The Role of the “Bukhara Question” in the Conclusion of the Soviet-Afghan “Treaty of Friendship” of 1921

Abstract

During the negotiation of the first Soviet-Afghan “Treaty of Friendship”, a fierce rivalry arose between the parties over control of the Emirate of Bukhara. The former protectorate of the Russian Empire played an important role in the Bolsheviks' plans to export revolution to Central and South Asia, making it impossible for them to allow Afghan control of Bukhara. In turn, the Afghan government attempted to use diplomatic negotiations with Moscow to preserve the independence of Khiva and Bukhara. The “Bukhara Question” was of particular importance to the Afghan Emir, Amanullah Khan, who sought to transform the country into a “regional power” at the helm of a confederation of Central Asian states. Declassified records kept in Russian archives reveal that Amanullah Khan was seeking major concessions from Soviet diplomats on all issues relating to Bukhara to create “Greater Afghanistan”. At first, the Afghan Emir sought Soviet Russia's consent to divide the Emirate of Bukhara into spheres of influence, the transfer of the Russian fortresses of Termez and Kerki to Afghanistan, special rights over the Bukhara section of the Central Asian railway, and freedom of trade. When the Afghans became convinced of the weakness of Soviet power in Central Asia, they set out to establish an Afghan protectorate over Bukhara. At the same time, the Afghan diplomats were sober about the international situation and recognised that their claims had limits and should not derail the conclusion of a favourable treaty with the RSFSR. For this reason, Amanullah Khan accepted, with some difficulty, the “Bukhara Revolution” of 1920, orchestrated by the Bolsheviks, and then agreed to ratify the Soviet-Afghan “Treaty of Friendship”, signed in Moscow on 28 February 1921.