Toqayev Honors Victims of Repression and Famine

On the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression and Famine, observed on May 31 in Kazakhstan, the Head of State laid flowers at a memorial to these victims, Orda.kz reports.

Those present also honored them with a minute of silence

Then Qasym-Jomart Toqayev addressed the audience at the event dedicated to the memory of the victims of political repression and famine.

The President recalled that many in the Soviet Union experienced difficult trials in the last century:

Our people did not escape a trying fate. During the forced collectivization campaign, people lost their livestock and property, died en masse from hunger, and many were forced to seek refuge in foreign lands. Thousands of people were declared 'enemies of the people,' subjected to cruel torture, and shot without trial or investigation.  

There were 11 GULAG system camps in Kazakhstan; ALZHIR was one such tragic place. 

About 8 thousand unjustly convicted women served their sentences there. 

Political repressions fell not only upon the Kazakh people. Representatives of more than 60 ethnic groups were imprisoned in ALZHIR. Therefore, all peoples who endured that dark chapter of history must learn lessons from that tragedy, which should never be repeated. It depends only on us. This is the main meaning of the memory of the tragic periods of our past,the President concluded.  

At the end of his speech, Qasym-Jomart Toqayev wished Kazakhstan peace and prosperity.

On this day in 2024, Qasym-Jomart Toqayev published a post on his official Twitter page. In it, the president noted that only by learning the lessons of the past can one overcome the challenges of the future.

Original Author: Natalia Ovchinnikova