Pamir Highway

Old Pamir Highway

At the end of the 19th century —beginning of the 20th century in Central Asia, a sharp geopolitical rivalry for influence continued between the British and Russian empires, which was termed "the Great Game". The military department of the Russian Empire, concerned about the activity of the British in the Pamirs, decided to build a strategic military road along which it would be possible to quickly transfer troops from Fergana to the Alay Valley and carry out their effective supply. The construction was planned and carried out in deep secrecy, and for a long time, the existence of a road through the Alay Range in Russian Turkestan in Europe was not known.