THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY

162
THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND
until the end of the 1950s.
Because 1960s were the years when the type of Soviet historian
was fully formed, it is beneficial to take this issue broadly. The era
of 1960s was the time when the Soviet historian was under the influence
of Soviet ideology; he submitted himself to this ideology. The
place for the open declaration of this submission was at the Public
Agreement on Precautions for the improvement of preparing Scientific-Pedagogy
Personnel for History organized in Moscow between 18
and 21 December 1962. The meeting was attended by almost 2000
historians, scientists, lecturers, and archivists from different regions
of the Soviet Union. On December 18 and 19, a general session occurred
in which the academic B. N. Ponamaryev—who attended the
meeting as the representative of the State—gave a speech about “The
duty of History as Science and the Preparation of Scientific-Pedagogy
Personnel for History” that was discussed. On December 20-21 the
issues of History of CPSU, History of USSR, and General History were
discussed in three sessions. As the “translator”, President of USSR
Sciences Academy, M. V. Keldış, narrated the duties that Ponamaryev,
as the representative of state, placed on historians:
“In the program of Communist Party of Soviet Union, social sciences
and fine arts play the main role in the guidance to social development.
In the establishment of communism, these examine socialism and its
transmission to communism in political, economic and cultural levels,
develop and strengthen the idea of communism in Soviet society.
Science of history has a specific place in fulfilling these duties. It
is important to learn the recent history of our country and to examine
the successful history of Communist Party and Soviet society, and
also Socialism, Communism and the labor movements in the world”. 275
As a consequence of these efforts, Soviet historians crafted the
“submission letter” below, on the last day of the meeting, and with
the guidance of the CPSU:
“To Central Committee of Communist Party of Soviet Union,
We, the meeting contributors of Soviet Union historians, thank to
Central Committee of Communist Party of Soviet Union under the leadership
of Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, on behalf of many important
scholars for the development of science of history in our country. The
CPSU Program and the decisions of XXII Party Congress gives the duty
журнaлa Отечественнaя история С. В. Тютюкиным”, Отечественнaя история,
Московa 2001. No. 5, pp. 128-130.
275 КелдыШ, М. В., “Вступительное слово”, Все союзное совещaние о мерaх улучwения
подготовки нaучно-педaгогических кaдров по историческим нaукaм,Москвa, 18-21
дек. 1962г., Moscow, 1964. pp. 9.