The Uighurs of the Kazakstan Borderlands: Migration and the Nation

Abstract

One of the most important characteristics of the newly independent republic of Kazakstan is the multinational nature of its population. In addition to the members of the titular Kazak nationality, numerous Slavic, Turkic, and other peoples have made, or have been forced to make, Kazakstan their home. Most of these peoples, with the exception of the Kazaks, could be characterized as diasporas. However, the Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim people living in Kazakstan, are not a standard example of a diaspora. Unlike many of Kazakstan's diasporic communities, such as the Russians, Koreans, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, and Germans, who can rely on outside support from recognized nation states to protect their rights, the Uighurs are a stateless people whose claims to sovereignty are not internationally recognized. Furthermore, unlike other stateless diasporas in Kazakstan, such as the Tatars, the Chechens, and the Mesketian TurksM whose homelands are clearly located outside of Kazakstan, the Uighurs’ “homeland” in China's Xinjiang province borders on the former Soviet republic, which raises the question of whether or not many Uighurs are indigenous to the territory of Kazakstan.

Ethnonationalism and the changing pattern of ethnic Kazakhs’ emigration from China to Kazakhstan

“…Ethnic Uyghurs who migrated from China to Kazakhstan in the 1990s were of particular concern to China because of their cross-border ties with co-ethnics in Xinjiang and their general discontent with the PRC state. 52 A number of political organizations were founded among ethnic Uyghurs in Kazakhstan, some of which pursued 'democracy, human rights and self-determination' for ethnic Uyghurs in China, and even engaged in underground, extremist activities. 53 As ethnic unrest and riots in Xinjiang grew throughout the 1990s, the PRC authorities tended to connect the incidents to ethnic Uyghur political entrepreneurs abroad 54 and kept expressing appreciation for Kazakhstan's efforts to forestall the 'subversive, anti-China activities' in Kazakhstan.…”

Comparative Nationalisms and Bibliographic Black Holes: The Case of the Turkmen of the North Caucasus

“…A significant increase in studies such as Brophy’s would not only justify the acquisition of new materials from marginalized communities by Euro-Atlantic research libraries, but also be made much more feasible and successful by libraries’ efforts to build those same collections. James Meyer’s (2014) account of the lives and influence of the trans-imperial Turkic activists Yusuf Akçura, Ahmet Ağaoğlu, and Ismail Gasprinski also falls into the same category, along with Sean Roberts’s (1998) article on the long-standing connections among Uyghurs on both sides of the Kazakh-Chinese border.…”

The repatriation policy of the USSR and the peculiarities of Uighurs’ migration from the PRC in the 1950s

“…Первая группа: «Ерликляр (yerliklar), «местные жители» -те уйгуры, которые родились в Казахстане и чьи семьи жили в нем по крайней мере с 1900 года» (Roberts S., 1998).…”

“…Третья группа: «Хитай ликляр (khitailiklar), «из Китая» -те уйгуры, которые прибывают в Казахстан из Китая, чтобы работать или торговать на временном основании» (Roberts S.,1998). Он отмечает, что уйгуры различных волн поразному интерпретируют понятия «суверенное национальное государство» и «аутентичность» уйгурской культуры, тем самым «проявляя спорный характер уйгурской национальной идентичности».…”

“…Он отмечает, что уйгуры различных волн поразному интерпретируют понятия «суверенное национальное государство» и «аутентичность» уйгурской культуры, тем самым «проявляя спорный характер уйгурской национальной идентичности». Также, по его мнению, «уйгуры, не имеющие своей исторической родины, не могут называться диаспорой, а являются приграничным народом» (Roberts S., 1998)…”