Volume 05 Issue 12-2024
22
CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY
(ISSN
–
2767-472X)
VOLUME
05
ISSUE
11
Pages:
22-25
SJIF
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MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
728
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(2023:
6.
531
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(2024:
7.848
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OCLC
–
1243560778
Publisher:
Master Journals
ABSTRACT
This article explores the life and academic work of Bolat Saliev (1882-1937), the first Professor of History in Uzbekistan,
focusing on his contributions to the development of historical scholarship in the region, his clash with Soviet ideology,
and the eventual repression he faced during the Stalinist purges of the late 1930s. It examines the complex interplay
of nationalism, Soviet ideology, and political repression in Soviet Uzbekistan during the early Soviet period. Through
an analysis of Saliev’s life and scholarly activities, the a
rticle demonstrates the impact of Soviet political policies on
intellectuals and historical studies in Central Asia.
KEYWORDS
Bolat Saliev, Soviet Repression, Uzbekistan, History, Stalinist Purges, Nationalism, Soviet Ideology, Central Asian
History, Historians, Intellectuals.
INTRODUCTIO
Bolat Saliev was a pivotal figure in the early
development of historical scholarship in Uzbekistan,
serving as the region’s first Professor of History. This
article examines his role in shaping historical thought
in Central Asia, his commitment to local narratives, and
the circumstances surrounding his repression. The
study seeks to highlight how Soviet ideology and
political repressions impacted the development of
national historiography in the region, using Saliev’s
life
and work as a case study.
METHOD
This study utilizes a historical approach, drawing upon
primary and secondary sources, including archival
materials, published works, and historical analyses of
the Soviet period. The article analyzes the trajectory of
Saliev’s intellectual contributions, his clashes with
Research Article
BOLAT SALIEV
: THE FALL OF UZBEKISTAN’S FIRST PROFESSOR OF
HISTORY DURING SOVIET PURGES
Submission Date:
December 01, 2024,
Accepted Date:
December 15, 2024,
Published Date:
December 30, 2024
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/history-crjh-05-12-05
Quvvataliyev Ubaydulla
In the structure of Termiz State University, Director of the Repression Victims Memorial Museum,
Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://masterjournals.
com/index.php/crjh
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 05 Issue 12-2024
23
CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY
(ISSN
–
2767-472X)
VOLUME
05
ISSUE
11
Pages:
22-25
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
728
)
(2023:
6.
531
)
(2024:
7.848
)
OCLC
–
1243560778
Publisher:
Master Journals
Soviet authorities, and his eventual persecution
through the lens of political and ideological contexts of
the era.
RESULTS
The study reveals that Saliev’s early contributions to
historical scholarship in Uzbekistan were undermined
by his focus on local history and national identity,
which clashed with Soviet internationalism. The
Stalinist purges resulted in his arrest and execution,
along with the suppression of a generation of scholars
and the distortion of historical narratives in the region.
His work was suppressed, but he became an important
figure for post-Soviet scholars.
DISCUSSION
This paper examines the complex interaction of
intellectual life and political power in early Soviet
Uzbekistan, focusing on the repression of Bolat Saliev
as a case study. The study emphasizes the impact of
political ideologies on academic disciplines and the
importance of academic freedom. It also highlights the
lasting impact of Soviet repressions on historical
scholarship and the importance of reclaiming historical
narratives.
Bolat Saliev (1882
–
1937) stands as one of the most
prominent figures in the early development of
historical scholarship in Uzbekistan. As the first
Professor of History in the region, his career
encapsulates the rise of nationalist intellectual
movements in Central Asia, the growth of Soviet
power in the region, and the eventual purges of the
late 1930s. Bolat Saliev ’s life and work offer an insight
into the complex intersection of Soviet ideology,
nationalism, and repression in the context of
Uzbekistan during the early Soviet period. This paper
explores the repression faced by Bolat Saliev and its
broader implications for historical scholarship and
political life in Soviet Uzbekistan.
Bolat Saliev was born on March 22, 1882, in a village
near Astrakhan, Russia, into a family with strong ties to
Bukhara’s Mangit tribe
[1]. His early education began at
a rural school, and by the age of 15, he had graduated
and enrolled in the Abdurahman Umerov madrasa,
where he deepened his studies in history, literature,
and Islamic sciences. This foundation played a pivotal
role in shaping his intellectual trajectory and his later
contributions to historical scholarship.
Upon completing his education at the madrasa, Bolat
Saliev was invited to teach at the Goliya madrasa, but
he chose instead to return to his homeland, seeking to
contribute to the educational reforms of Central Asia
[2]. His decision to focus on the dissemination of
knowledge in the region reflects both his personal
commitment to education and his larger vision of
modernizing Central Asia.
Saliev’s academic career was marked by his
establishment as one of the foremost historians in
Uzbekistan. He was instrumental in founding the
School of Historians of Uzbekistan and Central Asia,
influencing the development of historical thought in
the region. Bolat Saliev ’s scholarly work was
characterized by a commitment to local history and the
integration of Central Asian perspectives into broader
historical narratives. His historical research, which
focused on the history of the region, often clashed
with the prevailing Soviet ideologies of the time,
especially as the political climate in the USSR began to
shift in the late 1920s and early 1930s. [3]
Sa
liev’s focus on Central Asian nationalism, while
viewed as a significant contribution to the region’s
historiography, also placed him in opposition to the
Soviet state’s policy of promoting internationalism and
suppressing regional nationalist sentiments. By the
late 1920s, with the rise of Joseph Stalin’s centralized
power and the increasing politicization of academic
Volume 05 Issue 12-2024
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CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY
(ISSN
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2767-472X)
VOLUME
05
ISSUE
11
Pages:
22-25
SJIF
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MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
728
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(2023:
6.
531
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(2024:
7.848
)
OCLC
–
1243560778
Publisher:
Master Journals
disciplines, intellectuals who held nationalist views
were increasingly targeted by the Soviet regime.[4]
By the late 1920s, as the Soviet Union consolidated
control over Central Asia, Bolat Saliev found himself
under increasing scrutiny. Soviet authorities viewed
intellectuals who promoted nationalist ideas with
suspicion, and by 1928, he was identified as one of the
leading “chauvinist intellectuals” in Uzbekistan. In a
report by Pavlov, a commissar of the 2nd department
of the OGPU (the Soviet secret police), Bolat Saliev was
listed alongside other prominent figures such as Fitrat
and Cholpon as part of a group accused of promoting
chauvinistic ideologies [5].
This report was part of a larger effort by the OGPU to
suppress regionalist and nationalist movements within
the Soviet Union. The Soviet authorities saw such
movements as a threat to the unity of the Soviet state
and its Marxist-Leninist ideology. As a result,
intellectuals like Bolat Saliev, who were seen as
promoting Uzbek nationalism, were marked for
repression.
The Soviet historian Abram Gurevich, a staunch
supporter of the “party line,” was particularly vocal in
his criticism of Bolat Saliev. Gurevich accused Bolat
Saliev
and his colleagues of adhering to “bourgeois
ideological methodology” and criticized their works
for allegedly fostering “nationalist” and “pan
-
Turkist”
tendencies [6]. These charges were particularly
damaging, as they linked Bolat Saliev to broader anti-
Soviet and anti-revolutionary movements, further
isolating him within the academic community.
In 1936, at the Congress of Central Asian Historians
held in Samarkand, Bolat Saliev came under direct
attack. At t
he congress, accusations of “nationalist”
and “pan
-
Turkist” tendencies were leveled against
him. The Soviet authorities were also attempting to
manipulate the congress to further their narrative of
historical division, proposing to emphasize “Kazakh,”
“Tajik,” and “Uzbek” histories in ways that served the
purposes of Soviet centralization. Bolat Saliev ’s
resistance to this effort marked him as an ideological
opponent of Soviet historiography.
By 1937, the climate of repression intensified. In
January of that year, Marxist critics like A. Karsev
openly called for the “purification” of historical science
in Uzbekistan, signaling the growing momentum of
Stalin’s purges. Bolat Saliev ’s intellectual trajectory
was now seen as incompatible with Soviet orthodoxy.
On October 13, 1937, the arrest order for Bolat Saliev
was issued by the State Security Department of the
People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs. He was
arrested, marking the culmination of a long campaign
of political persecution.
Bolat Saliev was executed in 1937 as part of the
broader Stalinist purges that targeted intellectuals,
historians, and other members of the intelligentsia
across the Soviet Union. His death was emblematic of
the fate that befell many of his colleagues and
contemporaries who were accused of harboring
“bourgeois” or “nationalist” sympathies. The purges
of the late 1930s decimated a generation of scholars,
intellectuals, and leaders who had once been seen as
key to the development of Soviet society.
Despite his tragic end, Bol
at Saliev ’s contributions to
the field of history in Uzbekistan and Central Asia
remain significant. His work laid the foundation for a
distinct Uzbek historiography, one that sought to
understand the region’s past through its own lens,
rather than through the ideological framework
imposed by Soviet authorities. Bolat Saliev ’s
intellectual legacy, while suppressed during his
lifetime, has continued to inspire historians and
scholars in post-Soviet Uzbekistan.
CONCLUSION
Volume 05 Issue 12-2024
25
CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY
(ISSN
–
2767-472X)
VOLUME
05
ISSUE
11
Pages:
22-25
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
728
)
(2023:
6.
531
)
(2024:
7.848
)
OCLC
–
1243560778
Publisher:
Master Journals
The repression of Bolat Saliev highlights the complex
relationship between Soviet ideology and intellectual
life in Central Asia during the early Soviet period. Bolat
Saliev ’s intellectual achievements were overshadowed
by the political purges of the 1930s, which sought to
eliminate any form of regional nationalism or
intellectual independence. His case serves as a
reminder of the dangers faced by scholars and
intellectuals who were caught between the demands
of the state and their commitment to truth and
academic freedom. The repression of figures like Bolat
Saliev had lasting consequences on the development
of Central Asian historiography, the effects of which
can still be felt today in the region’s efforts to reclaim
its historical narrative from Soviet-era distortions.
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- zarnews.uz
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David R. Egan and Melinda A. Egan. Joseph Stalin
An Annotated Bibliography of English-Language
Periodical Literature to 2005. Scarecrow Press
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Naimov.N.Fitrat fojeasi. “FAN”. ТOSHKENT –
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Gurevich A. O polojenii na istoricheskom fronte
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