Murghab Sovereign’s Estate: Transformation during Early Years of Soviet Power (1917–1932)

Abstract

This study investigates the transformation of the Murghab Sovereign’s Estate into the Bayramali state farm and collective farms within the Murghab oasis. The sources for this article include local organizational documents from the period of the Provisional Government and Soviet authority, memoirs of participants in the struggle to establish new power in Turkmenistan from 1917 to 1935, as well as statistical materials from the first Five-Year Plan. It is demonstrated that the former estate was of interest to the Provisional Government in the context of its continued operation, while the Soviet regime undertook its radical transformation. The study establishes that during this new era, the estate was reorganized: collective farms emerged focusing on cotton cultivation, and a state farm assumed responsibilities for continuing the acclimatization of cotton and other crops, introducing new agricultural practices, training engineering personnel, and other agronomic functions. It is reported that former princely factories retained their product range and continued to supply textile enterprises and the domestic market. Hydraulic structures were preserved and further developed. The findings indicate that under Soviet power, the Murghab Sovereign’s Estate transformed into a significant regional center for cotton production and primary processing.