Although Russia had been pushing south into the steppes from Astrakhan and Orenburg since the failed Khivan expedition of Peter the Great in 1717, the beginning of the Russian colonial conquest of Turkestan is normally dated to 1865.
Selvom Rusland havde ekspanderet sydpå ind på stepperne fra Astrakhan og Orenburg siden Khivan-ekspeditionen initieret af Peter den Store i 1717, bliver starten på den russiske koloniale erobring i Turkestan normalt dateret til 1865.