Kalmyk Special Settlers in the Aral Region of Kazakhstan in the Documents and Memoirs of Eyewitnesses

Introduction. The article is devoted to the history of the Kalmyks who were in exile (1943–1957) on the territory of the Aral region in Kazakhstan. The purpose of the study is to highlight individual materials from documents about Kalmyk special settlers and to introduce into scientific circulation the information about oral stories of deported Kalmyks who were exiled to the Aral region of Kyzylordinskaya oblast of the Kazakh SSR. Results. The deportation of a part of the Kalmyk people to the Aral region of Kyzylordinskaya oblast of the Kazakh SSR was initially not planned. However, the decision to evict the Kalmyks to this region was made immediately after the adoption of the documents on the deportation of the Kalmyk people, and on January 2, 1944, the district committee of the CPSU (b) and the district council were already considering the resettlement of Kalmyks sent to the Aral region. The destination of the SK-406 train was the Aral Sea railway station. The deportation of part of the Kalmyks, residents of the sea-side Lagan ulus, to the Aral region was due to the aim of the authorities to use the deportees in the fishing industry, which suffered significant damage during the period of hostilities in the European part of the territory of the USSR and thus which faced huge tasks to ensure the front and rear. The deported to the Aral region Kalmyks experienced the same restrictions in rights and deprivation as those Kalmyks who found themselves in the regions of Siberia. At the same time, the relatively compact settlement of the large group and the milder climate, compared to the Siberian one, were favorable factors. The Kalmyks left a mark in the memory of the local population of the Aral region of Kazakhstan. The chief doctors of the hospitals E. N. Lidzhiev, previously the People's Commissar of Health of the Kalmyk ASSR, and V. B. Mukharaev, who also became famous for his participation in the film “Daughter of the Steppes” (1954), gained special fame among the population here. The respect for Kalmyks is also manifested in the memory of famous figures who showed themselves after returning to their homeland, but who spent their youth in the Aral region: the memory of them is alive among the Kazakh population.

1. Inf. 1: Informant Zhumakhmetov Bakhytzhan Zhumakhmetovich, born in 1939. Deputy the chief physician of the hospital of Aralsk in 1969–1975. The survey was conducted by Zh.  A. Makatova in March 2023 in Almaty.

2. Inf. 2: Informant Nurkhozhaev Asylkhan Nurkhozhaevich, born in 1951. Chief physician of the Aral regional Tuberculosis dispensary in 2002–2015. The survey was conducted by Zh. A. Makatova in March 2023 in Almaty.

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