The participation of Kazakhs in the Siberian regional congresses in 1917

Research Article

Abstract

This article examines an important period in the history of interaction between Siberian regionalists and the leaders of the Alash movement – the participation of Kazakh delegates in the First Siberian Regional Congress (6-17 October 1917) and in the Extraordinary All-Siberian Regional Congress (7-15 December 1917). Particular attention is paid to the development of contacts between representatives of the Kazakh national intelligentsia and the Siberian regionalist movement, which had emerged as early as the pre-revolutionary period on the basis of academic,
socio-political and cultural cooperation. The study is based on materials from the State Archive of the Tomsk Region (GATO), published collections of archival documents, periodicals, and the works of Kazakhstani and foreign researchers. The study employs general scientific, historical-comparative, and historical-dynamic methods, as well as methods for the analysis and systematization of archival materials. The study analyses the main areas of interaction between the parties: the need for mutual political recognition, the coordination of the powers of government bodies, issues concerning the territorial and political status of Alash, military cooperation, and the joint struggle against Bolshevik forces. A shared political vision regarding the need for a federal structure in Russia, territorial self-government, and the expansion of autonomous rights laid the groundwork for cooperation. The significant importance lay in the personal contacts between Alash leaders and prominent representatives of the Siberian regionalist movement. By introducing new archival sources into academic discourse, the author clarifies the demographic composition, biographical details, socio-professional profile, and political orientations of the Kazakh representatives. At the October Congress, 10 Kazakh delegates represented a broad spectrum of socio-political organisations. Despite differences in party affiliations (ranging from the Cadets and Socialist Revolutionaries to supporters of the ‘Alash’ Party), the delegates demonstrated a unified stance on key regional issues. The Kazakh delegates actively participated in the work of the Presidium and in the sections dealing with the drafting of the constitution and the formation of governing bodies (the Siberian Regional Council and Committee). In their speeches, A. Bukeikhanov and R. Marsekov put forward the idea of a federal structure for the Russian Republic, the consolidation of the Kazakh regions into a single economic sub-region, and temporary membership of the Siberian Autonomy, whilst strictly observing the right of small nations to national self-determination. At the December Congress, the number of Kazakhs present was reduced to four delegates due to the parallel holding of the Second All-Kazakh Congress in Orenburg; this, however, did not prevent the maintenance of organisational links and the election of A. Yermekov to the executive bodies of Siberia. At the same time, fundamental contradictions emerged between the parties, primarily regarding the nature of autonomy. The Siberian government refused to recognise Alash as a national-territorial state, restricting its autonomous rights to an ethno-cultural framework. Despite the union remaining unfulfilled, the participation of Kazakh delegates at the congresses in Tomsk was a significant episode in the history of the Kazakh and Siberian autonomy movements.