THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY

THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY 153
brotherhood by trying to make hostility that happened in the past
be forgotten.
Emphasizing of Russia’s Occupation of Kazakhstan as Progressive
Process
One of the destructions that was done by Soviet government to
consolidate Soviet brotherhood was the attempt of emphasizing Russian
occupation as progressive starting from the tsardom period. This method
was also tried with culture policies in tsardom period. In the State
Newspaper of Dala which were published for Kazakhs who lived in the
Step State of Tsarist Russia, tried to lighten the reactions of Kazakhs
against occupation via repression by emphasizing social and economic
progress that came together with Russia’s occupation of Kazakhstan.
In the Soviet period in historical works occupation of Tsardom was
shown as a progressive development for local people. A paper published
in 1948 talked about that “Kazakhs voluntarily wanted Russia’s
annexation of Kazakhstan and progressive way of annexation”. From
1950’s after this theory was ratiocinated by general assembly it became
a view of regime of Soviet government. In Mart 1951 in Tashkent was
organized a conference under the title “The National Character in the
Colonial Revolution in the Central Asia and Kazakhstan”. At conference
these thesis were followed: “The only developing way of Central Asia
and Kazakhstan was the uniting with Russia. All national struggles
were reactionary. Because, their aim was to separate from Russia.
However, these struggles also had insurgent and progressive-minded
ways. Because they worked against the regime.” 259
Ermukhan Bekmakhanov’s work on “Kazakhstan in the Years of
1920’s – 1940’s” started discussions to formalize Russia’s annexation
of Kazakhistan as a progressive in 1947. On 23 rd December 1951 in
Pravda newspapers, the issues of national struggle, especially struggles
in a guidance of Sultan Kenesary, in Bekmakhanov’s book and
representing it as a national war of independence took very heavy
critics. In all Soviet papers, after these critics in Pravda, Kenesari was
started to be shown as a reactionary and enemy of own nation. And
not just Kenesari, all freedom struggles in Turkestan against Russian
occupation went to reevaluation process. 260
Soviet historians’ this point of view expressed like: “A lot of positive
reforms are done in Kazakhstan under Tsar Administration. Tsadom
government gave a lot of exemptions and prerogatives to Russian
259 Hayit, Sovyetler Birliğinde Türklüğün ve İslam’ın Bazı Meseleleri, p.142.
260 Poppe, N. N., “Harpten Sonraki Devirde Sovyetlerin Türkistan’daki İdeolojik Siyaseti”
Dergi, 5/17, 1959, pp. 6-8.