Protest sentiments and survival strategies of the kazakh population in the 1929-1930s: behavioral motives and forms of resistance

Research article

Abstract

This article examines the forms of social and political reaction of the Kazakh population to the policy of the Soviet government in the 1929-1930s. During this period, mass collectivization, dispossession of kulaks, forced settlement of nomads and strict tax policy were carried out, which led to significant changes in the traditional way of life of the Kazakhs. As aresult of increasing State pressure, many families were forced to leave their native lands and move to neighboring regions or abroad, mainly to China, Mongolia and CentralAsia. These mass migrations became the most vivid expression of passive, yet desperate, resistance. The concept of "otkochevka," traditionally used in Soviet terminology to denote seasonal movements of the nomadic population, was, in the period under study, employed to replace the notions of "flight" or "forced migration." This semantic substitution helped conceal the true scale of violence and the humanitarian catastrophe that accompanied the forced modernization and destruction of the traditional Kazakh way of life. The article analyzes the main reasons for the counterstand of the population, including the economic ruin of the population, mass starvation, and forced confiscation of property and violation of the rights of traditional society. The aim of the article is to research the behavioral motives of refugees are also considered, including the desire to protect the life and socio-cultural identity in conditions of strict state control. The state authorities interpreted the mass exodus of the population not just as a natural phenomenon, but as the result of inciting by the kulaks, the bais and counterrevolutionary elements. This served as the basis for strengthening punitive measures against the migrants. Based on archival data and historiographical analysis, the scale of migrations as a form of passive resistance, their socio-demographic consequences and impact on the further development of Kazakh society are investigated. The authors emphasize that mass migrations were a forced phenomenon caused not by class struggle, as claimed by Soviet propaganda, but by the desire of the population to survive in conditions of state terror. The disruption of the traditional way of life and state pressure in the form of forced sedentarization, collectivization, dekulakization, and grain procurement policies pushed the population to the brink of hunger and despair, forcing many to seek refuge beyond the borders of the Кepublic. The results obtained allow for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of society's adaptation to crisis situations and a revision of traditional approaches to the study of the socio-political history of Kazakhstan in the first half of the 20th century. Keywords: collectivization; repression; Semipalatinsk district; USPA (United State Political Administration); exaction; migration; behavioral motives; adaptation