31 May – Day of Remembrance of Political Repressions Victims in Kazakhstan
On this day, Kazakhstan remembers all those innocent people who became the victims of the Great Famine, mass repressions, persecutions and forced deportation.
In XX century, the territory of Kazakhstan turned into a big prison with opening of the largest corrective labour camps, such as ALZHIR (Akmola Camp for the Wives of Traitors to the Motherland), Steplag and Karlag. More than 5 mln people were sent to these camps over the years of repressions. According to some reports, the total number of prisoners far exceeds this data.
100,000 people were sentenced in Kazakhstan from 1921 through 1954, 25,000 of which were sentenced to capital punishment.
Thousands of Koreans, Turks, Iranians, Kurds and Azerbaijanis were deported to Kazakhstan in autumn 1937. Germans, Greeks, Chechens, Karachays, Balkars, Crimean Tatars and other nations were deported to our country during the Great Patriotic War. Their number is estimated at 1,200,000.
The mass political repressions which reached the peak in 1937 led to deaths of many prominent figures of science and culture, including in Kazakhstan. Our country lost its great sons as Akhmet Baiturssynov, Alikhan Bokeikhanov, Myrzhakyp Dulatov, Mukhamedzhan Tynyshpayev, Magzhan Zhumabayev, Saken Seifullin, Ilyas Zhansugurov, Beimbet Mailin, Sanzhar Asfendiyarov etc. Some of them were buried in mass graves.
One of such mass burial sites was found accidentally in Zhanalyk settlement near Almaty. Thousands of innocent victims of totalitarianism were buried there. Among them were famous poets and writers – Magzhan Zhumabayev, Saken Seifullin, Ilyas Zhansugurov, Beimbet Mailin, outstanding scholars – A.Baiturssynov, S.Asfendiyarov, state and public figures, farm owners and foremost workers. The repressions granted no quarter to anyone – Kazakhs, Poles, Russians, Germans, Koreans, Uighurs, Uzbeks and representatives of other ethnic groups were imprisoned or shot.
Recall that one of the first laws adopted by sovereign Kazakhstan was the Law ‘On rehabilitation of the victims of mass political repressions’ dated 14 April 1993.
