THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY

THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY 63
editorship of İ. O. Omarov and A. M. Pankratova on 26 December 1950
that stated ‘Kenesari’s revolt was not evaluated properly even in the
second edition of Kazakh SSR History’. 82 On 10 April 1951, the Kazakhstan
Communist Party Central Committee made a decision because of this
article and criticized E. Bekmakhanov’s ‘bourgeois nationalist views’. 83
In the Kazakhstan Writers Union Communist Organization meeting on
20 April 1951, the article named ‘Let Kazakhstan History issues be
told through Marxist-Leninist doctrine’ appeared and in the newspaper
‘Pravda’ newspaper on 26 December 1950 the decisions made by
Kazakhstan Communist Party Central Committee were discussed. Party
organization representatives in the capital city, writers, teachers of
literature, historians, and students participated in the meeting.
The chairman of Kazakhstan Soviet Writers Organization, K. Jarmaganbetov,
made a speech about the issue during the course of the
meeting. S. Mukanov, M. Avezov, H. Jumaliyev, A. Tajibayev, and other
important writers stated their views about the speech. In the monthly
magazine ‘Literature and Art’, a descriptive conclusion emerged, namely
that ‘Kenesari, the enemy of the people’, which seemingly set
the stage for the ideas stated in the meeting.
K. Jarmaganbetov, spoke at length at the 26 December 1950 that
the article issued in newspaper ‘Pravda’ and the decision made about
the 10 April article by the Kazakhstan Communist Party Central Committee
was that the historian E. Bekmakhanov and ‘The book called
‘Kazakhstan in 20s and 40s of XIX century’ is harmfull as an idea,
worthless in terms of ideology, not appropriate under Marxist-Leninst
doctrine, and evaluated Kazakhstan history under the guise of bourgoise-nationalist
ideas’. The spokesperson evaluated the situation, saying
that ‘The revolt under the leadership of Kenasari Kasimov between
the years 1837-1847 intended to divide Kazakhstan from Russia, the
Kazakh people from ‘supreme’ Russian people, by the intention of
founding the hegemony of Khiva and Kokands Khans over the Kazakhs,
with this changing Kazakhstan into English imperialist colony, and
bringing out the Medieval feudal system again.’ He also added that
‘E. Bekmakhanov and some historians who sided with him praised
the revolt as an independence movement by elevating Kenesari as
some sort of peoples’ hero.’ In his speech, the ‘retrogressive revolt’
of Kenesari found its place widely in Kazakh literature.
M. Akınjanov who stated positive views in newspapers about the
82 Shoyunbayev, T. - Aydarova, H. - Yakunin, A., “Za Marksistko-Leninskoye Osveşeniye
Voprosov İstorii Kazahstana”, Pravda 26. 12. 1950 and Bolşevik Kazahstana, 1951, No1, pp.
11-15.
83 Nurpeyis, K., “Qaysarlıq pen Qasiret”, Egemendi Qazaqstan, 15.02.2005, No 29.