Kazakhstan marks Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repressions
On May 31, Kazakhstan annually observes the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repressions, Kazinform News Agency reports.
It has been marked since 1997. According to the official statistics, over 100,000 people in Kazakhstan were convicted between 1921 and 1954. Over 20,000 were sentenced to death.
The political repressions led to the mass death of Kazakh elite, intellectuals in the 1920-1930s. At the close of 1928, almost all active members of the Alash Party and prominent public figures were arrested as non-Soviet nationalists. Among them were Akhmet Baiturssynov, Myrzhakyp Dulatov, Mukhamedzhan Tynyshbayev, Magzhan Zhumabayev, Saken Seifullin, Ilyas Zhansugurov, Beimbet Mailin, Sanzhar Asfendiyarov, Sultanbek Khodzhanov, Turar Ryskulov, Smagul Sadvakassov, Abdrakhman Baidildin and others.
During WWII many Kazakhstanis were called on and sent to the rear to support war efforts. At the same time, the Soviet authorities continued repressions against “enemies from within” regarding them as a potential threat to national security.
By various estimates, some 3 million Kazakhstanis died of famine in the 1930s.
