The Famine in Kazakhstan in 1930–1933 and the Migration of Kazakhs to Western China

Abstract

The main purpose of the work is to study the historical events of the mass famine of 1931-1933 through the memories of eyewitnesses, their descendants, and representatives of the Kazakh diaspora, as well as the introduction of new archival and oral data into the scientific turnover. Research methods - surveys and interviews, archival research, analysis of literary, critical, and historical sources, digitalization and creation of a database, comparative analysis, as well as the study of works in the Chinese language. Scientific novelty lies in the inclusion of interviews with descendants of Kazakhs who moved to China during the famine of 1931-1933 and archival data. The analysis of Chinese archival documents - administrative papers, border control, and migration reports - allows for the revealing of the peculiarities of refugees' migration and their living conditions. Clarification of regional historical connections contributes to a comprehensive understanding of historical-ethnic and border relations between Kazakhstan and China.

The use of Kazakh-language periodicals makes it possible to study public opinion and the information space of the 1930s-1950s. Trans-international historical experience examines the life, cultural, and religious preservation of Kazakhs who moved to China during the famine from the perspective of transnational historical processes. As a result of the study, new archival and oral data on the famine period are introduced into the scientific turnover; for the first time, memories of descendants of famine victims and historical evidence are used comprehensively; historical and ethnic ties between Kazakhstan and neighboring countries are supplemented with specific data.