Forced migration: Kazakh refugees in China and the problem of their repatriation (1916–1927).

Author : Yerkin Stamshalov, Gulzhaukar Kokebayeva

Abstract : The purpose of this article is to examine the policy of the Soviet government towards the forced migration of the population of Kazakhstan in 1918-1936. In the last year of the war and the first post-war years, there was an unprecedented increase in the number of refugees. The vast majority of refugees were in an extremely difficult situation: they were left without protection, deprived of the care of their homeland, with no prospects of settling down and finding work. The International Committee of the Red Cross, with the help of other public organisations, took on the task of helping refugees. However, there was a group of refugees who were neglected by the international community. These were the people of Kazakhstan who fled to China during the uprising, revolution, civil war and Soviet modernisation of the economy. The main materials for our research were documentary sources studied by us in the archives. The study of the selected problem is based on structural and functional analysis. Here, the structure is represented by the Special Commission under the Central Executive Committee of the Turkestan ASSR, and the function is considered to be the activities of this commission in organising assistance to migrants in China and their re-evacuation to their native lands.

Keywords : forced migration, Soviet policy, Kazakhstan refugees, Turkestan ASSR, re-evacuation

Conference Name : Yerkin Stamshalov, Gulzhaukar Kokebayeva

Conference Place : Tokyo, Japan

Conference Date : 30th Jan 2026