Fergana Oblast

Fergana Oblast Ферганская область (Russian)
Oblast
Coat of arms
Location in the Russian Empire as of 1914
Country	Russian Empire
Governorate-General	Turkestan
Established	1876
Abolished	1917
Capital	Skobelev (modern-day Fergana)
Area
• Total	160,141 km2 (61,831 sq mi)
Population  (1897)
• Total	1,572,214
• Density	9.8/km2 (25/sq mi)

The Fergana Oblast^[a] was an oblast (province) of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of present-day Fergana Valley. It was created in 1876 when the territories of the former Khanate of Kokand were annexed to Russia (except for the oblasts of Syr-Darya Oblast and Semirechye Oblast, which were part of the khanate before Russian conquest between 1853 and 1865). Its administrative center was the city of Skobelev (which is in modern-day Fergana).

The Oblast was disbanded after the Russian Revolution and on April 30, 1918 the region became a part of the Turkestan ASSR.

As of 1897, the Fergana Oblast was divided into 5 uyezds:

As of 1897, 1,572,214 people populated the oblast. Turkified Sarts (a name used for Tajiks) constituted the majority of the population. Significant minorities included Kyrgyz and Tajiks. The total Turkic-speaking population numbered 1,439,989 (91.6% of the total population of the oblast).

40°31′43″N 70°56′33″E / 40.5286°N 70.9425°E / 40.5286; 70.9425