Kogon (; ; until 1935 ) is a district-level city in

Bukhara Region Bukhara Region is a region of Uzbekistan located in the southwest of the country. The Kyzyl Kum desert takes up a large portion of its territory. It borders Turkmenistan, Navoiy Region, Qashqadaryo Region, a small part of the Xorazm Region, a ...

in Uzbekistan. It is also the seat of Kogon District, but not part of it.

History

The city was named Yangi Buxoro (New Bukhara) until 1935. The city has a railway station, Bukhara-1, serving the city of

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

, which is located 12 km from Kogon. In 1990 construction of long-distance trolleybus line Bukhara – Kogon started, but later it was discontinued. The Russian Empire sought to connect new lands with the center of the empire with modern trade routes faster. The most perfect solution to this problem was the construction of railroads. Kogon was founded as the Russian settlement New Bukhara for railroad workers. Built in 1888 in 12 kilometers from

to serve stations and tracks on the

Trans-Caspian railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, ) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by the Russian Empire during its expansion into Central Asia in the 19t ...

, the settlement eventually became a kind of embassy town. In those days, land plots for the construction of residential houses were sold from the Bukhara government at a price of about 50

kopeck The kopeck or kopek is or was a coin or a currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with the economy of Russia. It is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system; 100 kopeks are worth 1 ruble o ...

s (3 Bukhara tenge) per square fathom. In addition to residential houses of the railroad employees, it housed a special institution managing diplomatic relations between the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the

Bukhara Emirate The Emirate of Bukhara (, ) was a Muslim- Uzbek polity in Central Asia that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known former ...

. In 1890 there were already several transportation offices, several stores and postal and telegraph office. In 1892 an orthodox church was established, a parish school was opened and a magistrate's court was founded. In 1894 was opened a branch of the State Bank, and then a customs house. On August 14, 1895, by order of Emir Said Abd al-Ahad Khan, construction of a new palace began in connection with the expected visit of the Russian Emperor to Turkestan. The palace was designed by Alexey Leontievich Benois. The construction was completed in 1898 by Bukharan and Russian craftsmen under the guidance of engineer Dubrovin. In 1910 the Kogon butter factory started its activity. In the years of establishment of Soviet power in Central Asia and Turkestan Kogon was in the center of stormy revolutionary events. Commander of the Turkestan Front

Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist. Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...

attached great importance to the Kogon garrison units in the operation to liquidate the

. They were entrusted with the capture of Bukhara, where the main enemy forces were concentrated. Kogon group went on the offensive on August 29, 1920 and fulfilled the task. The settlement, located in the Kogon area at an altitude of 235 meters above sea level, soon became a town of European type. Since 1935, New Bukhara has been called Kogon. Separate helicopter regiment In Soviet times, a separate helicopter regiment was based in Kogon. The history of the Kogon air

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

began in 1958, when an air regiment of

Li-2 The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Khimki, Moscow-Khimki and, after the factory's evacuation in 1941, at the Tash ...

transport planes was redeployed to Kogon from

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykal'ye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal at the south side of the eastern Si ...

. In the same year, the regiment's personnel were retrained on Mi-4

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s and began to be called the 280th Independent Helicopter Regiment. In 1973, the Kogon Helicopter Regiment began

retraining Retraining, refresher training, or upskilling is the process of learning a new or the same old skill or trade for the same group of personnel. Retraining is required to be provided on a regular basis to avoid personnel obsolescence due to technol ...

flight crew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviation, ...

s to fly Mi-8T helicopters. In the early 70s, the

Cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Training Center conducted experiments on

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

in the sands of the

Kyzylkum Desert The Kyzylkum Desert (, قِیزِیل‌قُوم; , قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, in the land between the confluent rivers Amu Darya and ...

. The methodology and practice of survival in extreme conditions were developed. In mid-July 1978, the Cosmonaut Training Center conducted its first training in the desert near

. From Khanabad Air Base, the cosmonauts were transported by Mi-6 helicopter of the Kogon Helicopter Regiment to the city of Kogon. There is a place called "Saydak Well" in the sands 40 km from Kogon. This is where the

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

that conducted the experiments was located. In 1978, a group of young cosmonauts who were in training in Kogon were led by cosmonaut

Vasily Lazarev Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev (; 23 February 1928 31 December 1990) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 12 spaceflight as well as the abortive Soyuz 18a launch on 5 April 1975. He was injured by the high acceleration of the abort and ...

. During the entry of the limited contingent of Soviet troops into

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, helicopters of the Kogon 280th separate helicopter regiment provided the transfer of the paratroop regiment. Since August 1979, the 4th helicopter squadron of the 280th separate helicopter regiment was stationed at

Bagram Airfield Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan), Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient town ...

, which was to provide the work of Soviet military

adviser An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs catego ...

s who were in Afghanistan. Lieutenant colonel A. Belov took direct command of the squadron. By the spring of 1980, the situation in the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...

has not stabilized and it was decided to additional saturation of the 40th Army helicopter units. On April 11, 1980 280th Independent Helicopter Regiment in full force was redeployed to

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

airfield. Together with the regiment was introduced and the 475th Independent

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of airfield maintenance. In 1981, the personnel of the 280th Independent Helicopter Regiment on the replacement returned to Kogon

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

, where the process of forming the 162nd Independent

Combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

Transport Helicopter Regiment began. The 162nd Independent Combat Transport Helicopter Regiment had to solve a very important task of training crews preparing to be sent to the

war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. A special "Relay Race" program was developed for this purpose. One of the stages of the "Relay Race" took place at airfields in Central Asia (in

Chirchiq Chirchiq, also spelled as Chirchik, (; ) is a district-level city in Tashkent Region, Uzbekistan. It is about 32 km northeast of Tashkent, along the river Chirchiq. Chirchiq lies in the Chatkal Mountains. The population of Chirchiq as of 20 ...

and Kogon). Here the crews flew in geographical and

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...

conditions, as close as possible to the conditions of Afghanistan. On the basis of 2 regiments (Kogon and Chirchiq) a Flight Training Center was organized.

Pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

from different regions and military districts came to the regiment to undergo mountain and desert training. Such training was essential. In 1988, the withdrawal of equipment from the territory of the Republic of Afghanistan to Kogon Air Base began. There was no need for the Flight Training Center, and, according to official data, on December 29, 1988, the 162nd Independent Combat Transport Helicopter Regiment ceased to exist. Until July 1990, helicopter units were withdrawn from Afghanistan to Kogon airfield for disbandment. In early July 1990 in Kogon permanently stationed there withdrawn from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(

Kalocsa Kalocsa (; or ''Kalača''; or Калоча; ) is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the Danube River. Historically it had greater ...

) 396th Independent

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

Guards Helicopter Regiment of the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

. In 1991 at the airfield filmed some episodes of the movie "To Survive" with the participation of

Vladimir Menshov Vladimir Valentinovich Menshov (; 17 September 1939 – 5 July 2021)Умер Владимир Ме� ...

and

Alexander Rosenbaum Alexander Yakovlevich Rosenbaum People's Artist of Russia, PAR (, ''Aleksandr Jakovlevič Rozenbaum'') (born September 13, 1951) is a Russian Bard (Soviet Union), bard from Saint Petersburg. Among his most famous songs are the ones about Saint ...

. After the

collapse of the USSR The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, the regiment was transferred to the

Armed Forces of Uzbekistan The Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan (), is the name of the unified armed forces of Uzbekistan, consisting of the Ground Force and the Air and Air Defence forces under the defence ministry. Paramilitary units include the National Gua ...

Population

The town population in 1989 was 48,054. It has an area of .

Economy

On May 23, 1961, by order of the leadership of the Main Directorate of the Gas Industry under the Council of Ministers of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Directive No. 123 was established in the city for the Bukhara-Ural gas pipeline and launched in 1966. Located 40 kilometers from Kagan is the Kagan Gas Field Group, consisting of four areas: Sary-Tash, Karaul-Bazar, Jarkak, and Setalan-Tepe. There are also oil and fat processing plants as well as cotton cleaning factories. On May 16, 2011, the opening of the KNAUF Gypsum Bukhara factory for the production of KNAUF boards took place.

Education

In 1902, the 1st Tatar school was opened in New

Religion

The city has 2 Sunni mosques (Alisher Navoi and Shom) and 1 Shiite mosque (Zirabad) "Abdullah bin Mubarak" mosque, 1 Orthodox church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, and a former synagogue building.

Transport

At the beginning of the 20th century, a narrow-gauge railway was constructed between

and New Bukhara (Kagan) using funds provided by the

Emir of Bukhara The Emirate of Bukhara (, ) was a Muslim- Uzbek polity in Central Asia that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known former ...

. In 1922, the railway station in Kagan was renamed

I and the terminal station located 12 kilometers from Kagan (in the city of Bukhara itself) became known as Bukhara II. Between the stations Bukhara I and Bukhara II, a suburban train operated under the colloquial name "Bukharka" until the 1960s. Since the 1960s, only freight transportation has been available in this section (passenger service briefly resumed in 1994). In 1990, construction began on an intercity trolleybus line from Bukhara to Kagan, but later the construction was put on hold and never resumed.

Gallery

Дворец Эмира Бухарского в г. Каган.jpg, Palace of the Emir of Bukhara. 19th century Вокзал XIX век г. Каган.jpg, Old station building. 19th century Travel Palace front Kogon.jpg, Palace of the Emir of Bukhara. 2015 Church of St. Nicholay in Kagan 16-24.JPG, New station building. 2016

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Bukhara Region Cities in Uzbekistan