THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY

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THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND
In the literature of 1940s, the topic of treason was not prevalent.
During the second half of 1940s, the picture dramatically changed.
The state of warfare in the country deepened the oppression of the
totalitarian regime on art and literature.
The parameters of this systems were the composition of two fictional
characters. The first character was the enemy (Nazism), who
was brutal but easily beatable because he was a fool. The second
was the Soviet soldier, who was the unbeatable and victorious warrior
protecting his homeland.
People believed in the power of the Soviet army. This belief went
so far that no one considered the probability of treason among the
army’s members. The ideological machine did not allow the existence
of any traitorous character in literature. The existence of such a
character would be regarded as a plot against socialist victories and
the newly established socialist Soviet army. Needless to say, these
tropes in literature were required and designed to encourage the soldiers
who might going to their death. This can be explained by the
military tactics used against the enemy. The issue of treason became
a central topic only in 1970s-1980s in Soviet literature.
To conclude, I want to present a quotation of Kazakhstani author
Yu. Dombrovskiy, who experienced the persecution in1940s and 1950s
and has some composed some works about this tragedy: “Our period
was tough, human relations were complicated, even humans... No! It
is very difficult for me to talk about the people of that time, even
impossible... I was one of them. All in all, they are not those with us
now, my readers. Then, we were forced to carry the toughest problems
on our shoulders.”
In this way, the authors’ conflict with Stalinism helped them to
grasp the essence of Nazism and Communism and directed them to
think about the resistance of Europe’s destiny and mankind’s spiritual
power against the physical and spiritual tyranny. As nature is
composed of infinite births and deaths, the governments established
themselves not for the people but against them.