Famine in Janaqorgan
A Reader's Letter to Birlik Tuy Newspaper
From open access
As the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, a great wave of awakening surged through Kazakh intellectuals, sparking a passionate quest for knowledge. This outpouring of intellectual zeal led to an explosion of new magazines and newspapers being published in Kazakh, heralding the dawn of a new era in sharing culture. However, what these intellectuals wrote went beyond only spreading knowledge. Soon, a variety of publications emerged, covering topics like business, society, politics, art, and humor. Qalam invites you to explore snippets from Kazakh publishing culture and history, offering a glimpse into the important issues of the past.
31 May is the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression and Famine in Kazakhstan. In the twentieth century alone, Kazakh lands suffered from three major waves of famine, the first of which occurred between 1916 and 1918 in the Turkestan Krai. Until 1918, the Birlik Tuy newspaper continued to publish readers' horrific accounts of the famine. The following is from a reader from the village of Janaqorgan (Birlik Tuy, No. 28, 1918):
«A committee to aid the starving Kazakhs was formed in Janaqorgan. Every day, more and more people arrive here. After not eating for days and suffering from the cold on their journey, two or three people die daily. The number of those wandering around without food and clothing is immense. Along with the famine, the constant dry wind exhausts the remaining cattle. Thus, people are loitering in the vicinity, suffering from both the famine and the jut.i
The massive loss of cattle due to fodder shortage Some of them are already dead, and some have moved to Afghanistan. There are those who rob people trying to buy a couple of poodsiA unit of mass equivalent to approximately 16.4 kilograms or 36 pounds of grain with their last money, leaving them penniless as well as starving. As if these sufferings and shortages were not enough, the Soviets send people to the villages to forcibly confiscate a tenth of any property. Some horsemen among our own people have joined the Soviet representatives and have become their accomplices in these hateful deeds».
—Saparbekov, Birlik Tuy, no. 28, 1918
Birlik Tuy, No. 28, 1918
Birlik TuyiKazakh for ‘The Banner of Unity’ was a joint Kazakh–Kyrgyz newspaper published in Tashkent between 1917 and 1918. The first few issues were edited by Mustafa Shokay.1
1Mustafa bek Shokay (1890–1941)Mustafa bek Shokay was a Kazakh social and political activist and ideologue of the Turkestan Autonomy. From 1921, he lived in exile in France.
