Torokul Dzhanuzakov (; 1893–1921) was a Kyrgyz Soviet politician; the deputy chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the
Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
The Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (TASSR; ; ), originally called the Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ...
, chairman of the Commission for Refugees in 1916, one of the main organizers and leaders of the pan-Turk movement in Turkestan, and a member of the secret
Turkestan National Union (TMB) political organization.
Early life
Dzhanuzakov and the outstanding statesman of Turkestan
Turar Ryskulov
Turar Ryskululy Ryskulov (, ''Tūrar Rysqūlūly Rysqūlov''; Russian: Турар Рыскулович Рыскулов; 26 December 1894 – 10 February 1938) was a Soviet politician, the chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Turke ...
had been friends since childhood. Together they graduated from the Merke boarding school in 1909. As the best graduate, Torokul was accepted as an interpreter by the administration to the Governor-General of Turkestan.
Referring to extracts from the diaries of
Dmitry Furmanov
Dmitriy Andreyevich Furmanov (; – 15 March 1926) was a Russian writer, revolutionary and military officer.
Biography
He was born to a peasant family. For three years, he attended the Realschule in Kineshma. It was there that he developed ...
, Dzhanuzakov actively participated in the
uprising of 16th year and was one of its leaders.
During Soviet times Dzhanuzakov was the initiator of the creation and chairman of the Commission for Refugees, participants of the uprising in 1916. He managed to free the local population, who suffered from the punitive operations of the
tsarist regime
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, from taxes, to allocate huge sums of money and other means of material assistance to the population of Turkestan. Using the powers that he has, Dzhanuzakov simultaneously organizes work to investigate the most violent manifestations of the great-power attitude of the
kulak
Kulak ( ; rus, кула́к, r=kulák, p=kʊˈɫak, a=Ru-кулак.ogg; plural: кулаки́, ''kulakí'', 'fist' or 'tight-fisted'), also kurkul () or golchomag (, plural: ), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned over ...
population of the
Chuy
Chuy () is a city in the extreme east of Uruguay, in the Rocha Department, northeast of Montevideo. It lies on the border with Brazil, separated from its Brazilian sister town of Chuí only by a shared avenue that serves as the border, and by the ...
and
Issyk-Kul
Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleve ...
valleys towards the local Kyrgyz. Thus, as a result of the investigation of the brutal murder in 1916, 537 unarmed Kyrgyz people – old men, women and children in the vicinity of the village of
Belovodskoye
Belovodskoye ( Kyrgyz and ) is a large village in the Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 23,046 in 2021. It is the administrative seat of Moskva District, and is located on the European route E40 (M39) Bishkek to Chimkent highway.
Po ...
, were sentenced to be executed by the organizers of this crime. Thanks to Dzhanuzakov's determination to implement the measures taken by the authorities to assist refugees returning from China, they immediately returned to their former owners the land occupied during and immediately after the uprising. But later, his concerns about improving the situation of his countrymen were interpreted as "distortions of land policy".
Career
Between the military and political leadership of the Turkestan ASSR, there were contradictions on many issues. Especially for the first two years of the
Basmachi movement
The Basmachi movement (, derived from ) was an uprising against Imperial Russian and Soviet rule in Central Asia by rebel groups inspired by Islamic beliefs. It has been called "probably the most important movement of opposition to Soviet rul ...
there was no agreement. Political leadership allowed the criticism of the military for errors and surpluses in the fight against Basmachism in Turkestan. They consisted of a resolute resolution of the struggle against the Basmachi movement, numerous facts of arbitrariness and violence,
Red Terror
The Red Terror () was a campaign of political repression and Mass killing, executions in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia which was carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police ...
against ordinary people.

He attended the
Congress of the Peoples of the East
The Congress of the Peoples of the East () was a multinational conference held in September 1920 by the Communist International in Baku, Azerbaijan (then the capital of Soviet Azerbaijan). The congress was attended by nearly 1,900 delegates from ...
held in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
in September 1920, where he had the floor and became involved in drawing up the statutes of
ERK, a Muslim Socialist organisation.
At the
Samarkand
Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
Turkestan National Union Congress sessions held 5–7 September, the by-laws of the society, consisting of twenty-four items, and the flag of Turkistan were approved. In the committee preparing the national flag of
Turkestan
Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...
, Dzhanuzakov served along with Munevver Kari and
Zeki Velidi Togan
Zeki Velidi Togan (, , ; 1890 – 1970 in Istanbul), was a Turkish- Bashkir historian, Turkologist, and leader of the Bashkir revolutionary and liberation movement, doctor of philosophy (1935), professor, honorary doctor of the University of Man ...
and a few other individuals.
In parallel with participation in the national liberation movement, Torokul Dzhanuzakov engaged in scientific research: he collected folklore and conducted archaeographical and ethnographic research.
Death
Dzhanuzakov was shot by the
Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...
authorities in 1921 when he was 28 years old.
Report of the Cheka Plenipotentiary Representative in the Turkestan Republic
Yakov Peters Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov.
Notable people
People ...
to the Presidium of the Cheka of 17 November 1921:
See also
*
List of unsolved murders
These lists of unsolved murders include notable cases where victims were murdered in unknown circumstances.
* List of unsolved murders (before 1900)
* List of unsolved murders (1900–1979)
* List of unsolved murders (1980–1999)
* List of unsol ...
References
Books
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzhanuzakov, Torokul
1893 births
1921 deaths
Jadids
Kazakhstani politicians
Kyrgyzstani politicians
Pan-Turkists
Soviet politicians
20th-century Tajikistani politicians
Unsolved murders in the Soviet Union
Uzbekistani politicians
Governors-general of Turkestan