Turar Ryskululy Ryskulov ( kk, Тұрар Рысқұлұлы Рысқұлов, ''Tūrar Rysqūlūly Rysqūlov''; Russian: Турар Рыскулович Рыскулов; 26 December 1894 – 10 February 1938) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

politician, the chairman of the Central Electoral Committee of the

Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (initially, the Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic; 30 April 191827 October 1924) was an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic located in Soviet Central A ...

. Ryskulov was born on 26 December 1894 in East-Talgar volost of Semirechensk Province (now

Talgar District Talğar District ( kk, Талғар ауданы, ) is a district of Almaty Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Talǵar. It consists of an alluvial apron formed by the Talgar River, extending northward ...

of Almaty Region), in the family of a nomadic herder. He took part in the

Central Asian revolt of 1916 The Central Asian revolt of 1916, also known as the Semirechye Revolt and as Urkun ( ky, Үркүн, lit=Exodus, translit=Ürkün, , ) in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, was an anti-Russian uprising by the indigenous inhabitants of Russian Turke ...

and then in the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

. After the Red Army had taken

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

in 1920, he was appointed Chairman of the Central Executive Committee (ie 'President') of the Turkestan soviet republic, which then included all of Russian-ruled Central Asia. Ryskulov proposed that Turkmenistan should be an independent republic ruled by a Turkic Communist Party, separate from the All-Russian Communist Party. This proposal was overruled by

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, who summon Ryskulov to Moscow in May 1920 and persuaded him to abandon the idea. In 1921-22, Ryskulov was appointed Deputy People's Commissar for Nationalities, under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, who was People's Commissar. In June 1923, Stalin accused him of 'pan-Turkism' and of having been a supporter of

Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev ( tt-Cyrl, Мирсәет Хәйдәргали улы Солтангалиев, ''Mirsäyet Xäydärğäli ulı Soltanğäliev'', pronounced ; russian: Мирсаид Хайдаргалиевич Султан-Галиев ''M ...

, the leader of the Tatar communists, who was under arrest. Ryskulov retorted by pointing out that Stalin had himself praised Sultan-Galiev as a devoted communist, before the political situation changed. In 1922, he returned to Tashkent and was Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Turkestan republic until 1924, when the region was divided into four republics –

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. In 1924, Ryskulov was transferred to the staff of

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

and was posted in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

as chief soviet adviser to the Mongolian People's Party, in which capacity he assisted in the creation of

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...

. In 1926-37, he was deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian republic.

Arrest and death

Ryskulov was arrested during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

, on 21 May 1937. He was tried and sentenced to death on 8 February 1938, and was executed two days later.

Legacy

Ryskulov was 'rehabilitated' on 8 December 1956, meaning that the criminal case against him was invalidated, though soviet sources continued to accuse him of 'political errors'. Today he is considered a national hero and honored with a large statue at the entrance of Kazakhstan Economic University in Almaty, which was renamed the Turar Ryskulov University. The

Turar Ryskulov District Turar Ryskulov ( kk, Тұрар Рысқұлов ауданы, ) is a district of Jambyl Region in south-eastern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is auyl of Kulan. History By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Sovie ...

and the city of Imeni Turara Ryskulova in Kazakhstan are named after him, and there are streets named after him in all of Kazazhstan's major cities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryskulov, Turar 1894 births 1938 deaths People from Almaty Region Soviet politicians Kazakhstani politicians Great Purge victims from Kazakhstan Pan-Turkists