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Dinmukhamed Kunaev

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Akhmetuly and the family name is Kunaev.
Dinmukhamed Kunaev
Дінмұхаммед Қонаев
Kunayev in 1952
First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR
In office
7 December 1964 – 16 December 1986
Preceded byIsmail Yusupov
Succeeded byGennady Kolbin
In office
19 January 1960 – 26 December 1962
Preceded byNikolay Belyayev
Succeeded byIsmail Yusupov
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR
In office
26 December 1962 – 7 December 1964
Preceded byMasymkhan Beysembayev
Succeeded byMasymkhan Beysembayev
In office
31 March 1955 – 29 January 1960
Preceded byElubay Taibekov
Succeeded byZhumabek Tashenev
Full member of the 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th Politburo
In office
9 April 1971 – 28 January 1987
Candidate member of the 23rd Politburo
In office
8 April 1966 – 9 April 1971
Personal details
Born(1912-01-12)12 January 1912
Verny, Semirechye Oblast, Russian Empire (now Almaty, Kazakhstan)
Died22 August 1993(1993-08-22) (aged 81)
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Political partyCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (1939–1989)

Dinmukhamed Akhmetuly "Dimash" Kunaev (also spelled Kunayev; Kazakh: Дінмұхаммед (Димаш) Ахметұлы Қонаев, romanized: Dınmūhammed (Dimaş) Ahmetūly Qonaev, Russian: Динмухаме́д Ахме́дович (Минлиахмедович) Куна́ев, romanized: Dinmukhamed Akhmedovich (Minliakhmedovich) Kunaev; 12 January 1912 [O.S. 31 December 1911] – 22 August 1993) was a Kazakh Soviet communist politician[1] who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR.

Early life

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Origins

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His grandfather was Zhumabai (kaz. Jumabai) (–1912). His father, Minliakhmed (Akhmed) Zhumabaievich (kaz. Meŋlıahmed Jumabaiūly) (1886–1976), was literate, worked in agricultural and trade organizations of the Alma-Ata oblast and could write well in both Russian and Kazakh. His mother, Zaure Baiyrovna Kunaeva (née Shynbolatova (Chimbulatova)) (kaz. Zaure Baiypqyzy Qonaeva) (1888—1973), was born in a poor family in the Shelek aul, Almaty oblast. They lived together for 70 years. There are claims that Kunaev might possibly come from the oiyq branch of the Ysty tribe, Senior juz. In his "From Stalin to Gorbachev" book, he mentioned that his "ancestors come from the Baidıbek, jigit of the Senior juz".[2] According to the official biography, he is ethnically Kazakh[3] and his ancestors were hunters, that lived on the coasts of Ili (river) and Kürtı rivers of the Balkhash District in the aul Bakanas. Kunaev, the son of a Kazakh clerk, was born at Verny, now Almaty, and grew up in a middle-income family.

Rise to power

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Kunayev as the deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Kazakh SSR (1940s)

After finishing the Almaty №14th secondary school in 1930, he studied in the Institute of Non-Ferrous and Fine Metallurgy in Moscow in 1936, which enabled him to become a machine operator. By 1939 he had become engineer-in-chief of the Pribalkhashatroi mine, and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), a condition of the position.[1]

Kunaev was deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Kazakh SSR from April 1942 to 1946. In this post, during the years of World War II, he conducted significant work on the deployment and commissioning of enterprises and factories evacuated to Kazakhstan from the front-line areas of the USSR, as well as mobilising and training the republic's human reserves and soldiers for the Red Army.[4] From 1946 to 1952, he was deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR. In 1952, he was elected President of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR,[5] which under his leadership conducted scientific research with the aim of developing and improving industry and agriculture, and the more efficient use of Kazakhstan's natural resources.[4] He served in this post until 1955, when he became Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR.[6]

Kunaev's rise in Communist Party ranks had been closely tied to that of Leonid Brezhnev's. In February 1954, Khrushchev appointed Panteleymon Ponomarenko as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and Leonid Brezhnev as the second secretary.[7] Soon, Kunaev and Brezhnev developed a close friendship which lasted until the death of Brezhnev.

Brezhnev soon became the first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in 1955 and a member of CPSU Politburo in 1956. When Brezhnev left Kazakhstan in 1956, Ivan Iakovlev became the First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party (and was succeeded by Nikolai Belyaev). On 19 January 1960, Kunaev was elected 1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan.[8]

First Secretary

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As First Secretary, Kunaev was an ardent supporter of the Virgin Lands campaign, which opened millions of hectares of lands in central Kazakhstan to agricultural development and caused a large influx of Russian immigrants into Kazakhstan. However, in 1962 he was dismissed from his position as he disagreed with Khrushchev's plans to incorporate some lands in Southern Kazakhstan into Uzbekistan. Ismail Yusupov, a supporter of the plan, replaced Kunaev.[9]

After his dismissal as First Secretary, he was Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR until 1964, when he became first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan again in 1964 when Khrushchev was ousted and replaced by Brezhnev.[10] He kept his position for twenty-two more years.[11] He was an alternate member of the Politburo from 1967, and a full member from 1971 to 1987.[citation needed]

Kunaev awarding a Soviet Army unit's battle flag, 1986.

Fall from power

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During Kunaev's long rule, Kazakhs occupied prominent positions in the bureaucracy, economy and educational institutions. However, by 1986, a political struggle began between supporters of Kunaev, and supporters of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Chairman of the Kazakh Council of Ministers (and Kunaev's former protegee). This culminated at the 16th Congress of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in February 1986, when Kunaev came under criticism from several high ranking members of the Kazakh Communist Party, most notable by Nazarbayev.

Nazarbayev criticized the construction in Almaty of a number of objects of great importance for the city, calling the historical museum and other social and household objects unnecessary for the city, an unnecessary waste of large funds. Nazarbayev also attacked the leadership of the Kazakh Academy of Sciences, lead by Askar Kunayev, Dinmukhamed's brother. This was despite the fact that under Askar Kunaev, the Academy became one of the leading scientific centers in the USSR, which was reflected by the Central Committee report which gave a positive assessment of the Academy's activities.[12][13] Nevertheless, Askar became subject to biased and unobjective criticism from the Soviet newspaper, Pravda, and was dismissed as President of the Academy shortly after the party congress, to be replaced by Murat Aitkhozhin. It must also be noted that D.A. Kunaev himself was subject to criticism from Erkin Auelbekov, First Secretary of the Kyzylorda Regional Committee and Kamalidenov, the Ideology Secretary who criticized the heads of universities for the high percentage of students from of Kazakh ethnicity.[12] This speech had an unequivocal negative effect on the public in Kazakhstan.

Dinmukhamed Kunayev, Nazarbayev's boss and Askar's brother, felt deeply angered and betrayed at the criticism at the Congress. Kunayev went to Moscow and demanded Nazarbayev's dismissal while Nazarbayev's supporters campaigned for Kunayev's dismissal and Nazarbayev's promotion.[14][15] However, this did not go well for Kunaev, who saw Nazarbaev keep his position as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Soon D. A. Kunaev himself was dismissed, as he was removed from office under pressure from Mikhail Gorbachev, who accused him of corruption.[11][16][13] On 16 December 1986 the Politburo replaced him with Gennady Kolbin, the First Secretary of the Ulyanovsk Regional Committee.

Jeltoqsan

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The decision to replace Kunaev, an ethnic Kazakh with Kolbin, an ethnic Russian who had never lived in the Kazakh SSR before set off three days of street rioting in Almaty, between 16 and 18 December 1986 – which were the first signs of ethnic strife during Gorbachev's tenure.[17][18] In modern Kazakhstan, this revolt is called Jeltoqsan (meaning December in Kazakh).[19]

The protests were violently suppressed by the KGB, who detained 8.5 thousand people. More than 1,700 people were injured, and about 5.5 thousand people were interrogated. In addition, hundreds were convicted, received penalties, fired from work, expelled from school, and subjected to administrative fines. Almost immediately after the December events D.A. Kunaev began to be accused of "nationalism" and was named among the organisers of the so-called riots by Kolbin, who stated that the reason for the "forceful solution to the issue" was allegedly Kunaev's refusal to speak to the youth. However, this is untrue, as Kunaev volunteered to speak to the protestors, but was not allowed to by Second Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party, Oleg Miroshkin. This version of events is backed up by the recollections of Anatoly Goryainy (chief of personal security, colonel of the KGB).[20] In January 1987, D. A. Kunaev was removed from the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and in June 1987 from the Central Committee of the CPSU.[citation needed] The well-known lawyer, academician Salyk Zimanov later stated that: "The reprisals against the "Kunaevites" began, including anyone who treated Kunaev D.A. with respect or spoke positively about him... Among them were Kunaev's assistant D.A. Bekezhanov D., the manager of the affairs of the Central Committee of the party Statenin A.G. and the head of the special forces escort of the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Republic Akuev M.I. All of them were arrested and convicted. They were even credited with allegedly being among the initiators of the December events."[20]

Later life

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Kunaev was placed practically under house arrest. On Kolbin's personal instructions, Kunayev's contact with the outside world was minimized. Surveillance was established: where he goes, who comes to see him. Some of Kunaev's neighbors periodically reported to Kolbin about Kunayev's life, which is indirectly and directly confirmed by notes stored in the archives. There was a period when neighbors and old acquaintances avoided communicating with Kunayev. Among those who did not completely cut off ties with Dimash Akhmedovich in the period 1986-1989 were close relatives, as well as poet Olzhas Suleimenov, journalist Gennady Tolmachev, personal doctor Akhat Mulyukov, A. Goryainov, A. Shabdarbayev and others. Despite Gorbachev's policies of glasnost, perestroika and democratization, neither foreign nor domestic journalists were allowed to approach Kunaev. Even if Kazakh journalists interviewed D.A. Kunaev, their materials were published only in a negative light. Thus, journalist Nina Savitskaya recalled that her material about D.A. Kunaev with his interview was not allowed, saying that if they did publish it, only on the condition that Kunaev would have to be "diluted with dirt". She refused to publish her material under such conditions, doing so a year later, when the disgrace against Kunaev was lifted. Gennady Kolbin, with permission from the center in Moscow, also made sure that Kunayev was deprived of his dacha and the pension due to him.[20]

On the collapse of the Soviet Union and the new state status of Kazakhstan, Kunayev wrote: "Who argues: totalitarianism in all its forms and variants has truly outlived itself. Every phenomenon and process, including social ones, has its beginning and its end. Apparently, what had to happen happened. But, of course, not in such "primitive" forms, which catastrophically hit the working man first of all. But - I repeat with confidence - not all is lost. On the contrary! And especially for our native Republic of Kazakhstan. For the first time in many years, it has finally gained real independence and has become an equal state among the entire world community. Now it is vitally important for Kazakhstan, without compromising its sovereignty, to eradicate the vices of the totalitarian system, to develop and strengthen business ties with all countries in every possible way...".[20]

On January 12, 1992, Dinmukhamed Kunayev turned 80 years old, receiving hundreds of letters and telegrams from all over Kazakhstan, including from academic scientists, cultural figures, famous athletes, military generals, major manufacturers, businessmen and significant representatives of other spheres. Kunaev was visited by many famous public figures, including the first Kazakh cosmonaut Toktar Aubakirov, the founder of the Kazakh and Turkish schools of taekwondo Mustafa Ozturk, theologian and translator of the Koran into Kazakh Khalifa Altay, People's Artist of the USSR Bibigul Tulegenova, Bakytzhan Momyshuly (son of the legendary Bauyrzhan Momyshuly) and many, many others.[20] Thus, the rehabilitation of Kunaev was complete, and he celebrated his 80th birthday as a person whose name was once again respected among Kazakhs all over the world.

Grave of Dinmuhammed Konai. Almaty, Kensai Cemetery.

He died in the evening of 22 August 1993 in the village of Akshi, Alakol district of Almaty region as a result of a heart attack. He was buried on 25 August 1993 at the Kensai cemetery in the city of Alma-Ata.[21]

Positions of power

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Leadership Positions

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Political Positions

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Achievements

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Under D. A. Kunaev, a significant economic upswing in Kazakh SSR was achieved, the industrial potential of the republic increased significantly (mainly due to the mining, raw materials industries and the energy sector serving them) and agriculture (the annual famous “billion pounds” of grain was produced many times). In his book "From Stalin to Gorbachev" (1994), Kunaev himself referred to the data of the USSR State Statistics Committee, and he describes in detail his contribution to the development of living standards and the rise of the economy of the Kazakh SSR. By the end of Kunaev's time in power, compared with 1955, the economic potential of the Kazakh SSR increased by seven times, the standard of living, industry, production rose to a historic maximum, and the Kazakh SSR became the third largest economy in the Soviet Union (after the Russian SFSR and Ukrainian SSR). For great services to the development of the economy and the standard of living in the country, he was very popular among the Kazakh people and many still call the Kunaev era as the "Golden Age of Kazakhstan" to this day.

Awards

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2012 Kazakh stamp commemorating Kunayev

Soviet

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Thrice Hero of Socialist Labour (1972, 1976, 1982)[16]
8 times Order of Lenin (1957, 1962, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1982)
Order of the October Revolution (1967)
Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (1985)
Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1945)
Medal "For Labour Valour" (1959)
Medal "For Distinguished Labour" (1939)
Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945)
Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" (1965)
Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1975)
Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1985)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1969)
Medal "Veteran of Labour" (1974)
Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms"
Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR"
Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" (1956)
Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1967)
Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1978)
Medal "In Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad" (1957)
Medal "In Commemoration of the 1500th Anniversary of Kyiv" (1982)

Foreign

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Order of Georgi Dimitrov (1982, Bulgaria)
Order of February Victory, 1st class (1982, Czechoslovakia)
Order of Sukhbaatar (1974, Mongolia)

Legacy

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Kunaev Monument in Almaty

Kunaev spent the last years of his life in charitable activity, establishing the 'Dinmukhamed Kunaev Foundation', one of whose purposes was the support of political reform in Kazakhstan.[22]

  • In Almaty, a bust is installed in the square of his name. Also, his bust is in Taraz and in the village of Tortkol.
  • Streets in a number of cities in Kazakhstan – in Almaty (Kunaev street), Taraz, Taldykorgan, Ekibastuz and the central street in the new administrative center of Astana.
  • In Uralsk, a microdistrict is named after Kunaev.
  • In Shymkent, a boulevard (former Alma-Ata Avenue and former Stepnaya Street) is named after D. A. Kunaev.
  • The main street and the square of the city of Usharal is named after D. A. Kunaev. Also in the central square is a monument to D. A. Kunaev.
  • The Eurasian Law Academy in Almaty is named after Kunaev.
  • The Kunaev Home Museum (117 Tulebaev St.), opened in 2002 to the 90th anniversary of D. A. Kunaev.
  • In Almaty, the Institute of Mining bears his name.
  • As of March 2022, city Kapshagai is planned to be renamed after Kunaev.
  • In May 2022, in the village of Bakanas, Almaty region of Kazakhstan, a monument to Kunaev was opened for the 110th anniversary.[23]
  • On May 20, 2022, a mural depicting statesman Dinmukhamed Kunaev appeared in Almaty. The author is Adilzhan Musa.[24]
  • On August 13, 2022, a monument to statesman Dinmukhamed Kunayev was unveiled in Taraz.[25]
  • In October 2022, a memorial was erected in Qonayev in honor of the 110th anniversary of Dinmukhamed Kunayev, the 100th anniversary of Asanbai Askarov, the 110th anniversary of Shapyk Shokin, who stood at the origins of the construction of the Kapshagay Hydroelectric Power Plant and the foundation of the city.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Vronskaya, Jeanne (24 August 1993) "Obituary: Dinmukhamed Kunayev". The Independent London, Gazette Section, p. 18.
  2. ^ "От Сталина до Горбачева. Д. Кунаев". nblib.library.kz. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Кунаев Динмухамед Ахмедович". warheroes.ru. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Кунаев Динмухамед Ахмедович". www.warheroes.ru. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Академия наук – КУНАЕВ ДИНМУХАМЕД АХМЕДОВИЧ". nauka-nanrk.kz. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Кунаев: Во имя Казахстана". ia-centr.ru. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  7. ^ Dornberg, John (1991) Brezhnev: the Masks of Power, London: Andre Deutsch, ISBN 0465007562, p. 133.
  8. ^ Мейиржан Машан (23 April 2022). "Д.А. Кунаев". old.unesco.kz.
  9. ^ "Кунаев против Хрущёва. Часть 4: Окончание". ratel.kz. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  10. ^ Kunaev, Dinmukhammed (1992) O Moem Vremeni, Almaty: Dauir.
  11. ^ a b Drexel, John (1991) "Kunayev, Dinmukhamed Akhmedovich (1912– )" The Facts on File Encyclopedia of the Twentieth Century Facts on File, New York, ISBN 0-8160-2461-8
  12. ^ a b "1964-1986 LEADER OF THE KAZAKH SSR". Kunaev.kz. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  13. ^ a b "The Political Elite in Kazakhstan Since Independence (1991-1998): Origins, Structure and Policies" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Kazakh Official Removed For Drunkenness, Incompetence". AP NEWS. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  15. ^ "SOVIET PARTY EX-OFFICIAL INVESTIGATED". The Washington Post.
  16. ^ a b "Memorial plaque put up in Alma-Ata for ex-communist boss" ITAR-TASS news agency: BBC Summary of World Broadcasts British Broadcasting Company (16 January 1995)
  17. ^ Putz, Catherine (16 December 2016). "1986: Kazakhstan's Other Independence Anniversary". The Diplomat. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  18. ^ "Kazakh Reformist Party for Renaming Town after Soviet-era Leader" Global News Wire – Asia Africa Intelligence Wire British Broadcasting Company (23 August 2004)
  19. ^ "December in Kazakh – English-Kazakh Dictionary | Glosbe". en.glosbe.com.
  20. ^ a b c d e "1986-1993 RETIRED". Kunaev.kz. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  21. ^ "1986-1993 RETIRED". Kunaev.kz. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  22. ^ Ardayev, Vladimir (Izvestia staff) (24 August 1993) "Dinmukhamed Kunayev Dies" The Current Digest of the Soviet Press 45(34): p. 28
  23. ^ "Кунаеву открыли памятник в селе Баканас". tengrinews.kz (in Russian). 15 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Новые муралы с Кунаевым и Валихановым появились в Алматы". www.zakon.kz (in Russian). 20 May 2022.
  25. ^ "В Таразе открыли памятник Динмухамеду Кунаеву". www.zakon.kz. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  26. ^ "В Конаеве открыли памятник основателям Капшагайской ГЭС". informburo.kz (in Russian). 23 October 2022.
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