THE POSITION OF AKSAKAL IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF TASHKENT CITY IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Abstract

This article analyzes the role and functions of the aksakal institution 
within the system of local administration in Tashkent following the city’s conquest 
by the Russian Empire. It demonstrates that the office of aksakal had originated 
as a traditional institution of indigenous self-governance, which the colonial 
administration subsequently adapted and incorporated as an instrument for 
governing the local population. Drawing on archival documents, the periodical 
press, and the works of historians, the study examines the electoral procedure 
for selecting aksakals, the hierarchy linking the chief city elder and the district 
elders, their salaries and administrative apparatus, and the transformation of the 
office into the position of starshina after the 1892 uprising. The article concludes 
that, despite operating within the colonial framework, those who held the office 
of aksakal sought to protect the interests of the local community and contributed 
to the continuity of national traditions of governance.