In 1873, Russia forced the khan of Khiva to accept “Russian protection,” an imperialist euphemism for “nice little country you got here, what a shame if something was to happen to it.” Three years later Russia annexed the adjacent khanate of Khokand. Its power now extended to the very banks of the Amu River. Only Afghanistan stood between the Russian juggernaut and the pugnacious British in India. It was a bad place for a little country to be situated.
