Turkestan Military District

Turkestan Military District
Staff building of the Turkestan Military District, Tashkent, 1977
Active	1874 - 1 January 1993
Country	Russian Empire (1874 - 1918)  Soviet Union (1926 - 1992)
Type	Military district
Headquarters	Tashkent
Engagements	World War II

The Turkestan Military District (Russian: Туркестанский военный округ (ТуркВО), Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)) was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 Russian military reform when by order of Minister D.A. Milyutinym the territory of Russia was divided into fourteen military districts. Its first commander was Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman, who was also Governor-General of Russian Turkestan at the time.

From 1918 to 1926 the District was referred to as the Turkestani Front as its forces were conducting active operations against the Basmachi Revolt throughout practically all the District's territory.

In October 1919, Gleb Bokii was sent by Cheka head Felix Dzerzhinsky to Tashkent to head the operations of the Cheka in the Turkestan Front.

By USSR Order No. 304 of June 4, 1926, the Turkestani front was renamed as the Central Asian Military District (САВО), which included the territories of the Turkmen and Uzbek SSRs and the Kirghiz and Tadjik ASSRs. In connection with changes of administrative-territorial division of republics and areas of Central Asia, as of August 1940 the district included the Kazakh, Kirghiz, Tadjik, Turkmen, and Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republics.

The District was re-created on 9 July 1945 after the division of the Central Asian Military District into the Turkestan and Steppe Military Districts. The new Turkestan and Steppe District were formed from the headquarters of the 1st and 4th Shock Armies respectively. In July 1946 the Steppe Military District was dissolved and its responsibilities transferred back to the Turkestan Military District.