Today Ashgabat is one of the most beautiful cities in Central Asia, five times awarded a place in the famous Guinness Book of Records. The capital of Turkmenistan amazes with its splendor, rich white marble architecture, fountain complexes. But the history of Ashgabat knows many other, less joyful events.
From fortress to city
The history of Ashgabat began in 1881, after the expansion of the borders of the Russian Empire. The tsar's troops reached the Akhal-Tekinsky oasis, occupied its territories and lands on which the village of Askhabad, a small Tekinsky settlement, was located.
First of all, the soldiers erected a fortress, this military fortification became the starting point for the appearance of a new settlement on the map of the empire. People began to settle around the fortress, gradually its military significance faded into the background. The settlement was turning into a lively, fast-growing city before our very eyes, as there were two reasons for this: a good geographical position - at the crossroads of economic and trade routes; availability of fresh water and building materials, wood, gravel, clay.
The increase in the number of the population was facilitated by the construction of the railway, many people were ready to travel thousands of kilometers in search of work and money. Those who built the road remained to live in Ashgabat, many merchants from different countries also came, there were religious refugees.
City in the XX century
At the end of the 19th century, more than 30 thousand people of the population lived in the city, which is interesting, the indigenous people accounted for only 1.5%. By ethnicity, the population was divided into the following categories: Persians - about 11 thousand people; Russians - more than 10 thousand people; Armenians and other nationalities - 14.6 thousand people.
The city itself consisted of one-story houses, mostly adobe, surrounded by fruit trees. They were afraid to build multi-storey buildings, since earthquakes occurred quite often, leaving behind significant destruction.
The history of Ashgabat is briefly divided into two periods - before and after 1918. Until this year, the settlement was part of the Russian Empire, it was the main city of the Transcaspian region. The October events of 1917 also affected Ashgabat, a year later Soviet power was established here, until 1925 the city was in the status of a regional center. Since 1925 it has been the capital of Turkmenistan, however, the city bore at that time the name Poltoratsk - after the name of the famous Bolshevik.
