Orphanage in Skobelev: the Care of the Russian Empire for the Children of Russian Immigrants in the Turkestan General Government at the early 20th Century

The author examines the history of the formation and activities of a children’s orphanage in Skobelev, Fergana Region, and analyzes the problems that arise in the work of the Fergana Board of Trustees for Children’s Orphanages. The purpose of the article is to study the implementation of Russia’s imperial policy on the issue of orphans in the territory of the Turkestan Governorate-General, which was part of the imperial authorities’ efforts to modernize the national frontier. The source base is based on administrative materials extracted from the Russian State Historical Archive. The author describes the conditions under which a children’s orphanage was established in the Fergana region, which was one of the last such institutions in the Turkestan Governorate-General. In addition, the author reveals the activities of the Board of Trustees of Children’s Homes, founded by the wife of Alexander II to manage such institutions, and then established in the Fergana Regio in particular to oversee the activities of the orphanage and maintain contact with the Department of Institutions of the Empress Maria. The author concludes that the organization of the orphanage’s activities was no different from similar institutions in the central regions of the Russian Empire, which can serve as evidence of the Russian administration’s desire to elevate the national frontier its own level. As the study shows, the existence of such institutions in the Turkestan Governorate-General is a testament to the Russian administration’s concern for its subjects who found themselves in challenging circumstances in a foreign land.