Central Executive Committee of the Turkestan ASSR: Activities of the Special Commission for Re-evacuation of Semirechye Migrants

Introduction. Upon gaining sovereignty, Kazakhstan launched a repatriation program encouraging ethnic Kazakhs to move back to their historical homeland. Still, the repatriation process had also been witnessed by the early years of Soviet rule. That group of migrants — neglected by the international community but assisted by their former compatriots — was compiled from inhabitants of Semirechye. Goals. The article attempts an insight into the activities of Soviet agencies aimed at re-evacuating Semirechye’s migrants to Soviet Russia. Materials and methods. The work focuses on documentary sources contained in a variety of archives and dealing with the history of migration processes in Semirechye on the eve and throughout the establishment and consolidation of Soviet power. The study rests on essentials of the structural-functional analysis, a structural unit be represented by the Special Commission under the Turkestan ASSR Central Executive Committee, and a function be the latter’s activities on arranging assistance to migrants in China and their re-evacuation to native territories. The principle of historicism proves instrumental in considering the Commission’s efforts in the context of the Soviet Union’s shaping and development. Results. The period of mobilization (followed by increased insurgencies) witnessed somewhat mass relocations of Kazakhs and Kyrgyzes from border territories of Semirechye towards Western China. Their mass return took place already under the Soviets. The problem of repatriating Kazakhs and Kyrgyzes, their accommodation across Semirechye and employment assistance were repeatedly discussed by Soviet authorities, and a special body — Special Commission — was established and vested with powers to deliver material support and organize the re-evacuation of migrants. Conclusions. Kazakhs and Kyrgyzes of Semirechye who had fled to China in 1916–1921 found themselves in a very difficult situation. Then and there they were aided by the Russian Provisional Government and subsequently by the Soviets. The two were historical antipodes but when it came to assist and bring back compatriot migrants from China to Semirechye, they were unanimous enough.

1. Sources

2. Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

3. Pyaskovsky A. V. (ed.) The 1916 Uprising in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Collected documents. Moscow: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. 792 p. (In Russ.)

4. State Archive of Almaty Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

5. State Archive of Jetisu Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

6. Decrees of the Soviet Government. Vol. 11: October–November 1920. Moscow: Politizdat, 1983. 467 p. (In Russ.)

7. RSFSR People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Authorized Representative to Kulja: Report on Kirghiz Refugees in Xinjiang. In: Kotyukova T. V. (comp.) The 1916 Uprising in Turkestan: Documentary Evidence of One Common Tragedy. Collected documents and materials Moscow: Märcani, 2016. Pp. 422–427. (In Russ.)

8. The Jetisu — Issyk Kul Tragedy of 1916–1920. Collected documents and materials. Astana: Gylym, 2016. 496 p. (In Russ. and Kaz.)

9. Anes G., Zamzeeva T. (comps.) The Qazaq Newspaper in 1917. Almaty: Alashorda, 2023. 568 p. (In Kaz.)

10. Minutes of a meeting between Soviet officials and representatives of the [People’s] Republic of China (Ili Region, Xinjiang Province). In: Soviet Foreign Policy Documents. Vol. 2: 1 January 1919 – 30 June 1920. Moscow: Gospolitizdat, 1958. Pp. 546–549. (In Russ.)

11. Minutes of a meeting between RSFSR officials and representatives of Kirghiz refugees in Kulja. In: Kotyukova T. V. (comp.) The 1916 Uprising in Turkestan: Documentary Evidence of One Common Tragedy. Collected documents and materials Moscow: Märcani, 2016. Pp. 412–419. (In Russ.)

12. State Archive of Jetisu Region, Panfilov Branch of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

13. Russian State Archive of Sociopolitical History.

14. Russian State Military Archive.

15. Semirechye after the Kirghiz Rebellion. In: Kotyukova T. V. (comp.) The 1916 Uprising in Turkestan: Documentary Evidence of One Common Tragedy. Collected documents and materials Moscow: Märcani, 2016. Pp. 409–411. (In Russ.)

16. Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

17. References

18. Ablazhey N. N. The Kazakh Migration Pendulum: Emigration — Repatriation — Integration between Kazakhstan and Xinjiang. Karaganda: Bolashak, 2014. 273 p. (In Russ.)

19. Ablazhei N. N., Nazemtseva Ye. N. Kyrgyz refugees and Russian emigrants in Western China: Ways of resolving the refugee question. Bulletin of L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. Historical Sciences. Philosophy. Religion Series. 2020. No. 4 (133). Pp.13–23. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.32523/2616-7255-2020-133-4-13-23

20. Alekseenko N. V., Alekseenko A. N. Demographic Crises in Twentieth-Century Kazakhstan. Ust-Kamenogorsk: Media-Alians, 2007. 96 p. (In Russ.)

21. Baizharasov R. Zhubanysh Baribayev. Alma-Ata: Kazakhstan, 1984. 60 p. (In Russ.)

22. Barmin V. A. Soviet Union and Xinjiang, 1918–1941: The Regional Factor in Soviet Foreign Policies. Barnaul: Barnaul State Pedagogical University, 1998. 214 p. (In Russ.)

23. Budyansky D. M. History of Kyrgyz Refugees, 1916–1927. Bishkek: DEMI, 2007. 196 p. (In Russ.)

24. Kotyukova T. V. (comp., ed.) The 1916 Uprisings in Asiatic Russia: The Unknown about the Known. Jubilee edition. Moscow: Russkiy Impuls, 2017. 528 p. (In Russ.)

25. Konyratbayev O. Turar Ryskulov: Public, Political and Government Service. Turkestan Period. Almaty: Kazakhstan, 1994. 488 p. (In Kaz.)

26. Lysenko Yu. A. The process of returning refugees–participants of the Turkestan uprising of 1916 from China by the organs of Soviet power in the 1920s of the 20th century. Nations and Religions of Eurasia. 2020. Vol. 25. No. 4. Pp. 112–123. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.14258/nreur(2020)4-08

27. Moiseev V. A. Russia and China in Central Asia, 1850s to 1917. Barnaul: Az Buka, 2003. 345 p. (In Russ.)

28. Grahl-Madsen A. The Land Beyond: Collected Essays on Refugee Law and Policy. Leiden: BRILL, 2021. 462 p. (In Eng.)

29. Imyarova Z. Balancing between majorities: The negotiable identity of Osh Dungans. Central Asian Survey. 2022. Vol. 41. No. 3. Pp. 402–418. (In Eng.)

30. Kokebayeva G., Zakarya R. Evacuation and repression: The Spaniards’ life in Kazakhstan. Historia Contemporánea. 2022. Vol. 70. Pp. 919–950. (In Eng.) DOI: 10.1387/hc.22359

31. Smagulova J., Imyarova Z. Mobile borders and chronotope of homeland. International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 2024. No. 288. Pp. 67–88. (In Eng.)

32. Yang R. Sinkiang under the administration of Governor Yang Tseng-Hsin, 1911–1928. Central Asiatic Journal. 1961. Vol. 6. No.4. Pp. 270–316. (In Eng.)