Mustafa Shokay
Encyclopedia
Mustafa Shokay was a Kazakh
leader of the Kokand
revolt in 1917 against the Bolsheviks that created the “Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkestan.” After the revolt was crushed Shokay fled the country and lived in exile in Europe
. During his time in exile Shokay became one of the leading authorities on the history of Central Asia
and was an ardent Turkestani nationalist. He wrote several hundred articles about the history of Turkestan
and the Turkestani nationalist movement. He later went on to help form the Turkestan Legion
, a division of Turkics exiles and captured POWs from the Soviet Union
who fought on behalf of Germany
during the Second World War.
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
leader of the Kokand
Kokand
Kokand is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 . Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana...
revolt in 1917 against the Bolsheviks that created the “Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkestan.” After the revolt was crushed Shokay fled the country and lived in exile in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. During his time in exile Shokay became one of the leading authorities on the history of Central Asia
History of Central Asia
The history of Central Asia has been determined primarily by the area's climate and geography. The aridity of the region makes agriculture difficult, and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade. Thus, few major cities developed in the region...
and was an ardent Turkestani nationalist. He wrote several hundred articles about the history of Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
and the Turkestani nationalist movement. He later went on to help form the Turkestan Legion
Turkestan legion
The Turkestan Legion was the name for the military units composed of the "freiwillige" Turkic peoples who fought in the German Army during World War II...
, a division of Turkics exiles and captured POWs from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
who fought on behalf of Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during the Second World War.