Kazakhstan marks the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression and Famine

Today, on May 31, Kazakhstan commemorates the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Political Repression and Famine, Turanews.kz reports.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Kazakhstan, along with several other regions of the Soviet Union, particularly Ukraine and the Volga region, experienced a severe famine that resulted in the loss of thousands of lives.

On this day, we honor the memory of those who tragically lost their lives, disappeared, or suffered from political repression, forced deportation, and starvation during the period of collectivization. In the 1930s, Kazakhstan became one of the regions where a network of GULAG camps was established. In the Akmola region of Kazakhstan, a memorial was erected on the site of one of the ALZHIR camps to commemorate all the innocent victims of the mass repressions.

Every republic of the Soviet Union endured immense suffering during that dreadful period, and the Kazakh people were no exception to the mass political repression. Numerous distinguished figures in the fields of science and art were sent to labor camps.

In April 1993, Kazakhstan passed a law establishing special commissions for the rehabilitation of victims of mass political repressions within the country.