Astana remembers victims of political repressions
The event aims at evaluating the lessons of the political repressions in Kazakhstan on the basis of reliable sources, paying tribute to the victims of the totalitarian system and promoting unity among the ethnic groups living in Kazakhstan.
Deputies of the Kazakh Parliament, governmental officials, scientists and experts, representatives of the civil institutions, heads of ethno-cultural associations and students of the universities of Astana are attending the conference.
May 31st is a sorrowful day for the whole nation. Political repressions killed hundreds of thousands of people. Kazakh land lost almost its scientific and creative intelligentsia in those years. In 30s-50s Kazakhstan became the place of deportation of hundreds of innocent people. Our country became a common motherland for all nations undergone the severity of political repressions in the XX century.
"According to researchers, in 1921-1954 the total number of convicts in former Soviet Union was 3,777,000. 642,000 were sentenced to capital punishment. In Kazakhstan, over 100,000 people were sentenced for political reasons, 25,000 out of which were shot. About 1,750,000 people (42 per cent of the Kazakh population) became the victims of mass starvation. The same number of people had to leave their Motherland in 1931-1932. Today we are paying tribute to the victims of the political repressions who have become a symbol of courage and true patriotism", Deputy Chief of the Astana internal policy department Samat Tergembayev said welcoming the participants.