03.12.2020

REPORT
Secretary of State of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
Chairman of the State Commission for the Full Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression K.E. Kusherbayev
at a meeting of the State Commission for the Full Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression
Nur-Sultan
December 3, 2020

Dear friends!

Today we are attending a meeting of the State Commission, the importance of which is difficult to overestimate.
On the eve of the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression on May 30, 2020, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in his Address, stated the need to create a State Commission for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression, which would systematize the accumulated information about the repressions of the Soviet period, would search for new facts, make decisions on declassifying archival documents and digitizing them, so that everyone could learn the truth about the Great Terror, see their relatives and friends among those fairly rehabilitated. This is a very important task facing the entire Kazakhstani society.
The policy of restoring historical memory is gaining great importance these days. Without exaggeration, the success of this policy determines the dynamism of the processes of state formation, the stability of statehood, and, most importantly, historical justice in relation to people who were subjected to repression, their relatives, who experienced the stigma of "enemy of the people".
These tragic events should become the object of close attention of the members of the State Commission, an objective consideration of all the facts, and, first of all, a fair attitude to the fates of people.
Many generations of Soviet people who became victims of the tyranny of the totalitarian system were waiting for their full rehabilitation. The cornerstones of the ideology of Bolshevism were such principles as the destruction of private property, the glorification of class confrontation, utopian ideas of building a communist society, and so on. Terror was chosen as the main tool of the authorities. Millions of ordinary people became victims of this policy.
As you know, during the perestroika period, a second attempt was made to rehabilitate the victims of tyranny and lawlessness. The commission headed by academician, deputy of the parliament of the republic M.K. Kozybaev worked very productively. At the same time, due to a number of objective reasons, a huge mass of innocently convicted, shot and forced to leave their native places of Kazakhstan, were not rehabilitated either in legal or moral terms. One of the reasons for this situation is the lack of appropriate documents for rehabilitation. For example, not everyone even knows that the wives of the so-called "enemies of the people" were sent to camps by the decision of the regional and territorial NKVD or some hastily created "troikas". Without any court decisions, their children were sent to orphanages. The same thing happened to family members of kulaks, bais, middle peasants and aul-rural nobility. In the 1920-1930s, participants in the so-called "anti-Soviet" uprisings were subjected to repression. The list of those repressed included representatives of the clergy, kulaks, fighters for freedom and territorial integrity of Kazakhstan. The composition of the repressed was international.
There were no legal decisions of the courts on prisoners of war. Many of them and their families were not rehabilitated. Those who returned to their homeland, believing the promises of the authorities, were sent to camps. They were released in 1955, based on the decree of the Supreme Council, but their civil rights were not restored. For example, such was the fate of the talented musician Aitkesh Tolganbaev.

Or what documents could those who fled abroad, for example to China, from hunger and repression have? The tragedy of the sharua peasants who fled from hunger and confiscation of property to China, Iran or Afghanistan was massive and invisible to people.
And even those who were put in camps already in the Brezhnev period - religious figures, human rights activists, dissidents, were subjected to repression on trumped-up charges.
After declaring independence, in the most difficult period for the country, Kazakhstan, under the leadership of the First President - Elbasy N.A. Nazarbayev, initiated a number of measures aimed at rehabilitating the victims of the totalitarian regime. Thus, in 1990, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On measures to assist rehabilitated citizens who suffered from illegal repression in the 1940s and early 1950s" was issued. In 1993, the Law "On the rehabilitation of victims of mass political repression" was adopted. By Decree of the President of the Republic No. 3443 of April 5, 1997, May 31 was declared the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression. In 2012, amendments were made to the Decree - now May 31 is the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression and Famine. 340 thousand illegally repressed people were rehabilitated, over 15 "Books of Sorrow" were published with lists of over 140 thousand innocently suffered compatriots. In the context of rehabilitation actions, special budgetary organizations were created at the site of GULAG units (and there were about 26 of them on the territory of Kazakhstan) - museum and memorial complexes (MMC), specifically engaged in the study of the history of political repression, deportation and famine. MMC "ALZHIR", museums of political repression in Karaganda, Shymkent and others received worldwide fame.
However, all this was educational and propaganda work. Meanwhile, due to various reasons, the peculiarities and national specifics of the political repressions that took place in Kazakhstan were comprehensively and thoroughly studied. More systematic and profound approaches to the issues of full rehabilitation of victims of political repression are currently being implemented by the Republican Public Foundation "Kaharmandar".
The consequences of the unlawful decisions of the Soviet government have not yet been fully restored, they are reflected in the descendants of the repressed persons, when applying for a job or when processing documents, especially those who were forced to leave their homeland because of such oppression.
As a civilized and democratic country, we must not only remember those who became victims of arbitrariness, but also adopt a political Act condemning such terror so that such things could not be repeated in the future. We must rehabilitate all categories of victims of political repression. We need to create a map of "historical justice". The work itself involves not only searching, identifying and publishing basic documents on mass repressions, but also calculating the approximate number of those repressed, the mechanism for using illegal measures, and most importantly, to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future. We have a huge amount of work to do to implement this Decree of President K.K. Tokayev. Today we have gathered representatives of all government agencies who are called upon to help us in fulfilling the instructions of the Head of State. Also, in addition to the members of the commission themselves, historians, lawyers, leaders of public associations, representatives of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan have been invited to carry out such complex work. We also have to discuss the plan for the upcoming work today. At the first stage of the work, it is necessary to identify and collect all the decisions of the OGPU and NKVD, decrees, orders (hidden, closed, open) under which repressive acts were committed in 1917-1921, in 1921-1941, in 1941-1945, in 1945-1953 and in 1953-1991.
It is necessary to analyze the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism, the work of I.V. Stalin, other leaders of the Bolshevik Party, the Third "Stalinist" International, who substantiated the need for repression as a tool for building a "bright future - communism"
We also need to establish the features of repression by category and region. Citizens were subjected to repression as "enemies of the people" by decisions of extrajudicial bodies. Peasants and workers also became victims of repression. The so-called representatives of non-Bolshevik parties and movements, the propertied class were subjected to the most brutal forms of repression.
Youth and student movements, military personnel, political figures and representatives of the intelligentsia were subjected to repression. Citizens of Kazakhstan, forced to flee to China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan, were also subjected to repression. Prisoners of war were repressed, including those who were temporarily in the Turkestan Legion but did not fight against the Soviet troops. We need to calculate the direct and indirect demographic losses. Representatives of dissidence and other views in the USSR were persecuted during the period of Khrushchev and Brezhnev's rule.
Specialized working groups of the State Commission will be created to implement these and other projects.



Closing speech by K.E. Kusherbayev (at the end of the meeting)
As a result of the work carried out, we must publish our findings and proposals. Begin consistent publications of archival materials. It is planned to adopt a new Law "On the Full Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression", amend and supplement a number of existing laws, as well as Presidential Decrees, Government Resolutions and the State Program for Perpetuating the Memory of Innocent Victims of Repression.
In order to ensure the work of the commission, I give instructions:
- The Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Information and Social Development - to find funds within the framework of allocated target projects, grant financing of scientific research, a state assignment from one source and other opportunities for financial support for the proper implementation of the Presidential Decree on the full rehabilitation of victims of repression. Provide for business trips to the archives of Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Turkey and other countries where there are materials on the topic. Within a week, approve the list of specialists to work in the archives;
- The Ministry of Culture and Sports - to organize and, if necessary, resolve all issues related to the work of researchers in the archives. Provide for the creation of a permanent staff of employees for this work within the necessary limits. Also organize and assist in correspondence with archives and government agencies;
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs should create all conditions for work in the regional archives where there are materials on the topic.
The Department of Internal Policy should be responsible for monitoring implementation.