Editing History of Turkmenistan (section)

== Revolution and civil war ==
[[File:Krasnoe znamja Tashkent 1917.jpg|thumb|Hoisting the [[Red Banner]] in Tashkent 1917]]
Following the [[October Revolution]] of 1917 in Russia, [[Ashgabat]] became a base for anti-[[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] counter-revolutionaries, who soon came under attack from the [[Tashkent Soviet]]. The Communists succeeded in taking control of Ashkhabad in the summer of 1918, forming a Soviet. In response, [[Junaid Khan (Basmachi leader)|Junaid Khan]] and forces loyal to the Czarist government joined together to drive out the Communists. In July 1919, these anti-Communist allies established the independent state of [[Transcaspian Government|Transcaspia]]. A small British force, led by General [[Wilfrid Malleson]], from Meshed (Persia) occupied Ashgabat and parts of southern Turkmenistan until 1919. It is alleged that [[26 Baku Commissars]] were gunned down by British forces or their Transcaspian allies. The region was one of the last centres of [[Basmachi movement|Basmachi]] resistance to [[Bolshevik]] rule, with the last of the rebellious Turkoman fleeing across the border to Afghanistan and Iran in 1922–23.