Driving from Shakhrisabz to Samarkand, about sixty kilometers from Samarkand, on the right side of the road, one can notice an unusual monument for the Asian steppes. It is a pyramidal pedestal three to four human heights tall, on top of which stands a black cross or two strips of rusty metal, to which something was likely once attached. Beneath the cross, a plaque remains, although the letters and numbers carved into the stone have worn away over time. Nevertheless, most of the text can be deciphered: Z_ N' S' BURIED CHI- NAMI OF THE JAM DETACHMENT ASSIGNED IN 1878 _ _ _ _ _ _ ON A CAMPAIGN IN BUILT 1913. I present the inscription as I was able to read it. Its meaning becomes clear when recalling the history of the Turkestan region in 1878. In March 1878, General-Adjutant Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman, who led the Turkestan Military District, received an order from the Russian Minister of War Malyutin to prepare military detachments for a campaign in India. However, the true purpose of the campaign was to demonstrate Russian military strength in Central Asia and to finalize the delineation of Afghan territory under British control and the territories that became part of the Russian Empire. In the document 'General Overview of the Situation in 1878 on the Border of the Turkestan Military District and in the Asian Territories Adjacent to It,' K.N. Kaufman highlighted the need to demonstrate strength at the border of Turkestan with Afghanistan, prompted by the danger of breaking relations with England, which had colonial interests in Asian countries. To demonstrate strength, General Kaufman formed three detachments: the main one in Samarkand, the Fergana one in Margilan, and the Amu-Darya one in Petro-Alexandrovsk. The 1st Siberian Cossack Cavalry Regiment, which was stationed in Ura-Tyube, east of Samarkand, was part of the Main Detachment. On June 21, 1878, the 1st, 5th, and 6th hundreds of the regiment headed towards Samarkand. By July 5, the detachment of Cossacks was stationed in the area of the village of Jam, and due to the name of this village, it became known as the Jam Detachment. Major General Trotsky Vitaly Nikolaevich was appointed commander of this detachment. However, along the way to Afghanistan, both soldiers and officers died from a cholera epidemic. The detachment lost a significant part of its personnel but continued to move towards Afghanistan, carrying out the command's orders. Along the way, hills rose under which the dead from cholera were hastily buried in mass graves. There were several such memorial monuments in the steppes of Uzbekistan from Samarkand to Termez. Now only one remains, the one you see in the photo. The monuments over the mass graves were erected in 1913, as indicated in the inscription. In 1913, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, an initiative took place across Russia and its borders to restore churches and memorial sites related to Russian history. Most likely, the monument in question was established as part of this initiative. Besides the plaque, attention is drawn to a large rusty nail driven much lower than the inscription, in the wide part of the monument, in the third tier of bricks from the bottom and to the right. The engraving 1924 is clearly visible on it. In 1924, Uzbekistan became one of the Republics of the Soviet Union. Perhaps in 1924 the monument was restored or had some additional inscription added, but it has not survived. The nail, however, still sticks out. In conclusion, it should be noted that the campaign to India, as announced to the soldiers, was canceled even before the troops entered Afghanistan due to the agreement reached at the Berlin Congress in July 1878 between Russia and Britain regarding the establishment of official borders between Afghanistan and Turkestan. Therefore, this campaign remains in history as a demonstration of force, as a result of which soldiers and officers died not from bullets and shells, but from harsh climatic conditions and a cholera epidemic. But this in no way gives grounds to say that the mission assigned to the Russian warriors was not fulfilled. The English were so impressed by the parade of Russian troops that they feared the possibility of losing their main colony, India, and control over Afghanistan. To avoid worsening relations with Russia, they abandoned the seizure of territories that belonged to it at that time. Thus, the sacrifices made by the soldiers and officers of the Jam Detachment were not in vain, and their memory deserves careful treatment of their ashes scattered across the vast expanses of modern Uzbekistan. The monument stands at the entrance to the village of Jam, near the main highway, and is unguarded. Time and people gradually destroy it. The photo clearly shows that something was above and below the cross. Perhaps words of prayer or words of memory and mourning. From other sides of the monument, traces of former memorial plaques also remain. It is quite possible that the names of those buried here could have been indicated there. But the very fact that such a monument to the history of the Turkestan region has survived near an Uzbek village is very interesting.