Memet İsmail Qubayev (russian: Меме́т Исмаи́л Куба́ев, translit=Memet Ismail Kubayev; 1885 – after 1937) was a Soviet Crimean Tatar politician who served as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from 1928 to 1931. During Qubayev's tenure, thousands of Crimean Tatars lost their land and were deported to the Urals as part of collectivisation and

dekulakization Dekulakization (russian: раскулачивание, ''raskulachivanie''; uk, розкуркулення, ''rozkurkulennia'') was the Soviet campaign of political repressions, including arrests, deportations, or executions of millions of kulak ...

campaigns.

Biography

Memet İsmail Qubayev was born in 1885 in the village of Körbekül (now known as ), in the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire. By trade, Qubayev was a shoemaker, and he was illiterate. He first began to align with communism in 1918, as part of a general shift by Crimean Tatars from

Milliy Firqa Milliy Firqa ( crh, Milliy Fırqa, ملی فرقا - ''National Party'', Cyrillic: ''Милли фирка'') was a Muslim political group in Crimea, which transferred en masse to the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. Noman Çelebiciha ...

to the

Russian Communist Party Communist Party of Russia might refer to: * Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, founded in 1898 – the forerunner of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) * Communist Party of the Soviet Union, formally established in 1912 and known origina ...

. During the Russian Civil War, he was a member of a partisan detachment. He was also involved in spreading propaganda opposing the White movement in

South Russia South Russia may refer: * Southern Russia * South Russia (1919–1920), a territory that existed during the Russian Civil War ** South Russian Government ** Government of South Russia See also

* South Russian Ovcharka, a breed of sheepdog * Sou ...

, for which he was imprisoned. After Crimean Tatar communist leader Veli İbraimov was removed from his position as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Crimean ASSR, Qubayev was selected as his replacement, becoming chairman on 28 January 1928. During İbraimov's subsequent murder trial, Qubayev served as a public prosecutor alongside fellow Crimean Tatar communists

İlyas Tarhan İlyas Ümer oğlu Tarhan (russian: Илья́с Уме́рович Тарха́н, translit=Ilyas Umerovich Tarkhan; 1900 – 17 April 1938) was a Soviet Crimean Tatar journalist, playwright, and politician who served as Chairman of the Centr ...

, , and Abdulkadyr Gralov. During Qubayev's rule,

was actively carried out, leading to the dispossession and deportation of thousands of kulaks. According to a 1938 report by , chief of the NKVD in the Crimean ASSR, 16,000 people were stripped of their property and set to be evicted on 26 March 1930. 4,325 families from the Crimean ASSR were sent into exile between 1930 and 1931, with 2,772 being sent to the Ural Mountains and 1,553 to the Northern Krai. By 1 May 1931, had been collectivised, primarily from Crimean Tatars. Qubayev protested these measures at a local party conference in Dzhankoi Raion, accusing the Soviet government of practicing Great Russian chauvinism in a matter that was destructive to Crimea's peoples, primarily the Crimean Tatars. In response to these statements, Qubayev was forcefully removed from the party and his position as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee. On 3 February 1937, Qubayev was arrested by the Soviet authorities and charged with involvement in a counter-revolutionary action and anti-Soviet agitation. On 29 June 1937, he was found guilty and sentenced to ten years of hard labour. On 12 June 1968, nearly 30 years after originally being charged, Qubayev was rehabilitated by the Soviet government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qubayev, Memet 1885 births Year of death unknown Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Crimean Tatar politicians Great Purge victims from Ukraine People from Yaltinsky Uyezd