. In

there is a

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

that is officially named ''Bukharan Settlement'' (Russian: Бухарская слобода). There are some settlements in the

Omsk Oblast Omsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southwestern Siberia. The oblast has an area of . Its population is 1,977,665 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census) with the majority, 1.12 million, ...

which were founded by Bukharans.

Sources

* Wixman, Ronald. ''The Peoples of the USSR'' (Armonk: Sharpe, 1984) p. 32

Footnotes

{{Ethnic groups of Russia Ethnic groups in Siberia History of ethnic groups in Russia Siberian Tatars

Population

See also

Sources

Footnotes