THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY

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THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND
of Kazakhstan in the direction of Marxist-Leninism”; it ignited anew
the official accusations against Bekmakhanov. On 10 April 1951, the
Central Committee of Kazakhstan CP decided to deal with the issues
raised in the article. It determined that the article’s conclusions were
correct and it criticized Bekmakhanov’s bourgeois-nationalistic views. 54
The article in “Pravda” became an excuse, not only to prosecute
Bekmakhanov but also other Kazakh intellectuals. The historian A.
Takenov expressed his opinions about the article that K. Aidarova
wrote about Bekmakhanov, noting:
Writers of the article were mediocre historians who could became
visible among scientists only by criticizing Bekmakhanov. Based on
that fact, there has been another secret power which protected them.
Despite this, they only repeated their opinions during the discussion,
“Pravda” newspaper published those sentences with big letters: ‘All
historical sources show that, Uprising of Kenesary was neither progressive,
nor revolutionary. That reactionary movement strengthened
patriarchal-feudality order among the Kazakhs, caused revival of
medieval Khan government and it separated Kazakhstan from Russia
and great Russian people.’
Those harsh words were like a directly given order. 55
On 4 December 1952, Bekmakhanov was convicted. In the decision,
it was written: “As the investigation files in the court show
E. Bekmakhanov falsified historical knowledge and propagandized
bourgeois-nationalism in his works. He praised feudality, the rich
people and the reactionary Khans and sultans which fought against
Russian people and tried to protect the medieval system in Kazakhstan.
He used works of reactionary poets and people’s enemies who
were called as “Alash Orda” to prove his bourgeois-nationalist ideas.
He performed his nationalistic ideology among the people he knew,
too.” 56 Based on those accusations, his conviction came with the
harshest punishment. He was sent to work in the camps for 25 years
based on the USSR Penal Code’s 58-10 articles’ second passage. (The
aforementioned passage is about forming armed groups countrywide,
or setting up an armed uprising, also taking over the government in
local oblasts, or contributing to the movements in order to forcibly
take over a region from USSR)
54 Nurpeyisov. K., “Bekmakhanov Pen Onın Bastı Kitabı Qalay Jazalandı?”, Qazaq Tarihi,
2005, No. 2.
55 Takenov. A., “Eluinşi Jıldardın Basında Qazaq Tarihi Qalayqıspaqqa Alındı?”, Qazaq Tarihi.
1994, No. 1, 3.
56 Astana qalasındagı “Aljir” muzeylik-memorialdıq keşen materiyaldarınan.