Kazym rebellion
Encyclopedia
The Kazym rebellion is a revolt by the Khanty
people of western Siberia
against the collectivisation policies of the Soviet government in 1933. The revolt is named after the small town of Kazym in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
. Some sources describe the events as "Kazym rebellions", listing a series of conflicts starting in 1931, with some half-hearted attempts at reconciliation from Soviet side, but culminating in forceful suppression in 1933 and repression in 1934.
In the 1930s, the new town of Kazym was established by the government as a "cultural base". In theory, cultural bases were meant to entice the Khanty people
into village life with the benefits of schools, hospitals, stores and other communal conveniences. This effort to collectivise native peoples into manageable communities did see a great many Khanty abandoning their forest homes. Still others were relocated forcibly during the Stalin years. Additionally, compulsory attendance in boarding school
s located in towns such as Kazym meant that Khanty children were removed from traditional homes and, for many years, were forbidden to speak their native tongue or follow their cultural beliefs.
This process went alongside the abduction and execution of traditional leaders who were labelled "kulak
s" by the state. Eventually there was a revolt in 1933 by many Khanty with support from the Forest Nenets
called the Kazym rebellion. The revolt was centred on the town of Kazym and within several weeks was crushed by the Red Army
, which was reported to have slaughtered dozens of villagers and burned their homes. The more distant rebellious Khanty villages were bombed by the air force. This was the last known conflict with Russia by any of the Siberian tribes.
After that, anyone who took part in the Bear Funeral Rites or other celebrations of Khanty culture was subject to 10 years imprisonment. Bear hunting was forbidden and anything connected with Khant culture, such as sacred ground, pagan shrines or burial grounds were destroyed.
These laws were only relaxed during the 1980s as part of the glasnost
policies of Mikhail Gorbachev
.
Khanty people
Khanty / Hanti are an indigenous people calling themselves Khanti, Khande, Kantek , living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as "Yugra" in Russia, together with the Mansi. In the autonomous okrug, the Khanty and Mansi languages are given co-official status with Russian...
people of western Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
against the collectivisation policies of the Soviet government in 1933. The revolt is named after the small town of Kazym in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug , also known as Yugra, is a federal subject of Russia . Population: The people native to the region are the Khanty and the Mansi, known collectively as Ob Ugric people...
. Some sources describe the events as "Kazym rebellions", listing a series of conflicts starting in 1931, with some half-hearted attempts at reconciliation from Soviet side, but culminating in forceful suppression in 1933 and repression in 1934.
In the 1930s, the new town of Kazym was established by the government as a "cultural base". In theory, cultural bases were meant to entice the Khanty people
Khanty people
Khanty / Hanti are an indigenous people calling themselves Khanti, Khande, Kantek , living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as "Yugra" in Russia, together with the Mansi. In the autonomous okrug, the Khanty and Mansi languages are given co-official status with Russian...
into village life with the benefits of schools, hospitals, stores and other communal conveniences. This effort to collectivise native peoples into manageable communities did see a great many Khanty abandoning their forest homes. Still others were relocated forcibly during the Stalin years. Additionally, compulsory attendance in boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
s located in towns such as Kazym meant that Khanty children were removed from traditional homes and, for many years, were forbidden to speak their native tongue or follow their cultural beliefs.
This process went alongside the abduction and execution of traditional leaders who were labelled "kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
s" by the state. Eventually there was a revolt in 1933 by many Khanty with support from the Forest Nenets
Nenets
Nenets may refer to:*Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a federal subject of Russia*Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a federal subject of Russia*Nenets people, a Samoyedic people...
called the Kazym rebellion. The revolt was centred on the town of Kazym and within several weeks was crushed by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, which was reported to have slaughtered dozens of villagers and burned their homes. The more distant rebellious Khanty villages were bombed by the air force. This was the last known conflict with Russia by any of the Siberian tribes.
After that, anyone who took part in the Bear Funeral Rites or other celebrations of Khanty culture was subject to 10 years imprisonment. Bear hunting was forbidden and anything connected with Khant culture, such as sacred ground, pagan shrines or burial grounds were destroyed.
These laws were only relaxed during the 1980s as part of the glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
policies of Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
.