Alikhan Bokeikhanov
Encyclopedia
Alikhan Nurmukhameduli Bokeikhanov (March 5, 1866 — September 27, 1937) was a Kazakh
writer, political activist and environmental scientist. He is famous for advocating the idea that Kazakhs should learn Russian culture and simultaneously preserve Kazakh customs and law.
Bokeikhanov's early education took place in a Russian-Kazakh school and at Omsk Technical School (1890 graduate). He later studied at the Imperial Forestry Institute in Saint Petersburg
, where he graduated from the Faculty of Economics in 1894. During his youth, he is believed to have been influenced by socialists
.
Upon graduating, Bokeikhanov returned to Omsk
and spent the next fourteen years there working. He was a participant in the 1896 Shcherbina Expedition, which aimed to research and assess virtually every aspect of Russian-controlled Central Asia
from the environment
and resources to the culture and traditions of its inhabitants. This was the first of a few similar missions which Bokeikhanov accepted. Among his recorded contributions is "Ovtsevodstvo v stepnom krae" ("Sheep-Breeding in the Steppe Land"), which analyzed animal husbandry in Central Asia.
. He was elected to the First Duma as a member of that party in 1906, and signed the Vyborg Manifesto to protest the dissolution of the Duma by the tsar
. As a result of this action, he was arrested and prohibited from living in the Steppe Oblasts. During his exile, he relocated to Samara
.
Bokeikhanov became deeply involved with the Alash Orda
- a political movement which sought to create an authonomous Kazakhstan. After the October revolution
, he was elected in 1917 as president of the Alash Orda government of Alash Autonomy
. The same year he was a member of the Turkestan Committee and Commissar of the Provisional Government in Torghai Oblast.
In 1920, after the establishment of Soviet
hegemony, Bokeikhanov joined the Bolshevik
party and returned to scientific life. His earlier political activities caused the authorities to view him with suspicion, leading to arrests in 1926 and 1928. In 1930, the authorities banished him to Moscow
, where he was arrested a final time in 1937 and executed.
It was not until 1989 that the Soviet authorities rehabilitated him.
, a Kazakh language
newspaper and writing newspaper articles for newspapers including "Dala Walayatynyng Gazeti" (Omsk), "Orenburgskii Listok", "Semipalatinskii Listok", "Turkestanskie Vedomosti" (Tashkent
), "Stepnoi Pioner" (Omsk) and "Sary-Arqa" (Semipalatinsk
). He was also a contributor to Ay Qap
and "Sibirskie Voprosy".
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
writer, political activist and environmental scientist. He is famous for advocating the idea that Kazakhs should learn Russian culture and simultaneously preserve Kazakh customs and law.
Bokeikhanov's early education took place in a Russian-Kazakh school and at Omsk Technical School (1890 graduate). He later studied at the Imperial Forestry Institute in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, where he graduated from the Faculty of Economics in 1894. During his youth, he is believed to have been influenced by socialists
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
Upon graduating, Bokeikhanov returned to Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
and spent the next fourteen years there working. He was a participant in the 1896 Shcherbina Expedition, which aimed to research and assess virtually every aspect of Russian-controlled Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
from the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
and resources to the culture and traditions of its inhabitants. This was the first of a few similar missions which Bokeikhanov accepted. Among his recorded contributions is "Ovtsevodstvo v stepnom krae" ("Sheep-Breeding in the Steppe Land"), which analyzed animal husbandry in Central Asia.
Political life
In 1905, Bokeikhanov's political activism began when he joined the Constitutional Democratic partyConstitutional Democratic party
The Constitutional Democratic Party was a liberal political party in the Russian Empire. Party members were called Kadets, from the abbreviation K-D of the party name...
. He was elected to the First Duma as a member of that party in 1906, and signed the Vyborg Manifesto to protest the dissolution of the Duma by the tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
. As a result of this action, he was arrested and prohibited from living in the Steppe Oblasts. During his exile, he relocated to Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
.
Bokeikhanov became deeply involved with the Alash Orda
Alash Orda
Alash Orda was the name of the provisional Kazakh government between 13 December 1917 and 26 August 1920.The Alash Party proclaimed the autonomy of the Kazakh people in December 1917. Membership consists from 25 members and 15 member candidates...
- a political movement which sought to create an authonomous Kazakhstan. After the October revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, he was elected in 1917 as president of the Alash Orda government of Alash Autonomy
Alash Autonomy
Alash Autonomy was a state that existed between December 13, 1917 and August 26, 1920, located roughly on the territory of present day Republic of Kazakhstan. The capital city was Semey ....
. The same year he was a member of the Turkestan Committee and Commissar of the Provisional Government in Torghai Oblast.
In 1920, after the establishment of Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
hegemony, Bokeikhanov joined the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
party and returned to scientific life. His earlier political activities caused the authorities to view him with suspicion, leading to arrests in 1926 and 1928. In 1930, the authorities banished him to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he was arrested a final time in 1937 and executed.
It was not until 1989 that the Soviet authorities rehabilitated him.
Writings
Bokeikhanov's major political publication was "Kirgizy" ("The Kazakhs") (1910), which was released in the Constitutional Democratic party book on nationalities edited by A. I. Kosteliansky. Bokeikhanov's other activities of this period include assisting in the creation of QazaqQazaq (Journal)
Qazaq was a Kazakh language journal started by Akhmet Baytursinuli , Alikhan Bokeikhanov and Mirjaqip Dulatuli..Qazaq was published from 1913 until March, 1918,, when it was shut down by the Soviet government. Influenced by other Jadid journals, Qazaq was considered to be a medium promoting the...
, a Kazakh language
Kazakh language
Kazakh is a Turkic language which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak....
newspaper and writing newspaper articles for newspapers including "Dala Walayatynyng Gazeti" (Omsk), "Orenburgskii Listok", "Semipalatinskii Listok", "Turkestanskie Vedomosti" (Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
), "Stepnoi Pioner" (Omsk) and "Sary-Arqa" (Semipalatinsk
Semey
Semey , formerly known as Semipalatinsk and Alash-kala , is a city in Kazakhstan, in the northeastern province of East Kazakhstan, near the border with Siberia, around north of Almaty, and southeast of the Russian city of Omsk, along the Irtysh River.-History:The first settlement was in 1718,...
). He was also a contributor to Ay Qap
Ay Qap
Ay Qap was a Kazakh journal of opinion and debate published in Troitsk from January 1911 until September 1915 under the editorship of Muxametžan Seralin...
and "Sibirskie Voprosy".