RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION IN TURKESTAN IN THE LATE 19TH – 20TH CENTURY: IMPACT OF RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION ON MARKET LIFE: HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

This article comprehensively analyzes the process of railway construction in Turkestan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries using the examples of the Trans-Caspian Railway (1880–1888), the Samarkand–Andijan (Fergana) Railway (1895–1899), the Orenburg–Tashkent Railway (1901–1906), and the Turkestan–Siberian Railway – Turksib (1927–1931). The construction stages, main stations, strategic tasks, freight transport indicators, and economic results of the railways are covered based on the research of local and foreign historians. The study reveals the connection of the railway construction process with colonial policy, its role in the region's transport integration, and its impact on industrialization processes on a scientific basis.