THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY

THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY 69
under special attack. The accusations against the authors responsible
for the creation of “anti-Russian” book, which were echoed before party
leaders, could not escape accountability without any consequences.
The “History of Kazakh SSR” book’s authors were accused of
highlighting Kazakh feudal and patriarchal relations that seemingly
embroidered throughout the book, and, on the contrary, that the oppression
of working masses on the part of Kazakh sultans and khans
was not considered fully enough. 91
After the discussion, the campaign with a total criticism of the
“History of the Kazakh SSR” was almost launched. In particular, this
was related to the chapters that were devoted to the national movements
of the Kazakh people against tsarism.
M. Morozov’s review, published in the journal “Bolshevik” (6, 1945),
laid the foundation for this campaign. The main point of the article
boiled down to the accusation against the authors on consideration the
incorporation of Kazakhstan to Russia as a conquest, and on this basis,
in the interpretation of this process to be regarded as an “absolute evil”.
The similar epithets and feedback were contained in the resolution
of Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Kazakhstan “On
preparation the 2 nd edition of “History of the Kazakh SSR”. 92
As is known, in the autumn of 1946 Bekmakhanov defended his doctoral
dissertation at the Institute of History of USSR SA. In 1947 the
manuscript of his dissertation was published as a separate monograph
“Kazakhstan in 20-40s of XIX. Century”. This event coincided with the
resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of
Kazakhstan “About the serious political mistakes in the work of the
Institute of Language and Literature”. This document marked a next new
stage of the “ideological offensive” for critically thinking intellectuals.
The methods were the same, to pin the political label for scientific
point of views that did not coincide with the communist doctrine and
the use of personal animosity between the scientists. Bekmakhanov’s
works came under particular attack during the second half of 1947.
Primarily, the condemnation referred to his main work “Kazakhstan
in 20-40s of XIX. Century”.
On 28 February 1948 in Moscow, at the Institute of History of the
USSR, Bekmakhanov’s critics organized the representational discussion
regarding his monograph. The course and outcome of this discussion
is well known in Kazakh national historiography. We should only note
91 “О поaготовке 2–го изaaния «Истории Кaзaхской ССР»”, Известия, pp. 3-4.
92 “Кaзaхского Филиaлa Акaдемии Нaук Союзa СССР”, Серия историческaя, 1946, No
2 (27), pp. 49-51.