Imperial forces of Russian Empire under Mikhail Skobelev captured the city in 1883 which then became part of Russian Turkistan. After joining of Kokand and the whole of Central Asia, in general, to the Empire, peace and order came to the region for 40 years. During World War I, two revolutions happened in the Russian Empire. Separatists took advantage of the situation to destabilize the city and to prevent revolutionary changes. So it was the capital of the short-lived (72 days) (1917–18) anti-Bolshevik Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkistan (also known as Kokand Autonomy). They sought co-operation from Ataman Dutov and Alash Orda. However, their emissary to the Amir of Bukhara achieved little.