According to L. F. Kostenko's traveler book, The Emirate of Bukhara second half of the 19th century

The geography of Turkestan is an ancient Turkish homeland that attracted attention in the 19th century by the two great colonial powers of the period, such as Russia and England. These states, which carried out activities with the aim of dominating here, were in a rivalry and led the way of regularly sending travelers to the region to discover and promote Turkestan. In particular, Russia had established institutions and associations supported by the Tsarist for this purpose. Travelers to be sent to the region were specially trained and sent to Turkestan for exploration. Russian travelers, who reflect in detail what they see here, help us fill some gaps in terms of history. In this study, the information in the travel book of Lev Feofilovic Kostenko, who was sent to Bukhara for a diplomatic mission in the second half of the 19th century, when Tsarist Russia occupied the Turkestan Khanates in a rapid and systematic manner, together with the travel books of foreign travelers who came to the region during the same period tried to be evaluated and interpreted. Our aim is to reveal the political, social, commercial and cultural situation of the Emirate of Bukhara in the second half of the 19th century, to introduce Kostenko and his work, and to discuss the policy of Tsarist Russia within the framework of Kostenko's travel book.