So, the country continues making chestful breathes the incense of all the “beauties” delivered by the dictator Putin. Everything is clear for protesters but it is needless to explain anything to obedient trash.
I’ll try to set forth poor information on bloody history of another dictator, Putin’s buddy Nazarbaev. On Kazakh dictator compared to whom ours looks like a child. On Kazakhstan political opposition activists’ struggle and repression over them.
(рис. Ильи Романова)
Kazakhstan is the richest republic of our once united country now falling into deeper and deeper debt hole of the world globalism. The level of the population’s misery is enormous. The West cynically calls it “Latino syndrome”. The secondary sector of the economy was inevitably destroyed by Nazarbaev. Due to large reserves of oil Nazarbaev sells it actively out to foreign, predominantly American, trans-national corporations for personal bribes to his family’s pocket. Besides, all the highest positions in the state are occupied by Nazarbaev’s relatives or close friends. Nazarbaev is fond of splendiferous “anti-terrorist trainings” together with Putin and Americans. They strive to be held at territories with more Russian population (Eastern Kazakhstan) - for they couldn’t even dare to think… Opposition feelings are strong among Russians remaining in Kazakhstan, especially among Cossacks residing at the East.
But numerous mass rebellions of particularly national Kazakh population were caused by land reform established by Nazarbaev’s direct order. All the land was passed under jurisdiction of local executive authorities acting under strict control of Astana, Kazakhstan’s new capital, in short, the new Khan Nazarbaev’s estate. Land is sold out to rich Chinese, foreign companies and local landowners. Rural Kazakhs see no cash anymore - they have been working for a sack of corn or potatoes. So mass migration to “Shanghais” started - it were self-built hut-like constructions erected within dormitory suburbs of Kazakhstan large cities by those who had left their villages to join the army of urban workers and trans-national corporations’ office attendants. Sly “akims” (analogues of our mayors and governors) delivered “permissions” for those huts. As soon as the next building monster bought up expensive lands near Almaty, Astana and other similar “Babylons” workers were simply thrown out into the street and police and the OPON (analogue of our OMON - special police forces) exercised cudgels and gas over them - apparently, for training.
But let us refer to everything at the proper time.
Pugachev’s Case
Since the middle 1990es Nazarbaev ordered the main Kazakhstan force structure - the CNS (analogue of our FSS) to fight “Russian autonomism”. It was cased, from one hand, by high protest level of population of Rudny Altai with its centre in Ust-Kamenogorsk and Cossacks in Kokshetau against the being established Nazarbaev’s national-feudal despotism. From the other hand, the highest Kazakh ass sitting on petrodollars needed America’s friendship more than ever. The U.S. State Secretary Albright’s visit to Astana was expected, and it took place in the beginning of 2000. Nazarbaev has reported to her about his work on fighting international terrorism carried out by “democratic” Kazakhstan that time. The secret services informed her of an attempt of Russian separatist revolt in Eastern-Kazakhstan region terminated by Kazakhstan authorities which had been to be led by a group of militants having purposely arrived from Russia and headed by the “Rus” organization leader Viktor Kazimirchuk nicknamed Pugachev.
14 persons were arrested on this case in November 199 in Ust-Kamenogorsk. According to secret services, 1 rifle, 1 grenade, 270 rifle cartridges, 14 cocktail bombs, 5 cudgels and 4 electric torches were taken off from them. Taking-off 4 assault-rifles was targeted in the investigation but up to the trial they disappeared as material evidence.
Kazimirchuk has arrived from Russia to Kazakhstan at the invitation of Ust-Kamenogorsk Russian national organizations at the local branch of the Kazakhstan Communist party. Other detainees came from Russia, too - they were journalists or specialists working in Kazakhstan by invitation. There were people having skills of armed resistance who had earlier fought in Trans-Dniester.
This group seems to have been aimed at rendering armed support to the referendum on Rudny Altai autonomy which was taking place at that time at that territory and results of which seemed to appear positive.
At night November, 18, 1999 Pugachev’s group was seized by the CNS officers and the OMON of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan. Initial interrogations lasted three days without a break. Four of 14 detainees confirmed their confessions at the trial - all of them were later sentenced conditionally for “co-operation”.
Bloodcurdling tortures were exercised upon Pugachev’s group members. They were being beaten at nights directly above the interrogation protocols - volumes of the criminal case were passed to the court with pages drenched in blood. Kazimirchuk had his ribs broken and was thrown in a cell with a cellulosed window - so pneumonia has developed immediately. The Kazakh operative officers allowed the doctors to inject him nothing but penicillin with the only purpose that he “survives to the trial”. But Pugachev survived to his liberation. Viktor Kazimirchuk hasn’t confessed neither to the secret services nor to the trial.
There was a woman among the detainees, Olga Vasilieva, she was also tortured and raped by CNS beasts.
One of the detainees, Ivanov, was released and deported to Russia because he had the status of a deputy. He died soon of hurts got at interrogations.
The trial proceedings on Pugachev supporters took place in June 2000. As a reply on possible reproaches of nationalism I’ll mention that the judge was Russian. A bitch. A pretty woman with a pretty smile invited operative officers to the court hall saying: “Officers, calm Kazimirchuk down!” after Pugachev applied any intercessions. He was pulled out to the corridor and “calmed down” as long as the proceedings took place… in the detention centre building. Besides, Pugachev’s mother who had come from Russia to the “open trial” was beaten in front of his eyes. Many arrested Pugachev supporters who had made their confessions under the harrow (even as absurd as a plan of seizing of Baikonur spaceport) withheld their confessions and described the humiliations they had been subjected to in order to get such confessions.
Viktor Kazimirchuk was sentenced to 19 year imprisonment, Constantine Sementsov to 16 years, Vladimir Chernyshov to 17 years, Albert Urakaev to 14 years, six more Pugachev supporters were sentenced to 10 to 13 years imprisonment.
To date all of them, except for Sementsov, are released conditionally. Their liberation was connected both with public protest against the terrible sentence and with Russian consulate’s conflict against Kazakhstan authorities (the conflict was most of all personal - an unashamed of her permissiveness judge has offended the consul, and the scandal has moved to diplomatic level), as well as strengthening of Nazarbaev’s regime and needlessness of “Russian international terrorists” in his further policy.
Ural Komsomol Members’ Case
At the night May, 25 to 26, 1997 walls of buildings in the city of Uralsk appeared to be covered with anti-President graffiti. According to people’s hearsay the President was as sensitive as a bride - one might be condemned on the Article “Insult of the President” even for an innocent common at that time saying “Nazarbaev has made a fart” (i.e. President’s decree [to be abbreviated as “fart” in Russian]. But Uralsk walls were covered not only with “farts” but with quite relevant words about Nazarbaev.
The leader of the Kazakhstan Komsomol (LYCL) Ainur Kurmanov (he was 20 years old) and LYCL members Sergey Kolokolov (28 years old) and Vasiliy Nikolaev (16 years old) were arrested on charge of organizing a criminal community, malignant hooliganism and insult of Kazakhstan’s leader.
As in all Kazakhstan’s prisons, in the detention centre the Komsomol members faced the conditions of cold, hunger, lice, etc. Kolokolov who had poor health fell ill in the detention centre, heart failure and kidney insufficiency were diagnosed. The trial started in January 1998 and was constantly delayed because of Kolokolov’s impossibility to take part in the proceedings.
In December 1997 Ainur Kurmanov declared a hunger strike which lasted more than 40 days; Vasiliy Nikolaev started a dry hunger strike after the beginning of the proceedings. The doctors warned about the possibility of a fatal outcome for the hunger-strikers.
The Kazakhstan Communist party which at that time had not degenerated yet and had not become loyal to Nazarbaev’s regime informed world left-wing organizations on the necessity of picketing Kazakhstan embassies which lasted for 5 months. Due to protests at embassies and an avalanche of letters, the Komsomol members were released for a conditional sentence.
In the same year 1998, after his release, Sergey Kolokolov died of tuberculosis caught as a result of prison infection and heart failure.
Ainur Kurmanov became the most famous Kazakhstan’s left-wing youth activist. Later his path diverged from the Kazakhstan Communist party’s. Kurmanov has become one of the leaders of the Kazakhstan Workers’ movement “Solidarity” (KWMS). The KWMS had close ties to workers’ movement and was headed by Madel Ismailov. Ismailov has twice been a political prisoner - he spent three month in a prison on the article “Organizing a mass unrest” and later - a year for open naming the President’s policy villainous and Nazarbaev himself a villain.
Saken and Rustem Zhunusovs’ Case
The father and son Zhunusovs sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in January 2003 in Karaganda are the most ambiguous among the political prisoners in Kazakhstan.
Karaganda is a centre of Kazakhstan’s miners region with related industry as well and a large number of industrial workers respectively.
Karaganda workers’ problem as well as all the workers’ at the post-Soviet period was long-term salary non-payment. New owners of Karaganda enterprises were not confused by multi-million arrears. Due to enormous corruption in courts single workers’ lawsuits were useless.
Saken and Rustem Zhunusovs started out representing labour collectives’ interests at trials. They called themselves human rights activists, but, unless their judicial talents, they were allotted organizing and criminal brilliancy. Thus, workers collectives where Zhunusovs appeared started mass protests, hunger and labour strikes, bourgeois became more appeasable, and judicial controversies were almost always won by Zhunusovs in workers’ favour.
So, labour collectives of the Aqtau brickfield, the Karaganda-avia enterprise, the Housing and maintenance enterprise No.19 and others were paid salary arrears in total more than USD 10,000,000 from bourgeois. Though, Zhunusovs took 10 per cent of the gained sum as payment for their services. Let us turn a blind eye to this money’s destiny. Anyway, Zhunusovs’ actions showed workers the necessity of an active and consequent position in asserting their rights.
Zhunusovs consider their arrest connected to their attempt to play a “high political game”. So, they decided to organize and lead the Karaganda branch of the party “Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan” (DCK). Apparently, Zhunusovs’ adventurous character was attracted, on one hand, by fame and radical slogans of this “orange” party and, on the other hand, by its abundant funding from Kazakh bourgeoisie opposed to Nazarbaev.
Not only Zhunusovs’ activity stuck in the authorities’ gizzard, their intensive activity in the DCK formation at the period when Nazarbaev had decided to terminate radical orange efforts was the last straw. The DCK leader Zhakiyanov was arrested and sent to serve his punishment. Seven criminal cases were initiated against Zhunusovs but their imprisonment was managed by a rough provocation only.
At the next civil proceeding in November 2002 the judge ordered the bailiffs to detain Saken at Zhunusov-elder’s attempt to leave the court hall. A bailiff began to beat Saken, and Rustem rushed to rescue his father. Zhunusovs were arrested and condemned for “violent actions in the context of justice administration… against a judge and bailiffs”.
In the colony Zhunusovs were held in a great prisoners’ respect. First, they became legal advisers and drawers of prisoners’ complaints, and second, opinion leaders explained Saken that “one who had defended common men’s rights at freedom was worth respect”.
In a year and a half Zhunusovs were released on parole. The DCK turned back upon its activists; neither collectives reacted whose interests Saken and Rustem had defended. It was the Kazakhstan Workers’ Movement “Solidarity” and the former political prisoner Ainur Kurmanov personally who played the main role in Zhunusovs’ liberation. Having contacted the Trotskyite organizations in Europe the KWMS managed to come at Zhunusovs’ case examination by the European Parliament with respect to political prosecution with a respective note in the Kazakhstan government’s address.
The Shanyrak Rebellion
The Almaty suburbs confrontment of spring 2006 during demolition of “Shanghais” of the poorest urban workers possessing no other habitation was the clearest revelation of people’s resistance against Nazarbaev’s bourgeois state machine.
As soon as Auez district inhabitants learned that their land had been sold in March 2006 they marched peacefully towards the Akimat [the municipal authority]. On their way they faced police which started beating the participants for a “non-sanctioned meeting”. 30 persons were imprisoned. 160 houses were demolished, the inhabitants were simply thrown out into the street. In July 2006 the same events took place in Bakai district. The houses demolition started like a reprisal raid - policemen threw sleeping inhabitants out from their homes, at the same time the houses were being destroyed by bulldozers. Many Bakai inhabitants were taken into hospitals with their arms, legs and ribs broken.
So the authorities’ untrammeled humiliation was over. As soon as Shanyrak district demolition was declared to its inhabitants they began to prepare for a war.
Ainur Kurmanov’s quote: “Barricades were being prepared, fires were burning, gasoline and bottles were being laid in stores… Fire-fighting vehicles appeared and Shanyrak inhabitants pelted them with stones and cocktail bombs. Three OPON militants burst into flames in front of the crowd’s eyes. One of the attackers was taken a hostage to a dug-out by Shanyrak inhabitants… In the defensive sector situated near the mosque solid groups numbered in total to 300 persons took the offensive at once and not only drove away and dispersed the OPON but set fire on a fire-fighting vehicle… Being in the first fight of the insurgents I watched young girls ferociously pelting policemen with cobblestones and even fighting with sticks and legs against SWAT militants armed to their teeth; and children making good sling shots right to attackers’ faces. Fellows with their faces covered with kerchiefs drove the captured OPON militant to the midground and burst him into flames as a revenge for their beaten and shot comrades. I’d like to reply at once on all possible charges of inhumanity and brutality of Shanyrak defenders. I have seen beaten teenagers, women trampled under feet and slashed by cudgels mercilessly. While there were not more than 800 defenders in the morning, up to dinner time their number significantly exceeded a thousand…”
Shanyrak has never surrendered to authorities. The insurgents managed to smash three attacks of police and OPON. Human rights activists arrived to the place of occurrence and appeared to be intermediates at negotiations with authorities. The rebel microcasuality, lack of weapons for insurgents, narrow demands and the beginning of negotiations were some reasons for further events tragic for Shanyrak inhabitants.
A quote from the open statement of the Shanyrak inhabitants imprisoned in Almaty prison SI-1: “In several hours the authorities already started large-scale arrests and mopping-up operations. More than 200 Shanyrak inhabitants were arrested. Now 17 detainees are confined in the Almaty central prison and subjected to physical torment and moral violence. Kurmangazy Utegenov has his leg broken, Erkanat Taranshiev has two ribs broken, Beglan Alpysbaev has a piece of his lung torn off (now being prepared for an operation inside the medical unit). All the others have kidneys, liver, spleen, etc. beaten off. Crimes on “mortal” articles: murder, organizing mass unrest, hostage taking are imputed upon five Shanyrak inhabitants. Imprisonment terms of 10 years to life-long hang over them. The others are being charged of “organizing mass unrest” and other articles. Arranged imprisonment terms are 4 to 10 years.
Dear public of the country and the world! We, Shanyrak inhabitants, never repent of the committed. We defended our Land and Homes, our children’s Future like our fathers and grandfathers at the Great Patriotic War. We are always ready to fight and to lay down our lives for our Motherland!”
