YERMUKHAN BEKMAKHANOV

YERMUKHAN BEKMAKHANOV (1915-1966) is a scientist-historian, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, member-correspondent of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. He contributed greatly to the study of political and socio-economic condition of Kazakhstan in XVIII-XIX centuries.

Y. Bekhmakhanov was born in Pavlodar oblast. He graduated from Voronezh Pedagogical Institute. In 1937-1940 he was a scientific expert, Director of the Pedagogical Scientific-Research Institute (Academy of Education today). In 1941-1946 he headed board of People?s Commissariat of Enlightenment. In 1945 he was Deputy Director of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography. In the years of war he wrote together with A. Pankratova ?The history of the Kazakh SSR? that was published in 1943. This book became the first fundamental scientific work on the national history. Alongside he worked over one more book ?Kazakhstan in 20s and 40s of XIX century?. In 1947 he submitted this work to the defense to the Scientific Council of the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Science. In 1947 the book was published. This work was devoted to the national-liberation movements in Kazakhstan in the beginning of the Russian colonization period. In this book Y. Bekmakhanov characterized Kazakhs? resistance to the colonial policy of the tsarist Russia as a struggle for independence. Kenessary Kassymov, the mastermind of these armed revolts, was shown as a national leader and hero in spite of official ideology. In September 1952 he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment for ignoring generally accepted methodology and ?ultra-nationalism?. Due to personal intrusion of A. Pankratova and beginning of a campaign on disclosure of Stalin?s regime, Y. Bekmakhanov was freed. After that he worked at the Kirov Kazakh University (Kazakh National Al-Farabi University today) in Almaty. Y. Bekmakhanov is the author of more than 100 scientific works, including 6 textbooks in history of the Kazakh SSR for secondary schools, readers in history of the Kazakh SSR.