The History of Kazakhstan

as Reflected in the New York Times,

1920-1969


Korean Minjok Leadership Academy
International Program
Choi, Eunsol
Research Paper, AP World History Class, Fall 2007



Table of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
I. Narrative History of Kazakhstan 1920-1969
I.1 Administrative History
I.2 Economic History
I.3 Social Development
II. The Selection of Articles
III. Content Analysis
III.1 Coverage and Depth of the Articles
III.2 Variety of the Articles
IV. The Sources of the NYTimes Articles
IV.1 Classification of the Sources
IV.2 Notable Articles
V. Conclusion
VI. Notes
VII. Bibliography
Appendix : List of Relevant NYTimes Articles on Kazakhstan, 1920-1969

Teacher's Comment


Abstract
            The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the New York Time as a primary historical resource to study the history of Kazakhstan. In this research paper, I focused on how the NYTimes described the history of Kazakhstan from 1920 to 1969. The coverage and depth of the articles were investigated. Specifically, I examined what percentage of important events were reported in the NYTimes, what kinds of events were deeply discussed or completely ignored. To examine the impartiality and reliability of the information given by NYTimes, I scrutinized the sources of information; whether it merely copied information from Soviet newspaper or gathered information from independent reporters who are free from any Soviet bias or interest. The variability of sources is also regarded as an important matter in evaluating the NYTimes as a historical resource. The analysis of the 300 selected articles from the NYTimes online database shows that the NYTimes can be a solid source of history for several reasons; first, it covered most of the important incidents that happened in Kazakhstan: second, it offered diverse viewpoints written by reporters and civilians from different social background: third, as a daily newspaper, the NYTimes offered a vivid description of the situation. : fourth, it is a very accessible and cheap source in English. Although the NYTimes has a drawback that it is not comprehensive enough, focusing on only global, political and economic factors while ignoring regional, cultural events.


Introduction
            For a small fee, the New York Times (NYTimes) offers access to her online database which contains scans of all articles published since 1851. We can browse 100 articles a month by paying approximately 8 dollars. Though the NYTimes is a preeminent U.S. newspaper, it is widely read throughout the globe and deals with diverse international affairs. In a dearth of English language historical resources to study the history of a country such as Kazakhstan, I thought that the NYTimes could be a solid source of information. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate whether the NYTimes, a daily newspaper published in the United States, can be used as a valid historical source, examined in the case of the history of Kazakhstan.
            This paper focusses on the period between 1920 and 1969. Object of investigation were contents and sources of the relevant articles, as well as what percentage of important events were covered respectively omitted.


I. Narrative History of Kazakhstan, 1920-1969

 I.1 Administrative History
            Kazakhstan, the 9th largest country in the world, had been part of Soviet Union. The Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, as an entity within RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) was set up in 1920. At first, the Kyrgyz ASSR included the Kazakhstan but in 1925, the Kazakh ASSR was separated officially from the Kyrgyz ASSR. In 1936, the whole territory was elevated to a Soviet Republic, called the Kazakh SSR. By that time, ethnic Kazakhs had become a minority in their own republic, and many of them emigrated in Turkey, China, Mongolia and elsewhere.
            From 1936 to 1991, the Kazakh SSR was the second largest constituent of the Soviet Union. In 1991, the disintegration of the USSR resulted in the independence of Kazakhstan; the country was renamed Republic of Kazakhstan, and the adjectives 'Soviet' and 'Socialist' were dropped.
            The capital of Kazakhstan was Orenburg, a city on the Ural River from 1919 until 1924. After, Kzyl-Orda was a capital for a year. In 1925, the capital was moved to Alma-Ata. In 1997, Kazakhstan moved the capital to Astana to accomplish balanced development over the country, but still Almaty (the new name for Alma-Ata, used since 1993) is the economic center of Kazakhstan.
            This period saw a shift in the administration from Russians to Kazakhs. From the beginning of its history, the leading personnel of the Kazakh ASSR/SSR havs been almost entirely foreign; from 1920 until 1960, there were frequent changes in the first secretary of Kazakhstan. There were 16 first secretaries and all of them were Russians. In January, 1960, Dinmukhamed Akhmedovich Kunayev became the first ethnic Kazakh to be apponited first secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party [1]. The change can also be found in the composition of the Communist Party in Kazakhstan. In 1924 only 8% of Communist Party membership in Kazakhstan was Kazakh, while Russians and Ukrainians together made up 66% [2]. By 1965, among the 450,000 party members in Kazakhstan, about 40% was Kazakh. Taking into account that Kazakh constituted only 32% of the republic's total while Russians made up more than 42 % (in 1970), the Kazakh was well represented in government by the 1960s. In fact, one study of the Kazakh party in 1955-1965 commented that "Kazakhs were numerically overrepresented among the Party elite of the republic . . . Half of all obkom, gorkom, and raikom [province, city, and district] secretaries were Kazakh." [3]

I.2 Economic History
            Kazakhstan possesses huge fossil fuel reserves and plentiful supplies of metals and minerals. Also, it has a huge agricultural industry with livestock and grain. Most of its industry focuses on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and some machine-building specialized in construction, agricultural machinery, and defense items. (By 1991 Kazakhstan was producing 70% of the USSR production of lead, zinc, titanium, magnesium tin, 90% of its phosphorus and chrome and more than 60% of its silver and molybdenum). Sokolovsk-Sarbai ore-refining works and Karaganda metal works are typical examples. Also, Kazakhstan produced chemicals, especially fertilizers. Coal and ores from Kazakh was used in heavy industry concentrated in the Russian Urals. Electricity, coal, ores, grain and oil are exported to burgeoning new industrial areas in Siberia. And Kazakhstan also supplied agricultural products as grain, meat, cotton, wool and fruit to other parts of the USSR and at the same time imported imported finished products from other republics.
            In the 1920s, Kazakhstan suffered great losses in both population and livestock because of national social upheaval. About 1 million died during the 1921-1922 famine. In 1927, the Soviet reform started and then in 1929 collectivization started, very late in comparison with other areas in the USSR. Forced collectivization caused decimation of herds; Kazakhs continued to migrate abroad with their herds. Hundreds and thousands of Kazakhs fled to China and elsewhere, many were arrested, many of the latter shot dead.
            Because of uncompromising economic condition in 1920s, the government of Soviet Union accelerated plans for the economic development of Kazakhstan, changing from wild pasture area for nomadic live-stock breeders to a region with a large-scale and manifold industrial complex, a developed agriculture and livestock-breeding system, as well as a high level of culture. [4]
            During the First Five-Year Plan (1929-1933), Kazakhstan ranked third in the USSR in overall production and it kept this position. Its industry grew very rapidly. . Because of repeated famines in the 1940s, the Kazakhstan could not fulfil expectations. During the next decades, the mineral resource of Kazakhstan were exploited by the Soviet Union. It had the largest production of lead, electricity and coal, and second largest in copper and tin. In 1941, the volume of industrial production increased 8 fold in comparison with 1913, and by 1970 overall industrial production was 146 times higher than in 1913, whereas ratio for the USSR as a whole was 92 times.
            Until the 'Virgin Land campaign' in 1954, the grain harvest in Kazakhstan was very small. In 1955, the grain production was about 5 million tons, and it became 22 million tons in 1958. Although grain harvest varied because of weather condition, it was generally increased by the new policy. Kazakhstan's national income increased by 214% between 1960 and 1970, the sixth fastest growth rate in the Soviet Union. The Indicator of standard of living also advanced a lot during the decade. Trade turnover per capita, savings per capita and in ratio of useful urban living space per urban inhabitant also improved. In general, the economy of Kazakhstan was certainly underdeveloped but rapidly developed. (All the comparison mentioned in this paragraph is comparison between other Soviet republics.)
            After the Soviet domination, breakup of the USSR in December 1991 resulted in a short-term contraction of the economy, with the steepest annual decline in 1994. In 1995-97, the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened. In the 21th century, Kazakhstan enjoyed double-digit growth because of its booming energy sector, economic reform, good harvest and foreign investment.
            In 1906, the Orenburg-Tashkent Railroad, linking Turkestan to Europe, was constructed. In 1930, the Turkestan-Siberian Railroad (TurkSib) was built. Later in 1970, the newly developed 10 air routes around the Kazakhstan initiated rapid expansion of Soviet domestic aviation. [5]
            In 1940, the Soviet leader adopted the nuclear program and launched uranium geological survey in Central Asia in 1944. In late 1960s, situ leading technology developed and this had shifted the existing view on the uranium potential. Kazakhstan had a number of unique and large sandstone type uranium deposits, such as Inkai, Budenovskoye, Mynkuduk, Moinkum, Kanjugan, Irkol, Northern and Southern Karamurun, Kharasan, and Zarechnoye. After that, government attempted to develop it, and as a result of investments between 1940s and 1970s, uranium mills in Kazakhstan provided more than 30% of the USSR uranium production.
            After Soviet intelligence leaerned about the rapidly progressing Manhattan Project in the U.S, the USSR pursued a nuclear weapons program from 1943, under the leadership of physicist Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov. After the conclusion of the war against Japan (1945), the Soviet weapon program moved into high gear. In June 1945, the Soviets conducted the first test. In 1946, at Kurchatov institute in Moscow they succeeded in first Soviet Nuclear Reactor named F-1 experiment. Since then, many atomic bomb tests were conducted especially in the territory of Kazakhstan. The first Soviet nuclear test, code named "First Lightning", a test of a plutonium bomb, the RDS-1, was performed in 1949 in Semipalatinsk Test Site at Kazakhstan. Later, thermonuclear weapons and hydrogen bombs were also developed and tested at the Semipalatinsk Test Site at Kazakhstan. Major experiment include the Sloika Design 1953, the first Soviet Super bomb ("True H-Bomb") test 1955, the first Soviet "Industrial" test 1965 all performed at the Semipalatinsk in the eastern Kazakhstan. The Baikonur Space Center was built in 1955, but kept secret from West for decade. Later in 1961, the first manned spacecraft launched from the Baikonur space launch site in central Kazakhstan. [6]

I.3 Social Development
            Before talking about the NYTimes, it is worthwhile to mention local media and Soviet media in Kazakhstan, the other sources of information. Kazakhs, like other Central Asian peoples, did not develop mass literacy. For such reasons, the communication media was not very significant. In 1970, 360 newspapers were published and 135 of them were in Kazakhs. The most prominent and influential newspaper was 'Kazakhstanskaya Pravda', published in Russian in Alma-Ata. In Kazakh, 'Sotsialistik Kazakhstan' was most widely distributed. In 1965, Kazakhstan had 15 committees and regional editorial boards for radio and television broadcasting. Though the local media was quite widespread, all of these media were severely censored by Soviet government. At that period of time, around 1950s, most of the world press was under certain degree of censorship. Even the freest country, the United States, operated a censorship by government agency under the purpose to 'deny information of military value to potential enemies'. In the U.S.S.R, every dispatch was under rigid censorship by Soviet government. State secrets were all handled by governmental organization named 'Main Administration for Safeguarding State Secrets in the Press' (known as Galvlit) [7]. This governmental censorship provided the Soviet press to fully report and express the situation and thinking of Kazakhs; moreover, the personal censorship also existed. Knowing the severe government censorship, they themselves controlled their desire to express their own ideas. For such reasons, the press inside Kazakhstan could not function properly. Deprived of the freedom of speech, Kazakhstan's newspapers could not competently and comprehensively deliver events in the nation. On the other hand, the NYTimes was relatively free of such censorships done by Soviet Union and could deliver more candid voice to the world.
            Kazakhstan was the only republic of all Soviet USSR where the native found itself in a minority. This was developed mainly in the 1930s because of first, the large loss of population to the neighboring country due to the collectivization and second, a massive influx of people from the other regions of the USSR. These new residents came as "enemies of the people", forced to live in the concentration camps for victims of terror in 1937. The vast land of Kazakhstan was used as a labor camp for the expelled people from the Soviet Union. Diverse ethnic groups, including Koreans, Jews, Germans, Poles and Muslims, were deported to the Kazakhstan regions. Between 1935 and 1930, total 120,000 Poles were deported to Kazakhstan from Western Ukraine, Belorussia and Lithuania. During the World War II, 840,000 Germans from the Volga German Autonomous Republic, and tenthousands of Crimean Tatars, were exiled to Kazakhstan. Also 35,000 Chechens and 22,700 Chuvash were deported to Kazakhstan. After the Sino-Soviet border conflict, many Uigurs from Sinkang also moved into Kazakhstan in 1960s. There were also 208,000 Uzbeks, 80,000 Koreans, 55,000 Azeris and 27,000 Jews by 1970. As a result, the percentage of Kazakhs in Kazakhstan decreased from 57.1% in 1926 to 38 in 1939, and to no more than 30% in 1959. They served as workers for 'Virgin Lands Campaign' designed by Nikita Khrushchev. They also served to install railroad and to develop other mining industries. These 'virgin lands' in the north are predominantly settled by Russians and other Europeans in large mechanized state farms. The society was mingled with Kazakhs, Russians, Slavs and other minor ethnicities. Kazakhs were in a way in the process of losing its ethnic specialty and largely assimilated into Soviet Union. The gap between rural and urban standards of living was noticeable. Rural people retained more ethnic identity as a Kazakhs, and urban people were largely integrated into Soviet Union as a part of Russia. Only recently has the proportion of Kazakhs in Kazakhstan once again reached 50% of the total population.
            Under the Soviet Planning, Kazakhstan achieved some social progress. By 1970, there were some 44 institutions of higher education with about 200,000 students. Kazakhstan developed a modern network of cultural and educational facilities including 10,000 schools with 3,3 million students. With 19 college students per 1,000 population, Kazakhs rank fifth as an ethnic group in the USSR. There were 738,000 specialists with higher and specialized secondary education (ratio 57.5/1000). Kazakhs occupied the tenth place among the union republican nationalities in number of specialist per 1,000 people. The general standard of education of the Kazakhs rose after World War II, as a result of the educational progress inside the public as well as the immigration of a more educated population from the European USSR. In contrast to 83 per 1,000 population with more than six-year education, 470 to 1,000 population with more than six-year education was great advancement in the Kazakhstan society. Except for primary education, most schools and college, especially the higher level education centers, used Russian instead of Kazakh. By 1970, there were also 36 scientific research institutions, 30 museums, 25 theaters, and 7,901 public libraries. Kazakhstan achieved certain cultural achievement with the help of educated people who were deported to Kazakhstan. The USSR also greatly improved health care in the Kazakh SSR.


II. The Selection of Articles

             The time period I researched is from 1920 to 1969. The starting year 1920, is significant in that it is when the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which had included Kazakhstan, was established. I investigated 50 years from the establishment of Kyrgyz ASSR. Among numerous articles provided by the NYTimes online database, I selected articles that are related to the history of Kazakhstan. As NYTimes did not render advanced search options when I started the research, it was impossible to search by the name of reporter or place of publication, so I mainly searched by several keywords that are related to Kazakhstan. (Now the NYTimes has been upgraded, and we can search by the name of the reporter and headline) The keywords which I used in my search include: Kazakh, Kazakhstan, Almaty, Alma-Ata, Astana. (Alma-Ata is a different name of Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan.) There are about 1500 articles that are related to the keywords. (There were 283 articles searched by 'Kazak', 310 articles by 'Kazakh', 1147 articles by 'Kazakhstan', but some of the articles are found by more than one keyword.)

            Among the articles, some of articles just mention the name of Kazakhstan and do not have any relevance to the history of Kazakhstan. For example, there were scores of articles on a Kazakh athlete who won international sports competitions many times; I excluded irrelevant articles like these. Some articles basically repeated the contents of other NYTimes article so were redundant articles. Next, I ignored the articles that do not focus on the history of Kazakhstan. For example, most of the articles on space program were found when I searched by 'Kazakhstan'. These articles just mentioned Kazakhstan as a base ground for the space experiments, so did not convey information about Kazakhstan. After this selection process, there remained 289 articles to be analyzed and studied in this research paper.


III. Content Analysis

            After the selection, I briefly skimmed through the 289 articles and later perused remarkable articles again. Reading the articles, I investigated: first, it covered how much of important events in Kazakhstan: second, how deeply NYTimes reported the events in Kazakhstan: third, what kinds of events were deeply discussed and what kinds of events were ignored.
            Before answering above questions, I want to mention characteristics of the NYTimes articles on Kazakhstan, that I discovered by reading about 300 articles. First of all, many articles are about the Soviet Republics in general, not just specifically on Kazakhstan. A high percentage of articles dedicated about one paragraph to narrate Kazakhstan, and the rest of the articles recounts about the similar countries such as Ukraine, Turkestan and Kirghiz U.S.S.R. The focus of article was not on Kazakhstan itself but on the trend of Soviet Union. The title of these articles did not contain the word Kazakhstan but just described it as Soviet.
            Before research, I anticipated that the NYTimes, as an American newspaper, would not show much care much about Kazakhstan as an individual country. In other words, I anticipated that Kazakhstan would bear importance to the NYTimes only when it has significant importance in relationship with the Soviet Union or to the world. My expectation was half right and half wrong. The majority of articles focuses on Kazakhstan's relationship with Soviet Union, but small amounts of articles certainly cared about Kazakhstan as an independent country, too. (These few remarkable articles will be discussed later in chapter III.2)

III.1 Coverage and Depth
            To serve as a solid source to study history of Kazakhstan, the New York Times should encompass most of the important incidents that happened in Kazakhstan. To see how comprehensively New York Times cover the important affairs in Kazakhstan, I made a list of important incidents in Kazakhstan from 1920 to 1969. To compile this list, I gathered information from several websites and books on Kazakhstan. [8] (Because of my inability to read both Russian and Kazakh, I cannot get information from either Russian or Kazakhstan sources. All the information sources that I used were written in English.) Table 1 is the list of important events happened in Kazakhstan from 1920 to 1969. Examining the articles, I did discover that 7 out of 22 events were not mentioned at all in the NYTimes, which means 69% of the important events were covered and 31% was ignored by the NYTimes. Though a significant number of events were covered, the NYTimes failed to report every important matter that happened in Kazakhstan.

Following is a description of how individual 22 events were described or ignored.

The first important matter, the foundation of Kyrgyz Autonomous S.S.R was not mentioned at all. The third incident, Kazakhs' separation from Kyrgyz U.S.S.R, which is very important thing in the context of Kazakhstan history, was also very shallowly mentioned in the NYTimes. In 'Soviet Republics' (Oct. 25, 1929), which was published 4 years after the separation of the Kazakh from the Kyrgyz ASSR, the NYTimes briefly mentioned that Soviet republics had been regrouped into 12 autonomous republics. Critical remark follows, that even though these republics, which include Kazakhstan U.S.S.R, has its own Central Committee, has 'little real meaning' and generally controlled by the Soviets. 'Kirghiz Nobles Banished' (June 27, 1927) and 'Soviet Expels Six for Pan-Islamic Drive' (November 8, 1929) reports on the Soviet purge on Kazakhstan's traditional political leaders. All of these articles not only mentions Kazakhstan but also Lithuanian, Uzbek, Tajik leaders who were expelled by the Soviet government. Reading these articles, I can realize that the NYTimes did try to objectively report the purge, by using expression such as 'according to Soviet version' and 'according to the expatriate'. 'Soviet Rule Making Gains in Turkistan' (May 14, 1930) slightly insinuated that Kazakh leaders were replaced by Russians by mentioning 'Kazakhs as the nominal rulers' and Russians had real power, but there were no article that mention liquidation of Kazakh party by the communist and replacement of Kazakhs by Russians in government. About the completion of the Turkestan-Siberian Railroad, there were five discrete articles. This event was vividly described in various aspects. 'Russian Railways' (April 16, 1930) shows the possibility of development the railroad will bring. 'Kazaks Celebrate Road with Feats' (May 1, 1930) shows how Kazak nomads celebrated completion of road by feats of strength and agility on horseback. There is also 'The Anarchist who Builds an Empire' (March 9, 1930) which tells about the one who designed this railroad. 'White Russia Again Undergoes Purge; Second in 5 months' (Nov. 18, 1937) mentioned a purge happened in 1937, the year that Eskarev (chairman of the Executive Committee), Kulumbetov (Deputy Prime minister), Dasvokazov (Secretary of the Party) was executed. Although it did not tell specifically about these important figures in Kazakhstan, it reported that the purge on minorities such as Kazakh, Lituania was executed. 'Output Rise Laid to Russian Purge' (April 18, 1938) also shows how purge on innocent people was processed in the U.S.S.R. 'Russia-Its Vast Complexity' (Jun 20, 1937) tells that 'recent executions and suicides of high Soviet officials' is happening. It directly mentioned 'Soviet Russia's current purge', though all these things were not confined to the Kazakhstan; Kazakhstan was described as one of the countries which was vulnerable to the purges. Industrialization in Kazakhstan, especially the development of mining industry, is vividly explained in the NYTimes. The articles on this matter include 'Gold of the U.S.S.R' (February 18, 1940), 'Soviet Plans Nickel Plant' (April 16, 1940), 'Soviet Put Second in Coal Resources' (July 23, 1937) and 'Industry in Asia Ample for Soviet' (Sep 7, 1941). Articles on collectivization or farm failure during 1930s were not easily found by searching with 'Kazakhstan'. Among the few, Especially 'Topics of the Times' (Sep 5, 1932) is noteworthy because it is written by Mr. Duranty who wrote many articles about Kazakhstan. This article reported how collectivization had failed by describing the situation in farm area. For example, he described how animals which were necessary for farming were killed, collectivized, or died of lack of fodder. Though the information cannot be found by key word Kazakhstan, the amount of information on collectivization or farm failure was abound in the NYTimes. And later in 1940s and 1950s, there were many articles on 'A people¡¯s tragedy in Central Asia' caused by farm failure. Many Kazakh refugees went to neighboring countries such as China and Kashmir during 1930s to avoid famine and the purges by the Soviet government. This massive exodus was not mentioned in the NYTimes during the 1930s. Nonetheless, later in 1950s, two articles ('Kazaks Quit Kashmir for Turkey' (August 2, 1952) and 'Kazakh Refugees Arrive in Turkey for Settlement' (Nov 20, 1952)) mentioned about Kazak refugees found in Kashmir about 20 years ago. Here, in 1950s articles, we can get some information on Kazakh migration in 1930s. 'Kazakh Peasant Revolt in Soviet Asia Reported' (Oct 22, 1951) and 'Revolt in Soviet Asia Believed Localized' (Oct 24, 1951) are articles mainly on Kazakhstan revolt. The First article just delivered a massage from a Soviet radio station, informing that Kazakhstan collective farm peasants clashed with communist security troops enforcing a new Stalinist farm policy. The second article was more remarkable in that it posses two contradicting ideas; one from voice of America report that revolt is localized disturbance and not significant, the other from review of Soviet press that growing 'bourgeois nationalism' is severe. 'Soviet Resettles Many as Traitors' (Jun 24, 1946) told story of forced migration of Chechens to Kazakhstan. 'Enslaving of Jews by Soviet Charge' (Nov 19, 1951) tells us there were farms consisted of only Jewish forced labors in Kazakhstan. 'Concentration Camp, Russian Model' (April 18, 1948), Purge of Moslems charged to Russia¡¯(June 16, 1949), 'Soviet Deporting Receive Credence' (Oct 18, 1949), 'Soviet Data Show Slave Labor Role' (Dec 17, 1950) tells us story about forced deportation. But most of the articles are focused on the suffering minorities rather than on its impact on Kazakhstan society. 'Khrushchev on Mission' (May 20, 1954), 'Soviet Survey in Asia' (May 22, 1954), 'Soviet To Expand Land Under Plow' (February 14, 1954), 'Soviet Farm Plan Marks First Year' (Sep 13, 1954), 'No Bumper Crop For Soviet Seen' (Sep 21, 1954), 'Kazakhstan Maps Tripling of Farm Area; Party Leader Sets plan in Soviet Republic' (Nov 1, 1954), 'Battle For Grain' (Nov 2, 1954), 'Mild Fall Helps Soviet Harvest' (Nov 19, 1954). All these 8 articles are related to Khrushchev's Virgin Land Campaign in Kazakhstan. (I listed only the articles that were published in 1954, the starting year of the campaign.) The articles narrate various aspects of the virgin land campaign. It also delivers detailed information about the campaign such as Khrushchev's 3000mile trip to Kazakhstan to inspect the progress of the campaign. A few years after the actual atomic tests in Kazakhstan (1965, 1967), one article 'Possible Atom Test In Soviet Reported' (Sep 9, 1969) was reported in NYTimes. Although the NYTimes does not get the information right after the atomic test, it reported correct information- that atomic test was performed at the Semipalatinsk area of Eastern Kazakhstan.

Table 1 : Important Events in the History of Kazakhstan 1920-1970

NoA = number of relevant articles
Depth : X = not mentioned, B = Briefly Mentioned, D = Deeply discussed

Year Event NoA Depth
1920 Foundation of Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic none X
1924 Stalin reorganized the current Central Asian Republics. 1 B
1925 Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist republic separated from Kyrgyz U.S.S.R. 1 B
1925 Almaty became new capital none X
1927 Liquidation of Kazakh party by the Communists and replacements of Kazakhs by Russians in government 1 B
1927 Purge in the name of 'Bourgeois Nationalism' ex)disappearance of Ryskulov (Kazakh Bolshevik leaders) 2 D
1928 Latin Script replaces Arabic Alphabet in Kazakhstan none X
1930s Joseph Stalin's efforts to collectivize agriculture at Kazakhstan (1929-1937) B
1930s Thousands of Kazakhs fled to other countries 2 B
1930s Continual Farm Failures in Kazakhstan B
1930 The Completion of the Turkestan-Siberain Railroad 5 D
1935 Kazakh became constituent republic of Soviet Union none X
1937 Another Purge : execution of Eskarev, Kulumbetov, Dasvokazov 3 D
1940 Cyrillic Alphabet replaces Arabic Alphabet in Kazakhstan none X
1940s Deportation of Crimean Tartars, Germans, Chechens, Muslims, Poles to Kazakhstan 5 D
1940s Industrialization of Kazakhstan D
1950s Kazakh Peasant Revolt 2 D
1950s Aral Sea in Kazakhstan is severely shrinking none B
1954 Virgin lands Campaign started by Nikita Khrushchev 8 D
1956 L.Brezhnev sent to take control of the Kazakhstan by N.Khrushchev none X
1965 USSR performed a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan B
1967 USSR performed an underground nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan B


Table 2 : Sorting Criteria

Deeply Discussed (D) => uses variety of perspectives, deal with a number of aspects
=> refers to both event and Kazakhstan directly
=> several separate articles related to specific event in Kazakhstan
Briefly Mentioned (B) => only one article or part of an article refers to event
=> focus of the article not on event/on Kazakhstan
=> may not even mention Kazakhstan by name
Not Mentioned (X) => not mentioned at all


Chart 1 : The Depth of the Articles


The events that were 'deeply discussed' by the NYTimes share some characteristics. First, most of the events have far-reaching impact. Which means that the event not only affect the Kazakhstan but also Soviet Union and probably further world politics or economics including the United States. Second, these events were not phenomena that were special or confined to Kazakhstan but the general trend of U.S.S.Rs, which happened in other Soviet Republics, too. For example, 'The Completion of Trans-Siberian Railroad' was deeply discussed in New York Times. NYTimes offers 5 separate articles on the matter. An article named 'Russian Railways' (April 16, 1930) insinuates the future development that the completion of new railroad will bring forth. Another article named 'Kazaks Celebrate Road with Feats' (May 1, 1930) shows how Kazakh nomads celebrated completion of the road by a festival. The completion of railroad was a regional matter that is very important to the economy and society of Kazakhstan. At the same time, it would influence the transportation of grains from Kazakhstan which in turn would affect the economy of Soviet Union, and the world. Also, the completion of railroad means more facile international trade between Kazakhstan and other countries, which will affect other countries in the world. Moreover, the completion of railroad at that period was universal phenomena that happened in many countries, which means it was not confined to Kazakhstan but general trend of the world.
            'Briefly Mentioned' events had less importance compared to the 'deeply discussed' articles. The events fell into this category usually have no significant impact in the context of world politics or economy. Nonetheless, the events often have certain regional importance, having significant importance to the Kazakhstan, U.S.S.R and people in Soviet Unions. For example, Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic separated from Kyrgyz U.S.S.R was very important matter for Kazakhs and neighboring countries, but actually have no significant change to the world; thus this event is just briefly mentioned. The events in this category usually does not have single article dedicated to report this event. Most of these events were merely introduced to provide background information of another important event, thus usually did not reported on time. (Some were mentioned few years after it happened.) Some events were briefly mentioned not because it was not significant but plainly because the NYTimes could not gather information about the event. For example, an Atomic bomb test that was conducted in Kazakhstan was very significant event not only in regard to Kazakhstan but also in regard to the globe and America but just mentioned because it was secretly processed, NYTimes reporter could not aggregate enough information.
            The NYTimes ignored 6 major events that have very significant meaning in the history of Kazakhstan. Why ? Ignored events include : the foundation of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the establishment of Almaty as a new capital of Kazakhstan, the replacement of Arabic script by the Latin script, the severe shrinking of the Aral Sea. These events were ignored either because it was a regional matter that only affected Kazakhstan, as the establishment of Almaty as a new capital of Kazakhstan or the events were non-political or economic matters. As shown in the list of ignored events, NYTimes put much weight on the political or economical parts of the Kazakhstan rather than cultural, environmental or academic matters. The next section, 'variety of the articles' will explain what kinds of events were deeply mentioned and what kinds of events were ignored.

III.2 Variety of the Articles
            To learn more about what kinds of events were deeply discussed and what kinds of events were largely overlooked by the NYTimes, I categorized 289 articles by contents. Following table 2, we can observe the general overview of NYTimes articles. ('Farm plan' encompasses articles related to Kazakhstan¡¯s role as a Soviet Virgin Land: 'Industry / mining' encompasses the development of new mines and industry in Kazakhstan. 'Leaders' encompasses changes in leadership and also purges of leaders: 'Deportation' deals with the forced migration into the Kazakhstan: 'Social Conflict' encompasses Kazakhs revolt or any other social problems: The articles in 'General' category give an overview of Kazakhstan or Soviet U.S.S.Rs in general. 'Railroad / Airline' includes articles on the development or commencement of new air line route or railroad: 'Minority' section includes articles on the minorities such as Moslems, Poles and Jews in Kazakhstan society. )
            Before analyzing the articles, we should remember the role and importance of a country named Kazakhstan in 1920 to 1969. Largely under the control of Moscow, Kazakhstan functioned as a supplier of Russia. Kazakhstan's vast land served as a virgin farm land to feed the Soviet Union, and its ample mineral resources. In the American perspective, which simultaneously means that of the NYTimes, Kazakhstan was a part of Soviet Union; the NYTimes articles often were not sensitive to dependencies within the USSR.
            Observing the spread of articles in table 2, we can discover the American viewpoint of the NYTimes. More than 25% of articles were dedicated to recount the status of Kazakhstan's farm. Significant amount of articles also dealt the industry and mining of Kazakhstan. Though articles in these two categories seem to report the situation of Kazakhstan, actually its focus and significance lie in the impact of these events on the Soviet Union; the farms and industry in Kazakhstan was deeply discussed because these will affect the economy of the Soviet Union which further affect the entire world, including the U.S.A. Looking at this trend, we can discover how the selection of the NYTimes articles are focused on world in general and America rather than Kazakhstan.
            Nonetheless, a significant amount of articles paid attention to the national affairs happened in the Kazakhstan. Most of the articles that are classified as 'etc' dealt with regional matters that happened inside Kazakhstan. One of its examples is 'Alma-Ata Happy at May Day Fete' (May 19, 1955). In this article, the reporter tells the regional event of Kazakhstan in detail. (Still, the writer tired to put Kazakhstan in the context of world. Here, the focus of the article is how Kazakhstan, one of the U.S.S.R. republics, enjoys the May Day, the greatest holiday in the communist calendar. And it makes comparison to the May Day festival in Moscow.) Although the amount of the articles which focused on Kazakhstan's matters such as festivals and regional social events were meager compared to the articles that focuses on Kazakhstan's influence on Soviet Union and world, the NYTimes later certainly showed some concern to the Kazakhstan as an independent country.

Table 3 : Classification of NYTimes Articles on Kazakhstan 1920-1969 by Content

Total 289 Social Conflict 17
Farm Plan 73 General 17
Industry / Mining 41 Railroad / Airline 15
Leaders 35 Minority 14
Deportation 19 etc 58


IV. The Sources of the NYTimes Articles

             To qualify as a solid source for historical research, the sources of information should be various and reliable. If all the sources of articles are from one side (for example, the Soviet Union Government), the NYTimes articles would be clearly biased and could not tell anything more than just Soviet view of Kazakhstan. Fortunately, NYTimes gathered information from diverse sources.

IV.1 Classification of the Sources
            Reviewing the articles, I classified the articles into 5 categories according to their sources. The categories include: 'Fact', 'Soviet Press', 'Government', 'NYTimes reporter and special reporters' and 'Combined'. The first category, 'Fact' includes the articles that are solely deal with facts and thus leave no leeway for bias or opinions. For example, 'Soviet Airlines Rapidly Expand' (1929, January 20) just informs information on Soviet airline services. (Most articles in this category did not provide clear source of information, so I just put these in the 'Fact¡¯ category.) The second category, 'Soviet Press' includes the articles that are mostly based on the Soviet press. Some of these articles gave clear credit to the specific Soviet newspapers. For example, 'Russia Stresses Science Advance' (1946, Dec 30) clarified that the information is from 'Izvestia, Government newspaper'. Several articles gave amorphous credit by informing it is from another foreign press or the Soviet press. The third category, 'Government' refers to the articles which delivered new government policies or decision. The NYTimes, as a daily newspaper, often has announced the change in government policy or new decisions. For example, 'Soviet Food to Increase' (1943, April 19) delivered the new Soviet government policy announced by assistant chief of the planning division of the People's Commissariat for the Food Industry. Fourth category, 'NYTimes's reporter and Special reporters' is the most remarkable section. This category includes articles written by either NYTimes reporters who were sent to Kazakhstan or special reporters from diverse background.
            Most of the NYTimes reporter who wrote about Kazakhstan resided in Moscow. There they gathered information from the Soviet Press or interview with people from Kazakhstan. Or they took a trip to Kazakhstan to gather news. These reporters include Theodore, Ralph Parker, W.H. Lawrence, C.L. Sulzberger, Drew Middleton. Some reporters were directly sent to Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan during the period. These reporters such as Walter Duranty and Henry Tanner wrote more than several articles on Kazakhstan more profoundly than other reporters in Moscow. The special reporters were not employed by NYTimes but just sent an article to express their voices. This category is significant in that it provides the voice of diverse people such as expatriate, farmers and civilians in Kazakhstan. (This category will be discussed in more detail in chapter IV.2) The last category 'Combined' is simply the articles that has gathered information from many sources and usually show an analysis on the event. For example, 'Change in Russia' (1943 July 4) mentions information from 'Soviet press', 'many observers', and 'reporters' at the same time, and at the end of article gives a comprehensive analysis on the event. The articles that belongs to the category 'combined' are often more judgmental than informational.
            The distribution of the sources is portrayed in the next chart. 42% of articles just repeated the contents of Soviet press. 35% of articles were based on the NYTimes' independent sources and 23% delivered the message of the government. ('Fact' and 'Combined' are ignored because these category do not contain show the sources of information precisely).

Table 4 : Classification of NYTimes Articles on Kazakhstan 1920-1969 by Source

Total Factual Soviet Press Government NYT Reporter Combined
289 28 93 50 78 40


Chart 2 : The Sources of the Articles



While we can relatively easily get information shown in 'fact', 'Soviet press' and 'government' section, the information given in the 'NYTimes reporter' section can be found only in the NYTimes and thus can be considered to be more valuable. Several articles in this section are remarkable for offering information from expatriate or exiled people who were banished from the Soviet Union; thus we can hear not only the voice of Soviet Union which is easily found from Soviet press but also the voice of the opponents of Soviet Union. In the next chapter, several noticeable articles written by various people will be investigated.

IV.2 Notable Articles
            The articles that were written by people from diverse background, especially those who opposed the Soviet Union are noteworthy in that the press in the Soviet Union might have been censored and thus this kind of articles would not published by the Soviet Press.
            There was a noteworthy section named 'Letters to the Times' in which diverse people expressed their opinions. For example, Juhan Vasar, the president of Estonian National Committee in the United States, wrote about the Soviet youth's immigration into Kazakhstan. He obviously criticized Soviet government for compelling unwilling youths out to the cold farmland in Kazakhstan. 'Broad New Purge In Soviet Alleged' (August 6, 1951) tells the story by the M.Pijade, veteran communist theoretician of Yugoslavia. He stated the reality of purge on Kazakhstan. He says 'Perhaps the Soviet leaders entertain the illusion that they might be able to achieve what Hitler failed to do . . .' This explicit comment on Soviet government was possible on the NYTimes.
            One other type of very significant articles is what vividly conveys the realities of Kazakhstan's life condition and Soviet rule over it. In 'Waiting for the Train in Soviet Asia All-Night Vigil, U.S. Priest Finds' (August 2, 1955), we can discover that the reporter from the NYTimes actually traveled to Kazakhstan to write an article. He went to Alma-Ata, now Almaty (the former capital of Kazakhstan) and there he observed the train station and heard the voices of the youths in Kazakhstan. 'The Soviet Brand of Colonialism' (April 8, 1956) is a three page long article. Though this article is not confined to just the history of Kazakhstan (it also encompasses Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kirghizia), the article gave a critical review on the Soviet colonialism, mainly focused on their exploitation on Kazakhstan. In 'Red Policy Argued At Turksib Station' (April 30, 1930), Walter Duranty, the reporter of NYTimes who wrote many articles on Kazakhstan, directly delivers the voice of peasant and old woman in Almaty. He is one of the most prominent figures who had been in Kazakhstan and wrote many articles on the Kazakhstan. In his articles, he vividly delivered the situation in Kazakhstan by offering the direct voice of peasant boy, girl and others in Kazakhstan. Especially in this article, we can find how they respond to the collectivization of Soviet Union. 'Soviet put second in coal resource' (1937, July 23) had an interview with professor Prigorovsky on the national matter related to Kazakhstan. 'Soviet Has 662,200 In Penal Camp Toil' (1931, Jan 31) is also very meaningful in that the NYTimes reporter, Marcus A. Tollet in Moscow had an interview with a former high official of Soviet Secret Police. This anonymous secret police directly and specifically conveyed the situation of penal camp in Kazakhstan. He mentioned the number of prisoners, the eight kinds of labor that prisoners were assigned. This very specific article provides us a clear insight of the realities of Soviet penal camps. These articles were not few exceptional articles; many other articles in my list also provide colorful, stunning and specific information about Kazakhstan.


V. Conclusion

             The NYTimes can serve as a solid source of information to study the history of Kazakhstan, but should be supplemented by other sources. Though incomplete, The NYTimes has many advantages as a high-quality historical source. Most prominently, the NYTimes is very cheap and easily assessable database for anyone who can use internet. Though some important events are ignored, more than 70% of important events that happened in Kazakhstan were at least mentioned in Kazakhstan. For more than one third of the important incidents in Kazakhstan, the NYTimes offers not only one-sided article but several articles written by diverse authors, rendering diverse viewpoints. The NYTimes is not written by single or certain group of authors but numerous reporters and civilians from diverse background, including expatriates, former Soviet officers and civilians. This enables us to develop objective and unbiased point of view with a single source named the NYTimes. In addition, as an daily newspaper, NYTimes offers not a compressed or summarized version of information but a detailed report on the important events. Plus, the NYTimes was relatively free of Soviet censorship which was very severe; so it can be used as one of a few sources that recount events that happened in Soviet U.S.S.Rs relatively without much restraint. And lastly, NYTimes is written in English, being available to more people who cannot read Russian or Kazakh. Though these merits, the NYTimes lacks certain qualities to be a perfect source of information. The NYTimes only reports the events that are significant in the point of view of Americans. As an American newspaper aimed mainly for American readers, the NYTimes ignored certain regional matters that has no significant value in the context of the world. Though this drawback, the NYTimes can serve as a nice source of information to learn history of Kazakhstan.


VI. Notes

 (1)      World Statesmen : Kazakhstan
(2)      Katz, Kazakhstan and the Kazakhs (p.?)
(3)      ibid. p.221.
(4)      UNESCO Heritage : History of Kazakhstan
(5)      Timelines.ws : Kazakhstan
(6)      Nuclear Weapon Archive : Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program
(7)      Lauk, Practice of Press Censorship
(8)      BBC Timeline : Kazakhstan; Timelines.ws : Kazakhstan


VII. Bibliography

 1.      Zev Katz, Kazakhstan and the Kazakhs, pp.213-237 in : Zev Katz et al. (ed.), Handbook of Major Soviet Nationalities, NY : The Free Press 1975 [G]
2.      Ratnikas, Algis. "Timeline Kazakhstan." Timelines of History. Algis. 12 Septemper 2007, .
3.      "Country Profile: Kazakhstan" BBC.com. 21 August 2007
4.      Lauk, Epp. Practice of Soviet Censorship in the Press 14 Sep 2007 .
5.      Ganse, Alexander. "History of Kazakhstan." World History at KMLA 27 March 2007 .
6.      "Kazakhstan." CIA World Factbook. 4 Oct 2007. CIA. 8 Oct 2007,
7.      "Kazakhstan." Encarta, MSN. MSN. 8 Oct 2007 .
8.      Ben Cahoon, "Kazakhstan." World Statesmen. 8 Oct 2007, .
9.      "THE HISTORY OF KAZAKHSTAN ." UNESCO Heritage. 9 Oct 2007 .
10.      "HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE NUCLEAR KAZAKHSTAN." National Atomic Company. 9 Oct 2007 .
11.      "The Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program." 12 Dec 1997 . The Nuclear Weapon Archive. 10 Oct 2007 .


Appendix : List of Relevant NYT Articles

1921-1930
Starving crawl to die in cemetery February 6, 1922
Skeletons strew steppes in heaps Starving crawl to die in cemetery February 17, 1922
Feeding Russian students May 7, 1922
Two new republics organized by Soviet September 20, 1924
Kirghiz nobles banished June 27, 1927
Soviet Air routes spread over Russia May 20, 1928
Soviet air lines rapidly expand January 20, 1929
Soviet Republics October 25, 1929
Soviet expels six for pan Islamic drive November 8, 1929
Russian Railways April 16, 1929
The anarchist who builds an empire March 9, 1930
Red policy argued at TurkSib station April 30, 1930
Kazaks celebrate road with feast May 1, 1930
TurkSib road hailed as trains proceed May 2, 1930
Soviet Rule making gains in Turkestan May 14, 1930
For more Soviet doctors August 17, 1930
Plans Moscow link with Alaska by air October 4, 1930
1931-1940
Soviet hold 66,200 in penal camp toil January 31, 1931
Soviet Folk music August 29, 1931
Soviet develops vast rubber source January 26, 1932
Topics of the Times September 5, 1932
meandering river dooms Soviet city February 14, 1933
new or renamed town make changes in maps November 25, 1934
New or renamed towns make changes in a map November 25, 1934
Soviet rewarding crack producers December 24, 1934
Text of new Soviet constitution designed to set up more demographic rule June 28, 1935
Soviet balloonist claim another mark September 23, 1935
Ancient gold mine found by Russians April 15, 1937
Russia-its vast complexity June 20, 1937
Soviet put second in coal resources July 23, 1937
White Russia again undergoes purge second in 5 months November 13, 1937
Output rise laid to Russian purge April 18, 1938
2 Soviet teachers sentenced August 14, 1938
The progress of women in eastern Asia September 4, 1938
Soviet leads capitalist countries in the rate of population increase June 3, 1939
Gold of the U.S.S.R February 18, 1940
Soviet plans nickel plant April 16, 1940
Deletions by Soviet censor September 14, 1940
1941-1950
Industry in Asia ample for Soviet September 7, 1941
Soviet farms spur tilling to aid war April 10, 1942
Russia Beyond Urals April 23, 1942
Soviet Anticipates abundant harvest June 9, 1942
Soviet Pushes oil output August 6, 1942
Russia's oil store is vast August 30, 1942
News of Soviet Russia November 22, 1942
Soviet war Output rises April 2, 1943
Soviet Food to Increase April 19, 1943
Change in Russia July 4, 1943
Text of Moloroff plan February 2, 1944
Soviet Increases land cultivation March 16, 1944
New Soviet Line up March 19, 1944
Soviet oil industry modernized in war March 21, 1944
Ural hum to feed red army machine February 27, 1945
Samarkand lifts mid-Asia blight April 27, 1945
Russia seen shaping parallel policy for security in Asia and Europe April 28, 1945
The Russians in war and in peace May 27, 1945
Big recovery steps limited by Moscow November 11, 1945
Russia orders rise in wheat planting May 21, 1946
Soviet Resettles many traitors June 27, 1946
Reports indicate Soviet crop rise July 1, 1946
Russians urged to speed harvest July 21, 1946
Swift harvesting claimed in Soviet August 21, 1946
New Moscow unit attacks farm lag October 10, 1946
Russians find gold, iron fields October 30, 1946
Moscow hints lag in main granaries November 25, 1946
Jet river ships built November 29, 1946
Deliveries of grain rise in Soviet Union December 5, 1946
Russia stresses science advance December 30, 1946
Threat of famine is bared in Russia January 3, 1947
Russia to Widen wheat acreage January 10, 1947
46 Soviet drought worst in 50 year January 22, 1947
Soviet Farms in '47 Face Critical year January 28, 1947
Soviet Oil aim put at 60,000,000 tons June 23, 1947
Stalin gets 3 more posts January 15, 1948
Concentration camps, Russian model April 18, 1948
Millions in Russia get navy training October 31, 1948
Weak spots noted in Soviet recovery November 23, 1948
Soviet body assails poor civilian goods May 21, 1949
Purge of Moslems charged to Russia June 16, 1949
Soviet Deporting receive credence October 18, 1949
Soviet primes its Moslems for potential expansionism February 15, 1950
Soviet names 2 deputies September 9, 1950
Soviet production seen at new peak November 19, 1950
Soviet data show slave labor role December 17, 1950
1951-1960
10 Soviet republics vote January 19, 1951
broad new purge in Soviet alleged August 6, 1951
Kazakh peasant revolt in Soviet Asia reported October 22, 1951
Revolt in Soviet Asia believed localized October 24, 1951
Enslaving of Jews by the Soviet charged November 19, 1951
Reds in Kazakhstan criticized by Pravda January 5, 1952
Soviet continues minorities purge January 6, 1952
Soviet Moslems face submersion January 30, 1952
Siberia railroad near completion March 3, 1952
Soviet is worried over central asia May 23, 1952
Thefts from farms in Kazakhstan bared July 7, 1952
4 Soviet party aides ousted September 9, 1952
New Russian program calls for tripling of hydroelectric power September 11, 1952
Machine tool gain listed by Russia October 16, 1952
Kazakh Refugees Arrive In Turkey for Settlement November 20 1952
Travel freedom in Russia is not all that it seems June 26, 1953
New Soviet power plant open July 4, 1953
Soviet tells people Beria plotted to saw hate among nationalities July 13, 1953
Soviet Asia's pace believed ragging October 6, 1953
New Soviet rail line opened October 28, 1953
A people's tragedy in Central Asia November 29, 1953
Soviet farm plan plagues Moscow December 28, 1953
Soviet said to end 2 major projects January 1, 1954
Soviet shakes up party leadership in two republics February 1, 1954
Why red lost his job February 13, 1954
Soviet denounces Kazakh premier February 14, 1954
Soviet to expand land under plow February 14, 1954
Purge in central Asia February 15, 1954
Slav-Kazakh dispute cited February 24, 1954
Wide Replacements mark vote in Soviet March 19, 1954
Kazakh official ousted April 22, 1954
Soviet planning May 13, 1954
Khrushev on mission May 20, 1954
Soviet survey in Asia May 22, 1954
Soviet party rising to a par with state May 27, 1954
Soviet offers loans for private housing September 4, 1954
Soviet farm plan marks first year September 13, 1954
No bumper crop for Soviet seen September 21, 1954
Soviet settlers get inducements October 18, 1954
Kazakhstan maps tripling of farm area November 1, 1954
Battle for grain November 2, 1954
Mild fall helps Soviet harvest November 19, 1954
Electric ministry is added by Soviet November 25, 1954
Vast Drive in Soviet to Open East Urge January 8, 1955
Soviet is slowing migration to east January 20, 1956
Soviet plans to copy U.S corn economy February 4, 1955
Malenkov faces big economic job February 16, 1955
Moscow assails 3 Farm agencies February 20, 1955
Soviet decree gives farms greater share in planning March 11, 1955
Soviet Youths Go east April 2, 1955
Soviet adds rails in new grain hue May 15, 1955
Kazakh farmers tackle big task May 17, 1955
Westerners sees new Soviet land May 18, 1955
Alma-Ata happy at may day fete May 19, 1955
Soviet farmers said to get rich May 20, 1955
Soviet train life proves convivial May 22, 1955
Soviet bonuses spur cultivation of corn May 23, 1955
Soviet Farm plan faces obstacles May 23, 1955
Russia's Asian Frontier June 5, 1955
Farming for Soviet June 6, 1955
Soviet stresses heavy industry June 14, 1955
Kazakh shift reported June 27, 1955
Soviet restores banned minority June 30, 1955
Waiting for Train in Soviet Asia all night vigil, U.S priest finds August 2, 1955
Kazakh party elects August 12, 1955
Russians tighten rule of Kazakhs August 15, 1955
Droughts hits corn August 16, 1955
Soviet farm test reported in peril August 20, 1955
Islam in Russia August 21, 1955
Soviet develops new coal region August 28, 1955
Second steel sites pushed by Soviet September 5, 1955
Soviet will push new lands plan September 20, 1955
Moscow reports record harvest October 31, 1955
Soviet now seeks labor efficiency January 4, 1956
Foreign affairs January 7, 1956
Soviet is slowing migration to the east January 20, 1956
Forced labor rise seen February 2, 1956
The Soviet brand of colonialism April 8, 1955
Soviet planning huge migration April 8, 1956
Russia appeals a new to farmers to spur outputs April 9, 1956
Moldavians head call to migrate April 9, 1956
Soviet plans end of prison camps May 14, 1956
Soviet youths to build railroad May 30, 1956
Vast grain crops in Soviet periled August 28, 1956
Novosibirsk ending prison labor set-up August 30, 1956
Soviet troops aid harvest September 1, 1956
Soviet harvest imperils grain crop in Soviet September 2, 1956
Output drop feared for eastern Europe December 10, 1956
Unanimity reigns as Russians vote March 10, 1957
Tiny sects irk Soviet April 29, 1957
Soviet canal survey finished May 5, 1957
Malenkov¡¯s post in remote region July 11, 1957
Soviet discovers new ore deposits December 1, 1957
Kazakh setback in economy seen January 20, 1958
Moscow concedes failure in farming January 22, 1958
Underground lake in Asia March 23, 1958
Soviet officials accused on funds August 14, 1958
High steel goal is set by Soviet August 24, 1958
Soviet farmers gain adulation November 2, 1958
Soviet peasants get new status January 13, 1959
Festival program July 12, 1959
Soviet education July 15, 1958
U.S Governors in Alma-Ata July 14, 1959
Soviet reported to miss chance with thriving king ranch herd July 22, 1959
Russian drought hit grain yield September 10, 1959
Soviet criticizes Kazakh unrest October 11, 1959
Kazakh strike reported October 15, 1959
Soviet acts on Kazakhstan October 15, 1959
Kazakh leader ousted November 22, 1959
Kazakh pioneers charge neglect November 29, 1959
Area restive recently November 29, 1959
Moscow reports oil and gas finds December 5, 1959
3 Kazakh aides out in shake-up December 8, 1959
Soviet farm chief is under criticism December 10, 1960
Soviet party orders tightened controls over the collectives December 27, 1959
Kazakhstan science assailed December 31, 1959
Kazakh unit to sift farm deficiencies January 3, 1960
Izvestia critical of Kazakh chiefs January 6, 1960
Kazakhstan gets supply increases January 9, 1960
Kunayev takes post of Kazakh red leader January 21, 1960
Kazakhstan minister named January 26, 1960
Ex-Kazakh leader takes lower post January 30, 1960
Soviet troop cut on February 27, 1960
Yellow snow in Kazakhstan March 8, 1960
New Kazakh security chief March 13, 1960
Kazakhstan revolt last fall reported April 3, 1960
Strike confirmed by Kazakh leader April 5, 1960
Soviet sets up economic body to coordinate industrial areas June 21, 1960
Fazyl Karibzhanov, 48 August 26, 1960
1961-1970
Faking the statistics April 23, 1961
Automated steel planned in Soviet August 20, 1961
New Kazakh chief elected January 4, 1961
Soviet Kazakh chief is relieved of post January 10, 1961
Soviet concedes farming setback January 20, 1961
Soviet virgin lands show harvest drop October 5, 1961
2 Condemned in Kazakhstan October 10, 1961
Soviet geography faces big change October 22, 1961
Soviet is reaping large grain crop October 15, 1961
bad crops strain Soviet semantics November 22, 1961
Virgin lands debacle November 24, 1961
Behind Soviet farm lag February 18, 1962
Russians complete formation of 17 major economic regions February 24, 1962
Soviet bloc raised output 7% March 28, 1962
Soviet urges Kazakh farmers to speed harvest preparation July 8, 1962
2 Kazakh chiefs July 7, 1962
Soviet press spurs Kazakhs on harvest July 16, 1962
Soviet ousts chief of Kazakh republic September 14, 1962
Soviet farm woe viewed at parley September 23, 1962
Soviet farm region short of goal again November 13, 1962
Soviet bus driver accused of murder December 5, 1962
Soviet extends campaign on art December 5, 1962
Kazakhstan's party leaders are dismissed in shake-up December 27, 1962
Soviet pushes drive on economic crimes January 14, 1963
Soviet union's Germans March 6, 1963
Soviet time of troubles March 18, 1963
Kazakh leader cites ineptness of top aides March 22, 1963
Soviet discharges central Asian aide March 26, 1963
teen-agers list wants in Soviet April 21, 1963
U.S graphic art draws large Soviet crowds October 11, 1963
Kazakh tension simmers October 13, 1963
Ex-prisoner says writers exaggerate the cruelties October 13, 1963
Concerts in Kazakhstan October 19, 1963
Yiddish songs in cozy setting move Alma-Ata Jews to smiles and tears October 19, 1963
Russian defends labor camp life October 19, 1963
Families join Soviet convicts November 11, 1963
Russian altering penal colonies November 23, 1963
Security chief relieved of duties in Kazakhstan December 2, 1963
Soviet discloses size of crop loss December 5, 1963
Khrushchev reported planning to give up virgin land farms February 23, 1964
Soviet is hopeful on key grain belt August 2, 1964
Khrushchev visits virgin lands farms August 14, 1964
Khrushchev urges haste in harvest August 16, 1964
Soviet stressing mining for gold August 24, 1964
Smelter in the north Caucasus extracts rare and vital metals September 2, 1964
Soviet site selected September 4, 1964
Dinosaur cemetery found September 24, 1964
Russia's farm production November 25, 1964
Leader ousted by Khrushchev is restored to provincial post December 8, 1964
Russian defends Khrushchev plan December 11, 1964
Factory officials punished in Soviet December 29, 1964
Demand to guide 400 Soviet plants January 14, 1965
Soviet restaurateur executed January 25, 1965
Kazakh observe Soviet-China pact February 28, 1965
Kazakhstan to get radio ads March 14, 1965
Soviet dooms candy maker April 5, 1965
Soviet to expand use of geography May 2, 1965
3d post Khrushchev shift in Kazakhstani leadership June 13, 1965
Soviet industry halts a decline in growth rate February 3, 1966
Soviet plans 150 M.P.H train as part of rail improvement March 26, 1966
Soviet legal experts urge valuation of land resources to avoid misuse and waste June 1, 1966
Ancient ruins found in Kazakhstan area August 7, 1966
A stop at Alma-Ata on the side of Asia August 21, 1966
Soviet sets off big blast to turn river past city October 22, 1966
Soviet dam built by record blast October 30, 1966
Moscow opening drive on erosion April 2, 1967
Soviet scientists recalls Stalin's decision making April 18, 1967
Soviet to drill deep into earth May 15, 1967
Soviet spurs use of gas with pipeline to Moscow September 23, 1967
4 Soviet minorities may now end exile June 16, 1968
Kazakhs spurred on civil defense September 8, 1968
drive is on to save a Soviet sea from drying up February 16, 1969
Soviet industry is set back by a harsh winter April 30, 1969
Chinese said to hold area in Kazakhstan May 14, 1969
Soviet mobilizes nation for harvest June 15, 1969
Bloodshed in Central Asia August 14, 1969
Soviet and China fight new battle in Central Asia August 14, 1969
Possible atom test in Soviet reported September 9, 1969