Text of the decree (excerpt)
“The people, with a three-thousand-year history, which created the Great Kyrgyz Khaganate in the 9th–10th centuries, have carried through the centuries the idea of statehood. This idea became the basis of the worldview of the Kyrgyz people, forms the main content of the epic "Manas" and the entire spiritual heritage of the nation. The cherished dream of independence was passed down from generation to generation. On 7 November 2017 the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution is marked — an event that changed the course of history and the subsequent world order. For many peoples drawn into the sphere of Russia’s influence at the beginning of the 20th century, this event had a fateful character. Following the national-liberation uprising of 1916, the October Revolution created preconditions for the revival of Kyrgyz statehood. The people’s aspiration for freedom and independence was the main driving force behind the events of 1916. The brutal suppression of the uprising by tsarist punitive forces, numerous instances of bloody reprisals against civilians and their forced flight abroad brought the people of Kyrgyzstan to the brink of survival. According to archival data, the most dramatic events and the greatest human losses during the "Urkun" relate to the autumn period of 1916. The tragedy was halted thanks to the intervention of progressive forces in Russia itself. The commission of deputies of the State Duma led by A.F. Kerensky for the first time openly condemned the crimes of the tsarist authorities. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government of Russia developed and began implementing measures to return refugees to their historical homeland. This work was later continued by the Soviet authorities headed by V.I. Lenin. In 2016, marking the 100th anniversary of the national-liberation uprising, the people of Kyrgyzstan fulfilled their sacred duty to the memory of their ancestors. During the Soviet period Kyrgyz statehood went through several stages of development. With the creation of an autonomous oblast and an autonomous republic, territory and borders were defined, and institutions and attributes of statehood established. The subsequent establishment of the Kirghiz SSR as a union republic within the USSR became a determining factor that opened the way to the attainment of independence of the Kyrgyz Republic in 1991. Recognition of the achievements of this period formed, on the whole, a positive attitude of the people of Kyrgyzstan towards the Great October Socialist Revolution. In the Kyrgyz Republic 7 November is observed as an official holiday. However, in recent years, together with awareness of historical mistakes made during the Soviet period, this date has been losing significance. In the Russian Federation itself, 7 November is no longer officially celebrated, and the term "October Revolution" with regard to this date is gradually being replaced in official documents by the expression "the October events of 1917." Alongside the accomplishments of the Soviet period, the "October events" and their consequences are assessed as a "tragic experience of Russia," characterised by "colossal losses," "loss of continuity of cultural experience, destruction of intergenerational ties," "persecutions," "emigration of the most educated part of the population," "numerous victims among those exiled and dispossessed," "mass repressions" ... The people of Kyrgyzstan also suffered heavy losses in those years. Repressions against Kasym Tynystanov, Ishenaly Arabayev, Imanaly Aidarbekov, Abdykerim Sydykov, Torokul Aitmatov, Abdykadyra Orozbekov, Bayaly Isakeev and other prominent representatives of the national intelligentsia, leading managers and statesmen substantially hindered and set back the development of the young Kyrgyz Soviet republic. The fate of a considerable part of the repressed remains unknown to this day. Expressions of independence and attempts to pursue policies in the interests of the people cost the life of the first Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Kirghiz ASSR, Jusup Abdrakhmanov. By refusing to follow ill-considered decisions of the "centre" he saved the population of Kyrgyzstan from famine in the early 1930s. In the same years Jusup Abdrakhmanov also took an unprecedented step at the time by unblocking state grain reserves to save refugees from Kazakhstan from starvation. The political repressions of the 1930s deprived many bold and ambitious projects in the economy, education, culture and science of Kyrgyzstan of realisation. 8 November is marked annually as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions, and the current 2017 year marks its 80th anniversary. While objectively assessing and acknowledging the positive changes that took place in the life of the people of Kyrgyzstan during the Soviet period, it is also necessary to remember the tragic pages of history. In recent years prominent representatives of domestic historical science have been considering the historical events of the first half of the 20th century in Kyrgyzstan in an inseparable connection with one another. In order to provide an objective historical assessment of the national-liberation uprising and the tragic events of 1916, of the February and October revolutions of 1917, of the lessons and legacy of the Soviet period, of the consequences of political repressions of the 20th century, and while paying tribute to ancestors, I decree: 1. To declare 7 and 8 November annually observed as Days of History and Remembrance of Ancestors… ”