Russia’s Kunstkamera to Return Skull of Keiki Batyr to Kazakhstan

“Indeed, we have the skull of Keiki Batyr. We never kept it a secret; everybody is well aware of it. This scull is being stored with funds and was never exhibited before. If a decree (from Russia’s president) is issued, there will not be any reason for not returning it,” said museum deputy director Yefim Rezvan.

The exhibit can be passed to Kazakhstan under federal law, he added. Kunstkamera does not have the skull of Kenessary Kassymov, another Kazakh national hero, as its location is still unknown.

“All funds were shown to the deputy minister of the Kazakh Ministry of Culture. Colleagues from Kazakhstan also personally looked at the documents, where new arrivals to the museum are recorded. They were convinced that we never had the skull of Kenessary,” said Rezvan, according to the news agency.

Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov raised the issue earlier of returning the remains of Kenessary Khan and Keiki Batyr to Kazakhstan for burial. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev promised to deal with the issue and provide the necessary instructions to resolve it, said the report.

Keiki Batyr was murdered in April 1923 and his skull later transferred to Russia.

 The Astana Times