The Curious Case of Kunaev

The Soviet legacy in the Republic of Kazakhstan is, to use one scholar's words, somewhere "between continuity and rupture." As can be inferred from this phrase, this means that independent Kazakhstan has adopted a selective approach to the legacy of the Soviet regime. While I do not have a good insight into how the history of Communism is taught in Kazakhstani schools, I have taken the time to survey the symbolism and iconography remaining from the period in Almaty's public spaces. Based on my anecdotal experience in Moscow and Minsk, Almaty has gone further down the path of decommunization than Russia and (much further than) Belarus. However, one does not need to search very hard to find visual reminders of the Soviet legacy. No figure exemplifies independent Kazakhstan's mixed approach to Communism more fully than Dinmukhamed Akhmetuly Kunaev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan from 1964 to 1986, and a figure who remains highly visible and widely revered despite this role.

Who Gets to Stay

In my view, the figures of the Communist past which have endured in the popular consciousness are largely, but not exclusively, limited to those of ethnic Kazakh extraction. As just one example, in the Alley of Heroes in the park bordering the Kazakh-British Technical University, you can still see the busts of Red Army figures from the long period of Soviet occupation. These are by and large Kazakh figures, but this is not the case for all of them. By continuing to highlight these figures, the USSR becomes just one difficult element in the long history of the multinational Kazakhstani people. This is a nuance which is important to remember: while the Kazakh people are central to the ideology of the state, it is not a state with citizenship prescribed by ethnicity. Therefore, the term Kazakhstani is sensible, even if it is opaque to some readers.

Other noteworthy Communists have not remained in their original places amidst the squares and green spaces of Almaty. While the hammer and sickle can be seen on such places as the Kazakh Academy of Sciences building and on the plaques commemorating famous heroes of labor and the Red Army, Lenin statues have been replaced by figures from Kazakh history. Abai is perched atop pedestals which might have previously held up Gorky. Some research revealed that major statues of Lenin, Frunze, Gorky and others had been removed to an out-of-the-way location by Family Park. It just so happens that this park is a short distance from the university at which I am staying, so I made the walk over and took a few photos of these Red heroes in their new home.

Kunaev's Enduring Legacy

One individual who has not budged from his vaunted place in Kazakh history is Dinmukhamed Kunaev. Even if his monuments were removed, his legacy would remain highly visible. Throughout the city of Almaty, you can see evidence of Kunaev's time as leader of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. A large percentage of the most famous buildings and sites in the city were constructed under Kunaev. Just to list a few: the Hotel Kazakhstan, the Kok-Tobe TV Tower, the Arasan bathhouse and the Kazakh State Circus. My friend, a Kazakh a couple of years older than me, told me that buildings constructed under Kunaev are generally seen as the most structurally sound and visually timeless in the city. It struck me that this idea remained in the public consciousness.

In order to gain a better sense of how Kunaev is remembered, I made an extra effort to visit his house-museum. It ended up being one of the most fascinating places I have visited in Almaty. It reinforced the idea of his continuing legacy for several reasons, not least of which was the detachment of around two dozen Kazakhstani soldiers who were touring the space before me.

Distancing from Moscow

Kunaev's role in contemporary Kazakh memory politics can be ascertained through the rolling movie playing at his house-museum. In this short film, you see him being interviewed about various aspects of his tenure as party boss of Kazakhstan. In response to the question of: "Were you ever offered to live in Moscow?" his response was: "I was once offered this, but why should I leave my home city of Almaty?" Another featured question was on the pushback he received from the party higher-ups during his time in charge. He spoke of how some officials doubted the utility of constructing such a grand baths complex in the city or a national circus or a monumentally-scaled television tower. By featuring these two questions in particular, the curators of the museum establish a distance between the party organization in Moscow and Kunaev himself. He refused to leave his homeland for the comforts of the USSR metropole and was unafraid to take on his detractors when it came to the beautification of his home city.

A Decent Man

This morning I had the chance to ask my local Kazakh professor how she relates to Kunaev. She said several things of interest: first, she mentioned that Kunaev conducted himself in a manner which was becoming a leader. He was decent (порядочный) and careful (аккуратный). Second, he was humble. She mentioned that he eschewed luxury and had lived his whole life in the same two-room (двухкомнатная) apartment in Almaty. She also mentioned that he and his wife were unable to conceive, a particularly difficult situation in a culture which values large families, but he never considered leaving his wife to have children with a different woman. Third, she noted that it is somewhat peculiar how widespread Kazakhstan's continuing reverence for him is, but she claimed that it is a bottom-up phenomenon. According to her, I wouldn't be able to find someone on the street who would speak negatively of him. Additionally, Dinmukhamed (Dimash) remains a popular name for boys. To underscore her point, she played three songs by a Kazakh singer named Dimash Qudaibergen. I think she just likes his voice.

Through a class last semester on conflict in Central Asia, I learned that Kunaev was one of the Soviet leaders most commonly employed for diplomacy with foreign countries. Particularly, he was a representative of the USSR to the countries of the "third world." In the apartment section of the house-museum were many gifts that he had received from foreign leaders, including a beautifully hand-carved table given by Indira Gandhi. Here too we can see his role as largely congruent with the narrative of contemporary independent Kazakhstan, a country which prides itself on its diplomatic engagement and appreciation for multilateralism.

Why Kunaev Endures

One other morbid factor which I believe has contributed to Kunaev's continuing place in Kazakhstani history is the date of his passing. He died in 1993, having lived long enough to see an independent Kazakhstan, but not so long as to fade into irrelevance under the long reign of Nazarbayev. Additionally, without any sons to carry on the family legacy, his memory poses no threat to the present authorities.

As a bottom line, Kazakhstan is clearly a country in transformation, its young population further separated from the Soviet Union with each passing year. However, it clearly has not taken and likely will not take an approach to its historical memory of that period akin to the Baltic states or Ukraine. While the horrors of Soviet occupation, including the Asharshylyk famine of the early 1930s, will continue to be taught, so too will an appreciation for figures such as Kunaev. In building a new mythology of the state and society, Kazakhstan is clearly willing to draw from all sources. Dimash is likely looking down with favor from that great presidium in the sky.

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