For only a very short time - less than two years - was there peace in Central Asia. Trouble erupted in Kokand, which was proving to be the most unstable of the three protectorates. In 1873 the nomadic Kypchak Uzbeks had revolted against the tax and customs increases imposed by the Khan upon his people. The Kypchaks were joined by a number of Kokandian ulema and feudal lords and large numbers of the Kokandian masses. The last three groups, especially the ulema and the nobility, linked the tax revolt with lingering opposition to and resentment of Russian expansion and influence.

Throughout 1873 and 1874, Khudyar Khan's army launched punitive expeditions against the rebels but failed in all attempts to suppress them. The rebels continued to grow in strength and prestige into 1875. Finally, during the summer of that year, the Khan discovered that his brother (Murat Bey, governor of Margelan), his eldest son (Nasir al-Din, governor of Andizhan), and his generals (led by his youngest son, Muhammad Amin Bek) were conspiring with the rebels against him. Seeking Russian help, Khudyar Khan fled to Tashkent.

The rebels quickly proclaimed Nasir al-Din khan. While he would reign, however, the true power in Kokand lay in the hands of Pulat Bey, a relative of Nasir, and Abd al-Rahman Avtobachi, an Uzbek noble.