After the decisive Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881, Russian took control of Turkmenistan and Turkmen tribes were subjugated under Russian Tsarist rule. Tekins, or Teke tribe of the Akhal oasis, were the majority in the area and, since they were famously known for breeding fast, loyal, and enduring war mounts, they were the primary recruits for the Tsarist Turkmen cavalry regiment also called Tekinsky (Top War, 2020). This period of Turkmen upheaval also marked a time of great decline and dispersal for the Akhal-Teke horse, and “many tribesmen fled with them to Persia and Afghanistan” (Hendricks, 1995).
With the October Revolution of 1917 and the start of the Russian Civil War, Turkmen themselves suffered great losses and many Tekins ended up riding with the White Army to fight back against Russian control (Top War, 2020). In 1918-1920, one of the largest secret campaigns (the Malleson Mission) was waged against the Bolshevik regime wherein the Tekins and other Turkmens fought alongside British and Indian troops near Askhabad, Trans-Caspia (The Ulysses Files, 2025). There it was a costly logistical challenge to import horses and horses needed to be capable of withstanding warfare in the dry and low-cover environment of the Karakum desert. As a result, most of the cavalry horses were likely a mix of local Turkmen breeds including horses from the Tekins: the Akhal-Teke.
The devotion and swiftness of these horses had been observed in previous battles throughout history. Towards the climax of the conflict, and despite the firepower from the Red Army, it was noted that “two cavalry squadrons struck the Bolshevik left flank, overrunning enemy gun positions and cutting off part of their retreat” (The Ulysses Files, 2025).
Unfortunately the White Army was outnumbered and the British-Indian mission ultimately failed. The Turkmen then fell to Bolshevik control in 1920 and would not achieve independence until 1991 (Hambly, 2026). In the aftermath, Turkmen had to surrender their horses to Bolshevik state-owned studs, beginning a series of unfortunate events that resulted in the near extinction of the Akhal-Teke breed (Akhal-Teke Association of America, 2026). Thankfully due to interventions and strategic breeding with the Turkmens and eventual Soviet Russia, the “Tekin” horses have survived to this day.
Akhal-Teke Association of America, 2026. “Modern History”. https://akhal-teke.org/breed/
Bonnie L. Hendricks,International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds, University of Oklahoma Press, 1995, turkmens.com/Horses
Hambly, 2026. “Turkmen tribes and Russian invasion”. https://www.britannica.com/place/Turkmenistan/Turkmen-tribes-and-Russian-invasion
The Ulysses Files, 2025. “Britain’s Secret War Against the Bolsheviks | The Malleson Mission 1918-1919”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4JqLI42X3Y&t
Top War, 2020. “Turkmens of the Russian Empire. History of the Tekin Horse Regiment”. https://en.topwar.ru/174631-turkmeny-rossijskoj-imperii-istorija-tekinskogo-konnogo-polka.html
First photo shared by Marat Gurt, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1MJ28WwxaT/
Photos 2-5 are screenshots from The Ulysses Files video.