Alikhan Nurmukhameduly Bukeikhan (5^th March 1866 – 27^th September 1937) – was an outstanding public and state figure, the founder and first leader of the modern Kazakh state. The creator of the idea “Alash”, and the political leader of the Kazakh National Movement “Alash” in the early 20^th century, the founder and leader of the first Kazakh political party “Alash” in 1917, the founder of the modern Kazakh state in the form of the National-Territorial Autonomous Republic of Alash, in 1917-1920, the chairman of its Provisional All-Kazakh National Council (Government) of Alash Orda.

     An outstanding scholar-encyclopaedist, scholar-forester (agronomist), lawyer, historian, economist, ethnographer, literary scholar, the best specialist in land relations, agriculture and cattle breeding of the Russian Empire and the USSR, journalist, publicist, translator.

     The 38^th session of the General Conference of UNESCO which took place in November 2015 in Paris, has officially recognized A. N. Bukeikhan as an “outstanding figure of true world significance” and passed a resolution, in accordance with which events, dedicated to the 150^th anniversary of his birth, must be arranged with the participation and under the aegis of UNESCO.

Biography.

Alikhan was born on 5^th March 1866 [1] in the village No. 7 of the Tokraun place of the Karkaralinsk district of the Semipalatinsk region, (currently the town of Taldybeit, Aktogai district of the Karaganda region), in the period when the Kazakh people were under the cruel colonial rule and were experiencing the process of decomposition of nomadic traditional tribal-communal relations, forms of land ownership and use, when the old values of nomads have become hopelessly outdated and lost, but no new ones have yet developed. Meanwhile the policy of the colonial power seeped deeper and wider into the Kazakh steppes, as a result of which the former structures of the khanate institution of ruling were liquidated, the distinctive culture of the Kazakhs and their very existence as an independent, self-sufficient ethnic group on own lands came under a real threat of extinction. In this moment the young Alikhan forms a critical view of not only the policies of the colonial authorities, but the way of life and economy of his people, and most importantly, of the past, which led the Kazakhs into colonial slavery without struggle. In his first articles published in 1889 in the paper “Osoboye pribvaleniye k “Akmolinskim oblastnym vedomostiam”” (“Special Appendix to the “Akmolinsk Regional Bulletin”), he mercilessly criticized all vices of the Kazakh society and their bearers, such as ignorant mullahs, volost administrators and elders, corrupt poets and educated Kazakhs who served the whims of the rich and their inhumane oppression of their own people. For example, in the “Pismo v redaktsiyu” (“Letter to the Editor’s Office”) he invented a collective image of the Kazakh volost landowners – Zulymbay Karymbayev (Cruel Pot-Belly) – and the unfortunate poor people – Musafir Beysharin (Unfortunate Wretch). He considered the volost-level leaders, clerks and interpreters who know Russian grammar “scoundrels” and the “scum of society.” [2] And Alikhan had real prototypes for these images both in the never-ending steppe and in his native Karkaralinsk uyezd, Tokraun volost etc.

     In another article, he remorselessly criticized Kazakhs in general for their backwards way of life, carefree mentality and primitive ways of farming: “Kazakhs are carefree sons of the steppes, lovers of a free-wheeling existence. They have never been pressed for time. They donot think about a working life and have been happy to settle for what they got from cattle-raising, …no Kazakh has yet thought about artificially improving his cattle; from time immemorial, what a Kazakh inherited from his father has been passed on to his son.” [3]

     The 23-year-old Alikhan portrays the lack of modern culture, moral and ethics in his own society with great regret. He considered Kazakh society to be ruined by a cult of profiteering at the expense of the illiterate masses, inter-clan fighting for volost-level power, cattle theft and the merciless oppression by the rich and powerful of the poorer and weaker. In those years, according to Alikhan, the Kazakh people were oppressed on three sides simultaneously – by landowners, foreign ignorant mullahs and the colonial authorities.

     Yet at the same time Alikhan was not of the view that, “…all the Kazakh could do was lie down on his side and idle about. He is healthy and capable of labor! Just shake him up and he can do anything,” the young Alikhan exhorted. He firmly believed that the Kazakhs were a talented people who only needed modern education: “The Kazakh steppe… will surely make progress on the path to civilization in the not too distant future, as will the people, gifted by nature with brains and ability.” [4]

     Alikhan himself, after graduating from the Omsk Technical School in 1890 entered the St. Petersburg Forest Institute and in 1894 obtained a diploma of a scholar – forester of the II. category. Moreover in 1893 he passed exams as an external student at the Faculty of Law at the St. Petersburg Imperial University. [5]

      Alikhan Bukeikhan was not only the idea founder, the main protagonist and political leader of the Kazakh National Liberation Movement “Alash” of the early 20^th century, but the head – chairman of the Provisional All-Kazakh-Kyrgyz National Council (Government) of Alash Orda of the Autonomous Republic of Alash. He managed the Alash Republic and its Government Alash Orda between December of 1917 and August of 1920. Based on the draft of the constitution of the future Kazakh Republic, written by a prominent representative of the “Alash” movement, Barlybek Syrttanuly in the summer of 1911, the head of the Republic is the president elected by the National Majilis for a term of 4 years, who formed the Government and put forward for approval or approval of the National Majilis and headed it himself (Government). [6] Consequently, the chairman of Alash Orda de jure and de facto was the president of the Autonomous Republic of Alash.

     Yes, Bukeikhan was the father of the new, united and indivisible Kazakh people. Historians cautiously tried to give such an assessment of the role and activities of the leader of the Alash movement in the modern history of the Kazakhs even back in the 1920s.

     Today, when the Kazakhs have finally obtained the long-awaited independence, for which Alikhan Bukeikhan and his faithful comrades in the movement, party and Alash Autonomy sacrificed themselves, it is possible and necessary to make a more objective assessment of the service that Bukeikhan rendered for his people and give him due credit. Credit that could not be given in due time, because of the circumstances in the USSR. It was Alikhan who united the Kazakh nation and became its forefather. He achieved self-identification of the Kazakhs, their spiritual unity with their unified language, literature, culture and religion, by rallying the many millions of Kazakhs around the idea and motto of the “Alash” movement. This is confirmed by both historical facts as well as the logic of past events.

    First of all, it is important to note that Alikhan loved his people unconditionally, like a father loves his son. As he wrote in his first scholarly article “Istoricheskiye sud’by Kazakhskogo (originally “Kirgizkago”) kraia i kulturnye yego uspehi,” (“The Historical Fates of the Kyrgyz Land and its Cultural Achievements”) in the first quarter of the 17^th century on the territory of modern Kazakhstan there existed not a unified Kazakh state, but “three political alliances, known as theSenior, the Middle and the Junior Juzes” [7, v. III, p. 30]. Already in the first quarter of the 18^th century, these alliances broke apart entirely. These three parts of a once powerful Kazakh khanate entered colonial dependence on the Russian Empire separately, starting from 1730s until the third quarter of the 19^th century. The Junior Juz headed by Khan Abulkhair submitted to Russian supremacy fully, whilst the Middle and Senior Juzes entered colonial slavery clan by clan. That is why the process of colonization of those two parts of the Khanate stretched over 1.5 centuries. This is a good indication of the fact that Kazakhs were not unified even within each separate Juz. To claim that Kazakhs have been united here would be false.

     Not even Kenesary Kasymuly managed to unite the Kazakhs by a mass armed uprising in the middle of the 19^th century (1837-1847). The reasons of his defeat will be studied and a series of important conclusions will be made in the early 20^th century by a new Kazakh leader – Alikhan Bukeikhan. “The grandson of Ablai Khan, KenesaryKasymov, who outshone even the glory of his extremely popular grandfather in the national folklore, gathered together several thousand horsemen from the ranks of the discontented and, having declared himself the restorer of the once great Kyrgyz nation, tried to rally the whole Kyrgyz nation under his banner. Yet a very large part of the nomadic population remained indifferent to Kenesary’s appeals,”Bukeikhan concluded in his essay. [7, v. III, p. 32].

     Still, 70 years later, in the early 20^th century, the Kazakh “Alash” elite led by Bukeikhan, peacefully managed to unite the Kazakhs into a single nation, by creating the modern Kazakh culture, literature and language as well promoting idea of national revival “Alash.” It was at this historical moment that, without exception, all representatives of the Kazakh juzes and clans recognized themselves as descendants of though a mythical, but a single ancestor named Alash. Later, in a series of western research this result of the work of the “Alash” movement will be named a “cultural revolution,” “cultural renaissance.” [8]

     In truth, the leaders of the “Alash” movement succeeded in instilling new values and ideals in their people, new goals and objectives fitting the new challenges of the new century and awaken in them a national self-consciousness. The ideal of the new elite of the steppes was a selfless service to the people. As a result, the people declared their right to national self-determination in December of 1917, thereby restoring national statehood and establishing a secure foundation for complete national independence.

     Alikhan was the first-born in the family of descendant Genghis Khan Nurmukhammed and Begim-khanum, who have raised six children. He was born different. For example, according to the memoirs of his younger brother Smakhan-Tore, Alikhan was born already with a belly button and circumcised, when circumcision is required to be carried out within seven years after birth according to the Sharia.

     Smakhan-Tore also states that Alikhan did not learn to speak until he was six years old. He was a stubborn, physically fit, pugnacious and willful boy. He was proud, brave, painfully independent and with a heightened sense of justice and honor. He could not stand baksy (shamans), fortune-tellers or clairvoyants, calling them liars to their faces. [9, p. 103-104]

     His sense of justice and concern for the poor and weak developed at a young age. During each nomadic migration, he would help his poor neighbors, especially women with children and widows, to load their worldly belongings onto camels or bullock-carts and then unload them again, he would help old ladies put up their yurts, he would dig a well at the new settlement. During the summer and winter holidays, he would graze the village cattle and herd them to water, thus giving the shepherds and herdsmen a chance to rest. [9, p. 104]

     The following are a few examples that more deeply testify to Alikhan’s nature, views and attitude to his own people in adulthood.

     This episode is from the secret report of “acting cavalry captain Rutland of the Omsk gendarme” dated December 23, 1905, when Bukeikhan was already leading an uncompromising battle against the lawlessness and oppression of the “satraps” of the colonial powers in the Steppe Region – governor generals and uyezd governors, protecting the interests and the right to own lands and the freedom of the indigenous people of the steppes. “Thecivil servant Bukeikhanov of the Migration Authority is and will definitely be the chief leader exerting huge influence over the whole Kazakh steppe. Kazakhs (originally Kyrgyz) have summoned him even into Karkaraly, to which Bukeikhan replied that he could do better for the Kazakhs in Omsk than if he moved to Karkaraly.”

     At the very beginning of 1907, a campaign was launched in the Steppe Region for the election of members of the Second State Duma from the Kazakhs. Elected as a deputy member of the First State Duma unanimously (175 votes out of 176), the “Alash” leader voluntarily refused to run for the Second Duma. He explained the reasons in his open letter published on January 13, 1907 in the “Golos Stepi” paper (“The Voice of the Steppe”). “The fact is,” he wrote in this letter, “that re-election, which undoubtedly will happen, will result in the government annulling the elections and thus preventing the representativesof the Kazakhs from the Semipalatinsk region from appearing in time for the State Duma session.” [7, v. VI, p. 90]

    Moreover, in May of 1908, Bukeikhan having returned from St. Petersburg to Semey, voluntarily submitted to the government to serve a 3-month sentence at the Semipalatinsk Prison according to the verdict of the special presence of the St. Petersburg district court for “signing and distribution of the appeal of the former deputies of the dispersed First Duma named “Narodu – ot narodnykh predstavitelei” (To the People – from the People’s Representatives).” However, he served 8 months instead of 3. After his release in December of 1908, in order to avoid expulsion from his native Steppe Territory, Bukeikhan voluntarily emigrated first to St. Petersburg, then to Samara, where, together with his family including two minor children (daughter Kanipa-Elizaveta, born 1903, son – Oktay-Sergey, born 1904), he lived until the February revolution of 1917. [10, p. 4]

     During his first arrest and stay at the Pavlodar Prison, in January of 1906, his friends visited him and suggested that he escape, announcing that, “…everything is in place.” However, much to his friends’ amazement, Alikhan refused point-blank, saying that if he escaped, innocent people would suffer as a hit squad would definitely be sent out into the steppe. “Therefore,” he went on, “it’ll be better for me to stay in prison alone rather than have people suffer.” [7, v. 9, p. 144]

     Another episode relates to 1916, when Russia was suffering heavy losses in the third year of the First World War. The Russian Tsar Nicholass II passed a decree on mobilization of the “native population” of the colonial suburbs, including Kazakhs between 19 and 35 years of age. Following this decree, an uprising broke out in the Turkestan and the Steppe regions, inhabited mainly by Kazakhs. The fiercest resistance to the tsar’s decree was found in the Turgay and Transcaspian regions (now Mangistau, Atyrau and West Kazakhstan regions), inhabited by proud and willful Kazakhs from the Adai clan.

     It is important to emphasize, that in 1916-1918, when hundreds of thousands of young Kazakhs carried the labor duty of the First World War, when as a result of the February Revolution the opportunity arose to unite the ranks of the national intelligentsia, urgently convene All-Kazakh conventions and establish an autonomous state, it was during this time that the qualities of a national leader, the role and place as a true chieftain of the Kazakhs were clearly manifested in Bukeikhan.

     In 1916, the national elite led by Bukeikhan immediately set out for the problematic regions with the aim to explain the situation to the people. The Alash leader chose to visit the hotspot himself – theTrans-Caspian oblast. The chiefs of the Adai clan greeted Alikhan admiringly with banners and announcing, “Our Khan has arrived!” In reply, Alikhan requested they put an end to rebellion. [9, p. 112] His arguments were convincing. Firstly, a virtually unarmed uprising against modern regular troops of a warrior empire which had heavy casualties in the First World War was not only counterproductive, but destructive to the people themselves. Secondly, the Kazakhs were being conscripted for auxiliary works, not the war. Thirdly, the youth will see a completely different world, another way of living and farming, modern weapons and conditions of war. This experience may come useful to the Kazakhs in the future, the leader explained to his fellow clan members. He convinced them to obey the decree of the Russian Tsar and let the dzhigits (horsemen) aged between 19 and 35 go to the front, promising to join them.

      As always, he fulfilled his promise, setting out to follow them to the Western Front in the late 1916, to ensure the living conditions and protection of rights of his young fellow clan members as well as all other “minorities” – Kyrgyz, Kalmyks, Buryats, Uzbeks and others, he opened and led the “Department of Minorities” of ZEMGOR until the end of March of 1917, taking the responsibility for providing for the auxiliary workers. Prior to this, Bukeikhan called some of his Alash associates for help, such as S. Zhantorin (Dzhantyurin), S. Kadyrbayuly, M. Shokay, as well as students attending universities in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev and others.

     Having arrived on the line of the Western, North-Western and Northern fronts, Bukeikhan and his associates traveled around all engineering troops and squads, where the young Kazakhs were serving. Having familiarized himself with the living and serving conditions, he gave them a series of lectures. Even a short summary of his lectures involuntarily reminds one of a lesson given by a loving and caring father to his son:

     “This is a European warwith no analogies in the history of humanity. Previously, only troops of the warring parties fought in the war. Now, there arose a need for the help of even civilians. Do not be lazy, do not avoid hard work and do not cower. Show yourself as real dzhigits.

     Right now, you eat horse meat, but it will soon run out, as will the white bread. That is why you must learn to eat boiled or salted fish and dried meat, black bread, porridge made of buckwheat and millet, as well as cabbage, which will keep you from getting scurvy.

     Do not gather together in one place, otherwise you will all die from one bomb. When retreating, act strictly according to orders, otherwise death is inevitable.

     Do not play cards, you will be severely punished. Do not get into conflict with soldiers: in this the law has no mercy. If you have been the subject of attack, contact your leader of an officer of ZEMGOR.

     You are young. My advice to you: do not under any circumstances approach women of easy virtue. There is only one way to avoid such temptation: work until your last strength.

     If you give into temptation, know this: if you have contracted the known infection (syphilis), you will first suffer yourself, and when you return to the steppes where there are few doctors, you will spread this disease to all your loved ones. Think about this. You are the blossoms and the hope of our people!

     Remember! Do not even think to solve a problem here as you are used to, with a bribe. This is Europe, far from the steppes. Being in Europe, do not bring shame to your Kazakh people!” [11]

     After the return of the Kazakh youth from the war, the editorial office of the “Qazaq” paper, from all over the steppes and Russian cities, where Kazakh students were studying, was swamped with letters with the suggestion to award Alikhan, the Son of the Steppes, the title The Son of Alash, the highest at the time, with no analogies before, nor after in the national history, and to establish a scholarship in the name of Alikhan.

     From the moment of arrival in Omsk after completing his studies in St. Petersburg, in 1895, Alikhan Bukeikhan became a famous scholar, the most prominent specialist and expert on national economy of the Steppe Region – Kazakhstan, as well as an economist, historian, agriculture and animal husbandry of the Kazakhs, including the breeding of the Kazakh cattle, the Kazakh sheep and horse [12]. Prior to and after the 1917 revolution, from 1894 until 1926, he participated in the work of four scientific expeditions sent to Kazakhstan. He wrote hundreds of scholarly articles on the history of the Kazakhs, ethnography, literature and folklore. After the revolution, he collected and published the best examples of oral folk art, such as “Qozy Koerpesh – Bayan sulu,” “Yer Targhyn,” “Yer Sain” [13]. Despite all this, he spent the most time, effort and resources on the political struggle. According to the memoirs of Alkey Margulan, during 1925-1927 the Alash leader was a professor of the Leningrad State University [14, p. 17]. A striking example of Alikhan working on both scholarship and political struggle is the series of his works on the resettlement colonization of the Kazakh lands and its harsh consequences for the native people in the present and the future. A part of the series research on the resettlement colonization was written by Bukeikhan… in the Semipalatinsk Prison, where he spent eight months. The titles of his works speak for themselves, such as “Otchuzhdenie kirgizskih oroshayemyh pashen” (“Dispossession of Irrigated Kazakh Croplands”), “Russkiye poseleniya v glubine Stepnogo kraia” (“Russian Settlements in the Depths of the Steppe Region”), “Pereselencheskiye nadely v Akmolinskoy oblasti” (“Settler Plots in the Akmolinsk Oblast”). The author published them in the very heart of the colonial metropolis – in St. Petersburg, in the journal “Sibirskiye voprosy” (“Sibean Affairs”) in 1908-1910. [15]

     As a socio-political and state figure, Bukeikhan displayed remarkable foresight, flexibility and pragmatism. He was a realist. In contrast to many politicians and leaders of the party of the Russian Empire of that period, bright, but populist slogans and declarations were absolutely alien to him.

     He studied his native history in detail, both the historical objective and subjective reasons for the loss of unity and power of the once mighty Kazakh Khanate and its subsequent colonization. The defeat of many small local and mass uprisings against the colonial policy of Russia, including the one led by Kenesary Khan, forced Bukeikhan to choose an unarmed and non-violent, modern political mode of struggle for the freedom from the colonial yoke and the restoration of national statehood. Bukeikhan clearly envisioned that the achievement of the goal through the chosen path is only possible through the alliance with all progressive forces of the Empire itself and through a radical transformation of colonial Russia from an autocracy to a federative parliamentary republic. He led his comrades toward the established goal confidently and persistently, and thereby approached February of 1917 with a solid foundation. He did not doubt that they will achieve their strategic goal of restoration of national statehood by modernizing the national culture and applying modern political tactics. This is evidenced by a number of facts. Firstly, 7 years prior to the establishment of the Alash Autonomy, in 1910, in his essay “The Kazakhs” (originally “The Kyrgyz”) Bukeikhan clearly marked the territory of the future national autonomy, listing 9 oblasts, one guberniya and a number of volosts of the Altai, such as Biy, Zmeinogorsk and Barnaulsk, populated by Kazakhs from time immemorial, and where their population dominated over the settler peasants, which was a key factor at the time. “Starting from the 13^th century, from the time of Genghis Khan, Kyrgyz (Kazakhs) and Karakyrgyz (the modern Kyrgyz were named thus until 1925) lived in Central Asia, occupying the spacious plains, bordered on the north by the River Dzhayk (Ural and Yayk), on the west by the Amu-Darya (Oks), on the east by the Irtys (Irtysh) and on the south by mountain ranges. In addition they also inhabit the Astrakhan guberniya... In all 10 oblasts put together, the Kyrgyz, Karakyrgyz and Kypchaks make up 51% of the population…” [7, v. III, p. 279]. For the sake of preserving the most fertile of the ancestral lands, Bukeikhan was ready to let all settlers stay in the future autonomy. He wrote the following in another article under the pseudonym Qyr Balasy: “We have many moujik [Russian peasant settlers] neighbors in the Uralsk, Akmolinsk and Semipalatinsk oblasts; Moujiks and Kazakhs have intermarried in these oblasts. If we decide to abandon those Kazakhs, separate and live apart, those Kazakhs will remain amongst Russians; if we try to resettle them, those Kazakhs will hardly want to leave the lands of their forefathers and it would be stupid if they did so.The most fertile Kazakh land is to be found where Kazakhs live alongside moujiks. If Kazakhs do declare autonomy, we hope our Russians will stay here with us. By force of circumstances our autonomy will be territorial, not brotherly. It would appear that the Russians here support that.” [7, v. 10, p. 189]. In December of 1917 following the establishment of the Alash Autonomy, these 9 oblasts, 1 guberniya and a series of adjacent volosts of Altay were declared its legal territory. [7, v. 10, p. 198].

In June of 1911 the draft of the constitution of the future autonomous republic was written, under the title “The Charter of the Kazakh State.” This document was the result of joint work of Alikhan Bukeikhan and Barlybek Syrttanuly, who met in the course of the struggle in 1910-1911 in St. Petersburg, as Bukeikhan recalled in the obituary “Barlybekti umytpasqa” (literary “The memories of Balybek”) concerning his early death in 1914 [7, v. IX, p. 86].

     Third fact: May 11, 1917, 7 months prior to the establishment of the Alash Autonomy, the town of Zarechnaya Slobodka, which lay near the city of Semipalatinsk, mostly inhabited by Kazakh merchants, students and intelligentsia, was renamed the city of Alash [16, l. 1].

     When the February Revolution broke out, Bukeikhan was at the Western front near Minsk. He was together with Mirzhakyp Dulatuly, Myrzagazy Yesboluly (Ispulov), Seydazim Qadyrbayuly and others, as well members of the new generation Nazir Torekululy (Tyuryakulov), Aspandiyar Kenzheuly (Adfandiyar Kenzhin), Aubakir Aldiyaruly and many others. In Minsk, on March 15 Alikhan sent a telegram to his comrades in all corners of the Steppe and Turkestan regions, starting from Qyzylzhar (Petropavlovsk), Omsk, Semipalatinsk, Tashkent, Uralsk, Akmola and Perovsk (Aqmeshit, currently Qyzylorda), Skobelev (currently Fergana) and Kokand, in which he informed his people about the overthrow of the tsar and the onset of long-awaited freedom:

     “For everyone in Russia, the day of brotherhood, equality and freedom has come! To support the new government, the Kazakhs need to organize. For the success of the new government, the unity of all peoples is important.

     The Kazakhs need to unite for the elections of the Constitutional Assembly. It is necessary to nominate worthy citizens for elections. From now on, it is necessary to leave behind all disagreement, contention, inter-party feuds. All you need to strive for is unity and justice!

     It is necessary to once again raise the issue of land and seriously tackle this paramount issue! The political system [in Russia] that meets our interests is the “FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.” Only this system will allow us to regain our lands and preserve our traditional way of life.

     DO NOT FEAR ANYONE BUT GOD! Act in accordance with the law, support the Provisional Government, help our brothers working at the front! Monitor the mood of the people!

Alikhan, Myrzhakyp, Sultanbek, Nazir, Tamimdar and others.

The Western Front, Minsk, March 15, 1917.” [7, v. IX, p. 450-451].

     After arriving in Petrograd, Alikhan and his comrades called out to the citizens of Alash through the “Qazaq.” “Dear citizens of Alash! The dawn of freedom has come! Thanks to God, our dream came true. Just yesterday we were slaves, today we achieved equality. The hated government which subjected all peoples to humiliation and slavery over the course of centuries fell into its own ditch and sunk into oblivion. Dear citizens of Alash! Who achieved this freedom, to who do we owe this equality? Let us think on this! It was the leaders of the Russian people, with pure intentions and blazing hearts, who achieved this equality, as well as the Russian workers and soldiers. They achieved freedom with their selfless struggle, with their own blood. How can we repay them for this feat?

     We must also unite and support the new government in all its projects. In the nearest future the electoral campaign to the Constitutional Assembly will be laughed, into which we must go as a whole, to have the opportunity to fight for our place in the sun!” [7, v. IX, p. 457-458].

     On March 20, Alikhan telegraphed the “Qazaq” to inform the people that he “was appointed as Commissar of the All-Russian Provisional Government in the Turgay region.” However, as professor D. Amanzholova wrote in her essay “Vlast kultury i kultura vlasti. Uroki ot A. Bukeikhana” (“The Power of Culture and the Culture of Power. Lessons of A. Bukeikhan”), “Power was never Bukeikhan’s final goal, he scaled the ranks of power along the way, but he fully used them as an opportunity and means of realization of his strategic plan. Often, he preferred to remain in the shadows yet in control of the situation while giving others a chance to realize themselves and discover their essence.” [17, p. 8-9].

The February Revolution of 1917, according to Bukeikhan’s convictions, provided a great historical chance to the 6.5 million strong Kazakh nation to rebuild their national state from the ruins of the Kazakh Khanate in a new format. “The degree to which the Kazakhs (originally Kyrgyz) understood the February Revolution,” A. Baytursynuly wrote in the article “Revolyutsiya i kazakhi” (“The Revolution and the Kazakhs”) published in 1919 in the Bolshevik paper “Zhizn natsionalnostei” (“The Life of the Nationalities”) – “to the same degree did they not understand the October (Socialist) Revolution. As strong as their joy was at the first revolution, so strong was their horror of the second. Such attitude of the Kazakhs toward the first and the second revolutions is quite natural and understandable to all, who are familiar with the Kazakh people. The first revolution was correctly understood and happily received by the Kazakhs because, firstly, it freed them from the oppression and violence of the tsarist government, and secondly, it enforced their hope to fulfill their most cherished dream – to govern themselves independently”[18, p. 3].

Merits

     The great historical role of Alikhan Bukeikhan, which had a lasting significance for the Independent Kazakh State, is the creation of the Alash Autonomy on the territory of modern Kazakhstan. It is essential to note, that the National Territorial Autonomy of Alash was established by the Second All-Kazakh-Kyrgyz Convention, convened at the initiative of Bukeikhan, on December 5-13 of 1917 in Orenburg. This Convention during its session on December 12, expressing the will and expectations of the many million strong Kazakh nation, established the Autonomous Republic of Alash, as well as formed its supreme state executional branch of power – the Provisional All-Kazakh-Kyrgyz National Council of Alash Orda. Out of three candidates (A. Bukeikhan, B. Kulmanuly, A. Turlybayuly) Bukeikhan became the chairman of Alash Orda with an overwhelming majority of votes.

     December 25 (December 12 according to the old calendar) of 1917 is a turning point, the beginning of the recent history of the Kazakh people and their state. The establishment of the Alash Autonomy, likewise of modern Kazakhstan, took place not centuries, but rather exactly 70 years after the final collapse and exit from the political area of the Kazakh Khanate in 1847.

     Archival data confirms that the transformation of the Alash Autonomy into the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) ASSR was preceded by extended negotiations with intervals (March-April 1918, December 1919 – August 1920) between the representatives of Alash Orda and the management of the Soviet regime regarding the settlement of the borders and the status of the future Kazakh National Autonomy and RSFSR. As professor D. Amanzholova noted in her monograph “Na izlome. Alash v etnopoliticheskoy istorii Kazakhstana” (“At the breaking point. Alash in the ethno-political history of Kazakhstan”), “the AlashOrda members mobilized all organizational and intellectual resources to achieve the approval of the center (Kremlin) to establish a republic within the borders that they have insisted on from the time of organized design of autonomy in 1917” [19, p. 360].

     This episode, which took place on the eve of the signing of the Decree on the establishment of the Kyrgyz-Kazakh ASSR, was told by the former member of the Alash Orda Government, A. Yermekuly (Yermekov), who at the meetings of SNK RSFSR led by V. I. Lenin presented his report on the territory of the future autonomy:

     “V. I. Lenin at the end of the first meeting which proceeded under his chairmanship, advised us to discuss the matter of establishment of Autonomy with Stalin at once, who possessed the ready-made draft of the corresponding decree, to familiarize ourselves with it and discuss all the details.

     All the members of the meeting without exception went out into the corridor for a break. The Kazakh delegation consisted of roughly 15 people. They waited for AlikhanBukeikhan. He lingered, having a one-on-one conversation with Lenin. Approximately 15-20 minutes later he came out as well. He was told that we were waiting for him before going to talk to Stalin.

     Alikhan, after giving us all a cold look, said through clenched teeth “What can Stalin solve? He has no serious thoughts, no profound knowledge, consequently, what intelligent draft has he to offer?! It would be better if we solve the matter ourselves.” and headed straight for the exit. All the others, astonished by what they heard followed him out of the Kremlin” [5, p. 12].

     Several days later, by the Decree of August 26, 1920 Alash was transformed into the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) ASSR with the rights of an autonomous state within RSFSR. Alash’s transformation into the Kazakh ASSR took place with the direct and active participation of the former members of Alash Orda, A. Baytursynuly, A. Yermekuly and others under the informal leadership of A. N. Bukeikhan. On August 26, 2020 it will be 100 years since the transformation of the Alash Autonomy into the Kazakh ASSR. On December 1936, the Kazakh ASSR was transformed into the Kazakh Soyuz Republic (KazSSR) which on December 16, 1991 declared its completely sovereignty and independence. This is another evidence of the irrefutable historical fact, that it was the Alash Autonomy which laid the foundation and base for the modern Kazakh state. The founder and its leader was and will remain Alikhan Nurmukhameduly Bukeikhan.

     Moreover, A. N. Bukeikhan, as a scholar and encyclopedist laid the foundation for the systematic and mass scholarly research of the Kazakh state, its history, culture, national economy, lands, nature, climate and natural recourses. His pen both before and after the revolution wrote tens of fundamental works, hundreds of essays, thousands of articles on Kazakh history, culture, literature, economics, agriculture and cattle breeding. In 2018 the first most complete collection of A. N. Bukeikhan’s essays in 15 volumes was published in Kazakh and Russian languages with the total volume of 700 printed sheets, or 11 thousand pages. [8] A series of his fundamental works, for example on Kazakh sheep breeding, cattle breeding and horse breeding, as well as his essays on Kazakh agriculture and many other topics have to this day retained their scholarly value.

     In December of 1922 until September of 1937, Bukeikhan, lived in Moscow against his will. Between December of 1922 and October 1927, he worked as an editor of the Kazakh section of TsIN SSSR. It was namely during these years, under his unofficial, informal leadership that the unshakeable foundation, the base of the modern Kazakh national culture, secondary and higher education, the foundation of science and art.

     Memory

     The name of A. N. Bukeikhan in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Almaty, Zhezkazgan, Aktogay and a number of other settlements is borne by several streets and schools, (school-lyceum No. 76 in Nur-Sultan, school No. 1 in Taraz and the village of Aktogay). In 2016 in the Tavrichesky Palace in St. Petersburg, in 2017 in Semey and in 2019 in Karkaraly monuments have been erected in his honor for the first time. Several documentary films have been filmed about his life and work as well as a feature film-series “Tar zaman.”

     In 2016-2018 in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, monographs were published in Kazakh, English, Ukrainian and Russian languages in two volumes, with the titles: “Әлихан Бөкейхан. Қазақ жерінің жоқшысы,” “Alikhan Bukeikhan. The Unifier of Kazakh Lands” (S. Akkuly, A. Akkuly), “Аліхан Букейхан. Син Великого степу” and “Алихан Букейхан. Собиратель казахских земель.”

     Several monographs, tens of researches, essays, thousands of articles as well as scholarly collection on the Alash movement and the work of A. N. Bukeikhan as the leader of “Alash” (M. Koygeldiyev, D. Amanzholova, T. Zhurtbay, S. Akkuly, D. Qamzabekuly, Ye. Tileshov, O. Sultanov, B. Abdygaliuly and others), have been published as well. In 2016, in the year of celebration of the 150^th anniversary of his birth, for the first time, the most complete collection of works “Alikhan Bukeikhan. Shygarmalary – Sochineniya” was published in 15 volumes. At this moment a 16-volume collection of his works is being compiled.

References:

1. Special State Archive of FFS of RF, file R-34862, investigation case No. 12-066.
2. A. N. Mulla v K-skom uyezde / “Osoboye pribavleniye k “Akmolinskim oblastnym vedomostiam”” (OP k “Akmolinskim oblastnym vedomostiam,”” No. 19, Mar 12, 1889, Omsk.
3. A. N. O zemledelii v Tokrauskoy, Kotan-Bulakskoy i Zapadno-Balkhashskoy volostiah Karkaralinskogo uyezda. / OP k “Akmolinskim oblastnym vedomostiam,”” 10/20/1889, No. 42. Omsk.
4. Syn stepey. Pismo v redaktsiyu. / OP k “Akmolinskim oblastnym vedomostiam,”” 07/16/1889, No. 24. Omsk.
5. Makenbayev Q., Saduakasov Q. Alty Alashtyng adraghy – Aelimkhan Yermerkov. / 1992. Zhezkazgan. p. 44.
6. Barlybek Syrttanuly (1866-1914). Oemiri, shygharmashylyghy / Qurast.: Ye. Toqtarbay. Nur-Sultan: “Alashorda” Qoghamdyq qory, 2019. p. 248.
7. Boekeikhan Ae. Shygharmalary – Sochineniya. Astana: “Alashorda” Qoghamdyq qory, 2018. 15 volumes.
8. Kazakh on Russians before 1917. A. Bukeykhanov, M. Dulatov, A. Baytursun, T. Ryskulov // Society for Central Asian Studies. Reprint series. No. 5.- Oxford, 1985.
9. Boekeikhan S.N. Aelekengning oemiri. / “Zhuldyz” journal, No. 3, 1996. Almaty. pp. 102-123.
10. Baytursunov А., Dulatov М. Nash otvet dokladnoy zapiske, napechatannyy v No. 125 “Zarya” ot 5 sen. s.g. Orenburg: “Yuzhnyy ural,” No. 10, 09/14/1917, No. 10. pp. 3-4.
11. Aelikhan. Doklad (Kynbatys Maydanyndaghy qazaq zhumysshylary zhayinan. Orenburg: “Qazaq,” No. 220, 221, 1917. Minsk.
12. Bukeikhanov А. Н. Ovtsevodstvo v Stepnom kraie. /Shvetsov, S. P. (editor). Materialy po ekonomicheskomu obsledovaniyu rayonov Sibirskoy zheleznoy dorogi, volume I, ext. No. І, Zhivotnovodstvo. Tomsk, 1904.; Bukeikhanov A. N. Skotovodstvo (Krupnyy rogatyy skot). / Materialy po ekonomicheskomu obsledovaniyu rayonov Sibirskoy zheleznoy dorogi, volume I, ext. No. ІІ, Zhivotnovodstvo. Tovarishchestvo “Pechatnya S. P. Yakovleva,” 1905. Tomsk.
13. Radlov V. N. Qozy Koerpesh – Bayan sulu. (Oendep baspagha aezirlegen Qyr balasy)./ SSSR khalyqtarynyng Kindik baspasy [TsIN SSSR], 1924. Maeskeu; Radlov V. V. Yer Targhyn (Oendep baspagha aezirlegen Qyr balasy)./ SSSR khalyqtarynyng Kindik baspasy [TsIN SSSR], 1923. Maeskeu;  Qyr balasy, Baytursynuly Akhmet. Yer Sayin./ SSSR khalyqtarynyng Kindik baspasy [TsIN SSSR], 1923. Maeskeu.
14. Oeteniyazuly S. Armanda oetken Aelkey ata. Almaty: “Qazaq tarikhy” journal, No. 2, pp. 16-17. 1994.
15. Bukeikhanov A. Pereselentsy v tarskikh urmanakh. / “Sibirskiye voprosy” No. 12, 1908. SPB.pp. 7–12; V. Doloy s dorogi: idet ovtsevod! / “Sib. voprosy” No. 13, 1908. SPb. pp. 4–7; V. Otchuzhdeniye  kirgizskih oroshayemyh pashen. / “Sib. voprosy” No. 16, 1908. SPb. pp. 14–20; V. Pereselencheskiye nadely v Akmolinskoy oblasti / “Sib. voprosy” No. 27–28, 1908 . SPb. pp. 4–21; V. Russkiye poseleniya v glubine Stepnogo kraia. / “Sib. voprosy” No. 33–38, 1908. SPb. pp. 29–45, 9-26.
16. Central State Archive of RK. F. 1416, L. 1, D. 11а, S. 1.
17. Amanzholova D. Vlast kultury i kultura vlasti. Uroki ot A. Bukeikhana. / Sbornik materialov v mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii, posviashchenoy 145-letiyu A. N. Bukeikhana I 20-letiyu Nezavisimosti RK, sostoyavsheysia 13.09.2011 v Astane. Astana: LTD “Berkut-Print,” 2011. pp. 7-13.
18. Baytursunov A. Revolyutsiya i kirgizy. Moskva: “Zhizn natsionalnostei,” 08/03/1919, No. 29. p. 3.
19. Amanzholova D. Na izlome. Alash v etnopoliticheskoy itstorii Kazakhstana. Almaty: Publishing house “Times,” 2009. p. 412.

 Posted by Sultan Khan Akkuly (Jusip), Ph.D.