Alash Orda intelligentsia started its activities with cultural enlightenment, accelerated in its development to a political organization with clear national government priorities.
Currently, one of the most complex and urgent problems, studied national historical science, is the question of generalization of the historical past, the ideological-political and socio-cultural activities of the Kazakh intelligentsia, its place and role in the socio-political life of the country at a crucial time. In this sense, the beginning of the twentieth century occupies in the history of Kazakhstan a special place as being the national margin of tsarist Russia, Kazakhstan entered the sphere of direct imperial interests, which were embodied in a wide-ranging measures to reform it when the logic of adopted reforms affecting the reliability of the historical fact of revealing main directions of colonial expansionist ambitions of the Russian Empire with respect to the Asian direction of its new state policy was a logical precursor to the emergence on the political scene in Kazakhstan of the first quarter of the twentieth century advanced Alash Orda intelligentsia, which began its activity with "cultural enlightenment and the opposition of liberalism" and promptly refused by the latter, "accelerated in its development to the political organization with clear national-democratic state priorities". [1]
In order to develop the rich in their natural and economic resources Steppe Territory the tsarist government, as is known, developed a special program for its research, which included the following activities: organization of scientific expeditions, opening of RGS scientific branches and statistical committees, the creation of print media, the first local history, medical and all kinds of other societies. To achieve its goals, as the demand of the colonial aspirations of tsarism it was necessary to use to the greatest benefit the entire pool of intellectual forces, so, in all educational activities were most involved and political exiles.
Active participation in the ongoing activities took Kazakh intelligentsia, beginning with Chokan Valikhanov, Abay Kunanbayev and Ibray Altynsarin - the first "cohort of the Kazakh educators" who in their public and scientific work relied on the educational ideas of progressive Russian public opinion, progressive Russian culture forever becoming the ideal and the guiding star for all subsequent generations of the national intelligentsia, including Alash Orda.
We recall that Ch.Valikhanov was a member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGS), Abay participated in the activity of Semipalatinsk Regional Statistical Committee, opened thanks to the efforts of the political exile E.P. Michaelis in 1883, Altynsarin was a corresponding member of Orenburg branch of the Geographical Society.
And, if we talk about Alikhan Bukeikhanov – a theoretician and leader of the national liberation movement of Alash, organizer of the first political party "Alash", he started his activities with the participation of the West Siberian local history society, spending hard work to collect, organize and publish materials on the history of the region. In the work of the society at the time was involved Ch.Valikhanov - a close friend of the famous explorer of Asia G. M. Potanin who "always showed interest in aliens, knew their way of life, customs and strongly contributed to the preservation of their unique culture", in the period of revolutionary "storms and anxieties" would head national movement of Siberian regionalists originated in the 60s of XIX century - Siberian regionalism, also aimed at separation of Siberia, the creation of its autonomy. Defending the interests of national border regions, political opinions, he would support Alash Orda, "publicly advocating for the provision autonomy for the Kazakhs" [2].
All scientific and educational activities of Alash Orda intellectuals in the early twentieth century, as already mentioned, was completely in tune with the ideas and thoughts of their great predecessors. In terms of total colonization of the region in the historical context of the late XIX century, when immigration policy was carried in its full speed, suppressed the smallest manifestations of discontent, the first centers of the national liberation movement and went on strengthening the colonial administration of the province, strengthening of all vertical of power, still nascent Alash Orda intelligentsia together with progressively minded representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, sincerely sympathized with the democratic values of Kazakh people, took an active part in the work of scientific societies, making a contribution to the development of culture and education in the Steppe. They were engaged in science, creative writing, and were active in social and political life, rightfully participating in government and political structures of the Russian Empire, which definitely needed at that time the gifted and highly educated ethnic intellectuals and their knowledge and erudition.
So, Alikhan Bukeikhanov who was invited in 1896 to work in the expedition headed by N. A. Scherbina, for example, prepared a "Note" to the staid 13-volume scientific edition of "Materials on the Kyrgyz land use...", describing in detail the banal-aul groups, generic schemes, the exact boundaries of natural and historical areas, making tables and charts on migrations, and the index for the 6th volume of this edition. Similar work did A. Bukeikhanov to the "Materials..." in Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk regions and Omsk county of Akmola region [3] (Galiev).
A little earlier in the section "Distribution of the population of the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) on the territory of the region, its ethnographic composition, life and culture", written to another 18-volume collection under the title "Russia. Full geographic description of our region", A. Bukeikhanov, giving the general characteristics of our people culture, highly appreciated Abay as "representative of the new trend" in the Kazakh poetry, introducing the Russian reader with his work, underlined his ideological kinship with the poet, "as the generation of the Kazakh intellectuals of the early twentieth century, who worked for the state self-determination of Kazakh people, strived for a wide exploration of the cultural heritage of the past as an incentive to the awakening and development of the national consciousness of the common people" [4].
Powerful means of awakening national consciousness would be printing. Since the second half of the XIX century for the first time would begin to go out such educational publications in the Kazakh language as "Turkestan ualayatynyn gazeti", "Dala ualayatynyn gazeti" and then promptly set up by A. Baytursynov national socio-political newspaper "Kazakh", which would be the mouthpiece of A. Bukeikhanov political program. On its pages would find coverage socio-political and legal ideas of Alash movement leaders, their thoughts about the fate of the Kazakh nation, its statehood, the right of the nation to self-government and national equality, freedom and independence, the idea of democracy, inter-ethnic harmony and tolerance - the idea that found a worthy incarnation in today's independent Kazakhstan. That is, the entire system of views of Alash Orda intellectuals of the past, present and future of Kazakhstan would find its way to the hearts of compatriots through publications in the press. Many scientific papers would be published by them on issues of language and literature, history, pedagogy, mathematics, economics and law.
Signed combination of Alikhan Bukeikhanov as scientist intellectual and a prominent public figure allowed him to understand and anticipate many of the laws and contradictions of the era. Despite the "polyphonic chaos of social relations" of nationwide property, the complete absence of any kind landmarks in the choice of means of political struggle, already formed and strengthened in the maelstrom of events of social and political character of the Kazakh political intellectuals of Alash Orda, representing the color of the nation, led by inspirer and leader of Alash movement A. Bukeikhanov made an invaluable contribution to the solution of the most complex and politically sensitive unequivocally at the time the issues related to the fate of the native people, preparing a bill on the type of nation-state formation of the Kazakhs, its place in the Eurasian geopolitical space, the joint Russian Empire and after its collapse the presentation of Alash Orda "on the powers and status evolved with the development of the political situation and under its direct influence, while maintaining the idea of the modern national but not a mono-ethnic state" [5].
Autonomy would be proclaimed on the second All-Kazakh Kurultai in December 1917 on the initiative of Bukeikhanov as only "after the overthrow of the autocracy in the Asian part of Russia, as well as across the country, began the creation of different kinds of national associations (committees) and the national party groups" [2].
Thus, Alash Orda intellectuals as their spiritual predecessors - "ancestors" were able to not only predict the most appropriate in the circumstances historical way of development - autonomism, but the only true and historically justified to orient their people to its religious origins, distinctive culture, preservation of traditions and ancestral customs.
A sense of deep patriotism and love for the country, almost innate sense of history, characteristic of all Alash Orda intellectuals and their ideological leader and inspirer Alikhan Bukeikhanov who could think for many people, and at the same time think historically big and far in the future, his sincere desire to understand and predict all the laws of culture change could not, of course, protect him and his companions from the mistakes which were understandable and justified in the historical context at critical time that were associated with their clandestine activities in the fight against the advancing Soviet regime, coupled with the anti-Soviet emigration, the Trotskyist opposition and the rights. However, exposing these mistakes, we must not forget about the necessity of a civilized approach to the understanding of the evidence that it was one of the most extreme forms of resistance during the off-road, where the civil war unleashed by the Bolsheviks, they focusing on the Siberian regionalism, were not only "the other side of the fence" along with Siberian governors almost to the end of 1919, but also "turned out hand to hand with strengthened their positions new authorities" and had to "go to the only acceptable, although extremely difficult decision - to enter into an agreement with the ideological and political opponents in exchange for the promise of preserving the declared national autonomy" [4].
In contrast to the movement of the Siberian regionalists, and who failed in the historical conditions to create a single common Siberian organization, political movement Alash, among the leaders and active members of which were outstanding representatives of science and culture, drawing on the ideas of their "spiritual" ancestors, the great predecessors, managed to create the first in the history of Kazakhstan political party "Alash", the government Alash Orda and achieve national and state self - autonomy, prolonged views of Siberian autonomists (regionalists) in the historical context of the early twentieth century.
By G.T. Musabalina
ENU named after L.N. Gumilyov
References:
1. History of Kazakhstan (from ancient times to the present day). Five volumes. Volume 3. - Almaty "Atamura", 2000. - p. 665-666
2. Lamin V.A., Shilovsky M.V. "Siberian autonomists (regionalists) and figures of "Alash-Orda" // Proceedings of the international scientific-practical conference "The influence of the ideas of the movement "Alash" in Eurasia: Past and present". - P. 27
3. Galiev V. Public activities of political exiles in the North-Eastern Kazakhstan (1890-1904). - Almaty, 2004. - 216 p.
4. Kasimzhanov A.H. Portraits: Sketches for a History of the Steppe. - Almaty, 1995. - p. 128
5. Amanzholova D.A. Alash as an ethno-political phenomenon: the experience of the historical and historiographical reflection // Proceedings of the international scientific-practical conference "The influence of the ideas of the movement "Alash" in Eurasia: Past and present". - p.13
Translated by Raushan MAKHMETZHANOVA
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