From May 31 to June 1, 2019, the international symposium “The 1916 Uprising in Central Asia: academic integration, new approaches and knowledge”  took place in Karakol.

 

Panel 2. Regional specifics of the uprising

 

Dmitriy Plotnikov.  Urkun as a battlefield and historical memory.

 

Abstract: The one-hundred-year-old tragedy that has passed through the territory of Central Asia and Kazakhstan and received the name Exodus (Urkun) is an important landmark in the historical memory of the peoples of Central Asia. The past century has marked different approaches to understanding the causes of the 1916 uprising. Soviet historiography attempted to show that class identity pushed the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan to revolt against “imperialist oppression.” In the post-Soviet period, each country found its own assessment of this tragedy.

At the present time, diametrically opposed assessments and conclusions relating to the events of 1916 are heard not only in scientific but also in political circles. Evaluations, opinions and positions of politicians, public figures and journalists are sometimes more emotional. Some perceive Urkun as a deliberate genocide emanating from the imperial center, others focus on the anti-imperialist nature of the uprising, others argue that this tragedy is used for political conjuncture and propaganda purposes, and still others focus their attention on silencing the tragic pages of history by official restrictions, and controlling political contexts. Russia has been sharply criticized for its silence about the events of 1916.

Discussions go far beyond the academic environment, where pouring out in the media gives rise not only to a feeling of compassion, but also hate. The description of the tragedy takes place in opposite tones, where the “victim” and “aggressor” change places depending on the context and the unspoken message. One-sided interpretations of the tragic events of Urkun are capable of introducing an imbalance in interethnic relations in Central Asia. Under these conditions, comprehensive studies are needed of the events of 1916 without political engagement and the search for “eternal enemies.”

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