What if earlier Russian conquest of Khiva?

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
1717 would be too early for the Brits to start getting hysterical: India is not their, yet. But 1839 will be just fine. ;)

Although, in 1839 and thereabouts the British and Russians found themselves on the same page in some contexts, they both backed the Ottomans against the French backed Muhammad Ali.
 
Although, in 1839 and thereabouts the British and Russians found themselves on the same page in some contexts, they both backed the Ottomans against the French backed Muhammad Ali.

Whatever their common interests could by regarding Egypt, Khiva is only 1000 miles away from British India, which means that "The Russians are coming!!!!!"x'D
 
1717 is so early, very intriguing. Maybe the Russians get bogged down in central Asia, allowing the Swedes to cause more havoc?
 

mad orc

Banned
The Russian frontier would most likely stop at Afghanistan border .
However, now the Russians would start influencing politics of the region more .

It might even butterfly away things like the Quajars , the Sikh empire and the Ahmed Shah Abdali empire .
 
The Russian frontier would most likely stop at Afghanistan border .
However, now the Russians would start influencing politics of the region more .

It might even butterfly away things like the Quajars , the Sikh empire and the Ahmed Shah Abdali empire .

Influencing it much more than in OTL would be rather difficult. :)

As far as Persia was involved, during the reign of Peter I Russia used internal disorder in Persia to annex Azerbaijan and Southern coast of the Caspian Sea. By the time of Empress Anna cost of this annexation (both money and lives) was so high that reappearance of a stable government in Persia had been met with a huge sight of relief because finally, these territories could be given back to a rightful owner: prior to finding a meaningful usage of oil, the region was just a troublesome place with a lousy climate (Russian troops there had been dying in big numbers) and nothing of value to steal.

Of course, in the late XVIII - XIX wars with Persia had been renewed but they were a part of the Russian expansion on the Caucasus.
 
Reviving thread for interest...
A 1717 attempt might seem interesting, but do the Russians have sufficient tech and projection power to do it? The Safavid Persians are in sharp decline by this point, which might help.
 
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