Results of Kazakh historical and archival delegation visitto Ukraine

On October 5, 2021, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Ukraine DarkhanKaletayev met with a delegation of professional historians and archival workersamong which were members of the State Commission under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the rehabilitation of victims of political repression. This delegation has been in Ukraine since September 27.

In course of the meeting the results of the delegation visitwere summed up. During these 10 days were held meetingsin a number of archival institutions in Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv. The members of the delegation had the opportunity to work in the Central State Archive of Public Organizations, the Branch State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine and in regional archives. They also visited the funds of the Historical Archives of Ukraine, the Archives of Film and Photo Documents, the highest authorities and administration. The delegationobtainedimportant information about the Kazakhs-special settlers of the 1920s and 1930s, prisoners of war from Kazakhstan during the Second World War, about the history and relations between Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Reliable information was obtained about specific people who happened to become subject to rehabilitation as victims of political repression, or as those who were unfairly referred to enemies of the people or unreliable, since they were captured by the Nazi invaders.

Also the delegation identified specific archival funds that required further study.

The experience of Ukraine in declassifying archives and introducing previously closed materials into scientific circulation is important for Kazakhstan. The members of the delegation developed specific proposals for building appropriate work of the State Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the rehabilitation of victims of political repression.

The issue of expanding cooperation between regional universities of Kazakhstan and Ukraine was discussed separately. Apositive example of this were the framework agreements on cooperation between the Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazinand the Shakarim Semipalatinsk State University, Kherson State University and Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilyov, which were concluded during the current visit of the delegation.

The participants of the meeting emphasized the positive effect of the visit to the Kaminsky Higher Professional School, in which the First President of Kazakhstan studied. There was organized a collective lecture-presentationfor the students of the school on October 4. Itwas aimed at raising awareness of Ukrainian youth about Kazakhstan, its history, language, culture, historical path and the fate of the Kazakh people.

Also, the members of the delegation shared their impressions of visiting the Dnieper Metallurgical Plant, gave their assessment of how labor can affect the formation of leadership qualities. In this regard, the uniqueness of the experience of the formation of Independence of Kazakhstan was noted, in which the personality of NursultanNazarbayev, who started as a professional metallurgist, played a central role.

The members of the delegation expressed gratitude to the Embassy for organizing the visit and expressed a wish that such meetings would be organized in other countriesfollowing the example of Ukraine. It is important to continue the research work in the archives in order to identify the fate and rehabilitation of Kazakhs who suffered from the war or the activities of the totalitarian regime.

In turn, the Ambassador noted the importance of a systematic approach in organizing systemic historical and archival research in order to restore national memory.