The silent Steppe : the story of a Kazakh nomad under Stalin

This rare and moving book is a first-hand account of the genocide of the Kazakh nomads in the 1920s and 30s. Nominally Muslim, the Kazakhs and their culture owed as much to shamanism and paganism as to Islam; their ancient traditions and economy depended on the breeding and herding of stock across the vast steppes of central Asia, and their independent, nomadic way of life was anathema to the Soviets. Mukhamet Shayakhmetov was born into a family of nomadic Kazakh herdsmen in 1922, the year of the consolidation of Soviet rule across his people’s vast steppe-land. As the devastating Soviet policy of collectivization of agriculture took hold, it set off wide spread famine; in 1932-34 over one million Kazakhs died; more than one quarter of the indigenous population. Seven-year-old Shayakhmetov and his mother and sisters were left to fend for themselves after his father was branded a kulak (well-off peasant and thus class enemy), stripped of his possessions, and sent to a prison camp where he died. In the following years the family traveled thousands of miles across Kazakhstan by foot, surviving on the charity of relatives. Told with dignity and detachment, this central Asian Wild Swans awakens the reader to the scale of suffering of millions of Kazakhs, and also astonishes and inspires as a most singular survivor’s tale. Here Is A Rare Book. It Is The First-person Story Of Mukhamet Shayakhmetov, Born Into A Family Of Nomadic Kazakh Herdsmen In 1922, The Year Of The Consolidation Of Soviet Rule Across His People's Vast Steppe-land In Central Asia, Specifically Eastern Kazakhstan. Thus Was Brought To An End, With Dread Ideological Ruthlessness, A Way Of Life Of Sanctified Interdependence Between Man And Nature. Designated As A Kulak, Mukhamet's Father Was Imprisoned As 'an Enemy Of The People', And His Family Were Stripped Of All Possessions, Including Livestock, And Ostracised. Collectivisation Of Agriculture Was Forcibly Imposed, And Famine Ensued. In The Years 1932-34 Alone, Well Over A Million Kazakhs Died: More Than A Quarter Of The Indigenous Population Across A Territory As Great As Western Europe. Of All This, The Outside World Knew - Or Chose To Know - Nothing. Somewhat As Wild Swans Laid Bare The Truth Of Mao's China, So The Silent Steppe Awakens The Reader To The Scale Of Suffering Of Millions In Soviet Central Asia Under Stalin. Shayakhmetov Takes His Story To His Recruitment In The Red Army, His Wounding At Stalingrad, And His Long Trek Home As A Discharged Solider At The Age Of 21. He Is Today In His Mid-eighties.--book Jacket. Pt. 1. Class Enemy -- The Life We Lost -- My Uncle's Trial -- The Holy Yurt -- My Sister's Secret Wedding -- The Last Autumn Of The Nomadic Call -- The Escape Of The Oralman Clans -- School -- The Kulak's Son -- Confiscation -- The Silent Steppe -- Leaving Much-loved Places -- My Perilous Journeys -- At Kalmakbai Aul -- Deportation -- Pt. 2. Famine -- The Refugees -- Fleeing Back Home -- Hunger Comes To The Aul -- Days Of Mourning -- The New Harvest -- The Milk Of Human Kindness -- The Last Days Of Famine -- A Home Of Our Own -- Adolescence -- Pt. 3. War -- The Coming Of The Great Patriotic War -- In The Red Army -- At The Front -- Stalingrad -- Casualty -- On The Border -- The Journey Home. Mukhamet Shayakhmetov ; Translated From The Russian By Jan Butler And Edited By Anthony Gardner. This is a first-hand account of the genocide of the Kazakh nomads in the 1920s and 30s. Nominally Muslim, the Kazakhs and their culture owed as much to shamanism and paganism as they did to Islam. Their ancient traditions and economy depended on the breeding and herding of stock across the vast steppes of central Asia, and their independent, nomadic way of life was anathema to the Soviets. Seven-year-old Shayakhmetov and his mother and sisters were left to fend for themselves after his father was branded a "kulak" (well-off peasant and thus class enemy), stripped of his possessions, and sent to a prison camp where he died. In the following years the family traveled thousands of miles across Kazakhstan by foot, surviving on the charity of relatives. Told with dignity and detachment, this central Asian Wild Swans awakens the reader to the scale of suffering of millions of Kazakhs, and also astonishes and inspires as a most singular survivor's tale.