THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE QUESTION OF KAZAKHSTAN’S HISTORY

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THE SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY AND
seen in the studies written by the next generations.
Kushbek Usenbayev, in his book Ormon Khan, mentioned positive
aspects of Ormon Khan and wrote that he was an important statesman
who worked to maintain the integrity of Kyrgyz people. Usenbayev
wrote: “The rise of Ormon Khan’s reputation and his recognition among
people as a strategist was [closely] related to his defeating Kenesary
Kasymuly’s ravaging, bloody and invading campaign. If there has not
been Ormon Khan’s vigilant and surprising strategist character, it would
not be possible to defeat the enemy (and by doing so to protect the
independence of the local people) that marched towards our territory
with more than twenty thousand specially trained, well-prepared
soldiers who had undergone ten years of struggle and experience”. 115
These lines fit neither the historical realities nor scholarly objectivity.
Besides, at those periods, some conflicts or bloody incidents could
take place from time to time, among two brotherly and neighboring
peoples, or between the clans. However, it would be more correct to
evaluate the historical data from the broader perspectives bearing in
mind the pre-conditions and consequences of the revolt rather than
labeling the events as “ravaging”, “enemy” and “invaders”.
Istoria Kirgizskoy SSR (History of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic)
was one of the official and important history sources of the Soviet
period. According to the book, in 1847, the leaders of the Sarybagysh
clan of the Kyrgyzs corresponded with the Russian authorities. Manaps
of Sarybagysh clan Ormon and Jantay as well as the Manap of
Solto clan Jangarach, requested to accept their intention to become
Russia’s subjects, and also asked for help in the struggle against
Kenesary Kasymov, the rioting Kazak sultan. Governor General of the
Western Siberia, on behalf of the Russian government, avoided from
a concrete answer. 116 However, it is impossible to say that the Tsarist
administration did not take any concrete measures to suppress the
Kenesary revolt. At that time, “The Kazaks were ruled specifically by
the ‘Regulations on Siberian Kirgiz’ section of the statute that for
administrative purposes officially designated the Orta zhuz Kazaks as
‘Siberian Kirgiz’ and the Kishi zhuz Kazaks as ‘Orenburg Kirgiz’”. 117 It is
known from the archival documents that the Russian Empire sent the
Orenburg corps composed of 26 infantry divisions, and the Siberian
115 Usenbayev, Kushbek, Ormon Han (Ormon Khan), Bishkek, 1999, p. 102.
116 İstoriya Kirgizskoy SSR (History of Kyrgyz SSR). Frunze, 1984, vol.1, p. 580.
117 Sabol, Steven, “Kazak Resistance to Russian Colonization: Interpreting the Kenesary
Kasymov Revolt, 1837–1847”, Central Asian Survey (June/September, 2003) 22(2/3), p.
237.