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Paper short abstract:

The cultural reform movement in Turkestan in the beginning of the 20th century grew in political one due to the jadids which had great assistance from entrepreneurs. The tandem of the Jadids with entrepreneurs advanced jadids aspirations for national development and movement.

Paper long abstract:

The cultural reform movement in Turkestan at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, which grew into a political one in 1915, had a certain material and financial basis. Maecenas of Tashkent had a special role in it. At that time Tashkent was the center of socio-economic and political processes, accumulating the rapid growth of industry, changes in the agricultural sector, and cultural life. Significant changes have also occurred in public life due to the activities of the Jadids, for changes in national consciousness of the population through enlightenment.

The intensification of trade and economic relations with the Russian Empire, entrance of Russian capital into Turkestan contributed to the growth of entrepreneurship in the region. Local entrepreneurs also entered European markets. Some of them owned plants and factories with large capital. Among them there were such Tashkent entrepreneurs as Saidgani Azimbaev, Saidazimbay Mukhamedov and others. They provided great philanthropic assistance to the Jadids, because they understood that the development of Turkestan was impossible without cultural reforms. They sponsored Jadids’ schools and contributed to the organization of the first national newspapers. Saidazimbay published his own newspaper "Tuzhzhar", designed to increase the economic knowledge of entrepreneurs and their intellectual level.

Tashkent merchants and entrepreneurs invested lots of money in the organization of theatrical art. The Jadids of Tashkent, under the leadership of Minovarkora Abdurashidkhanov, in their political activities that unfolded in 1915-1917, closely interacted with their patrons, who understood that national development was impossible without obtaining political rights. Therefore, they jointly created societies and political parties, which aimed to achieve the autonomy of Turkestan within Russia. The tandem of the Jadids with entrepreneurs significantly advanced their aspirations for national development, and in this, Tashkent played a great role as a powerful force in the rapidly developed national movement.