The Urtatagai conflict was a conflict between the Soviet Union and the Emirate of Afghanistan in the mid-1920s over the control of the island of Urta Tagay, which is an island on the Amu Darya river that had been claimed by Afghanistan since 1900,[1] although it was under Russian control until 1920, when remnants of the Imperial Russian Army evacuated the island to aid the White movement in the Russian Civil War.

However, the Afghan forces overwhelmed the Soviets, driving them from the island on 1 December.

[1] On 18 December, the Prime Minister of Afghanistan issued a letter of protest, making four key demands:[1] On 19 December, after the Soviets failed to answer the letter, the Afghan Government began to deploy troops towards the North.

[1] To the surprise of the Soviet leadership, Western press took interest in the conflict, and supported the Afghan government.

Negotiations regarding official Soviet recognition ensued for the following months, and after the Afghan government agreed to restrain Basmachi border raids,[2] the Soviet government officially recognized Urtatagai as part of the Afghan state on 15 August 1926.