The Role of Soviet Citizens Arriving from the PRC in the Development of Kazakhstan’s Virgin Lands in the 1950s

Research аrticle

Abstract

Drawing on archival documents, the authors examine the process of repatriation of Soviet citizens from the People’s Republic of China to the virgin lands of Kazakhstan during the 1950s. The article explores issues related to the employment and housing conditions of the repatriates, as well as the measures undertaken by district authorities to implement the Resolution of the Secretariat of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan concerning the settlement of citizens arriving from the PRC. Some repatriates who arrived for permanent residence were provided with housing by local authorities and actively participated in agricultural and construction activities. At the same time, the authors emphasize that serious shortcomings existed in the material and living conditions of Soviet citizens arriving from the PRC. To address these and other problems, the Agricultural Department of the CPSU Central Committee for the Union Republics dispatched responsible party and state officials to the Kazakh SSR. Together with regional and district authorities, they visited the areas where repatriates had been settled and prepared reports and memoranda describing the actual material and living conditions of the newcomers. The recommendations proposed by the inspection bodies to resolve the problems faced by repatriates were extensive and often difficult to implement in practice. The authors conclude that issues related to the housing and employment of repatriates from the PRC were not fully resolved due to a combination of objective and subjective factors.