Gubarevich-Radobyl’skii, A.F.: Essay on the Economy of Bukhara and Tunisia. A Comparative Research on Two Protectorate Systems

Title

Ekonomicheskii ocherk Bukhary i Tunisa. Opyt sravnitel’nogo issledovaniia dvukh sistem protektorata, Sankt-Peterburg 1905

Essay on the Economy of Bukhara and Tunisia. A Comparative Research on Two Protectorate Systems

Keywords

Summary

The essay is divided into five parts: Agriculture, Industries, Trades, Finances, Bases for Further Development of the Russian Protectorate System in the Khanate. Each topic is treated with respect to the situation in Bukhara and in Tunisia. In the preface, the author explains that, for their “state life”, Russia can be compared to some extent to colonial France, which makes France’s example quite useful. He goes on to state that “Tunisia, like Bukhara, is a country of Muslim rule. The bey of Tunisia has retained the same functions, as a leader, of the emir of Bukhara […]. A parallel consideration of what two or three decades of sovereign countries’ domination has led Tunisia and Bukhara to, could offer some interesting analogies and comparisons, which in turn should lead to thinking about further tasks to be accomplished in Bukhara. The colonial experience of France is also important for us because the French show complete tolerance and a benevolent spirit towards the natives, as well as the compassionate proselytism of a superior race with an innate magnanimity. In relation to the conquered native tribes, Russia is also distinguishable by high tolerance, broad understanding and recognition of the differences between foreign cultures and manners”.

Bio

Anton Gubarevich-Radobyl’skii was a lieutenant and, later in life, a customs officer. A Pole by birth, he attended the Kostantinovskoe Artillery School in Saint Petersburg; during his studies, he organised a revolutionary military circle with fellow members of the school, being fascinated with the ideas of Narodnaia Volia. After graduation, he was appointed to the Novocherkassk Infantry Regiment, then to the 4^th Turkestan Line Battalion. He was arrested for anti-government activities in 1884, and, upon his release, he was subjected to two years of special supervision. He was permitted to move to Tashkent in 1886, the year in which he was dismissed from military service. While in Tashkent, he devoted himself to writing and began to work at the customs department of the Sirdaryo region, later becoming its manager. His quick career brought him to become the manager of the Bukhara customs department and, since 1910, of the Turkestan customs district. He is the author of several essays, the majority of which are dedicated to the economy of Central Asia.

Sources

“Gubarevich-Radobyl’skii, Anton Frantsevich”, in Deiateli revoliutsionnogo dvizheniia v Rossii. Bio-bibliograficheskii slovar’, t. 3.1, ed. by M. Klevenskii et al., Moskva 1933, clmns. 1007-1008.

A.F.