COLLECTIVE MEMORY: KAZAKH EXODUS FROM ALTAY MOUNTAINS

This paper examines the collective memory and identity processes of Kazakhs in Istanbul, Turkey, who settled there in the early 1950s. Now numbering around 20,000, these Kazakhs fled their homeland in the Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region after failed uprisings against the Chinese government in the 1930s and 1940s. After a period in India, they were accepted into Turkey as migrants with Turkish ancestry. The study focuses on the Kazakh exodus during the 1930s and 1940s, emphasizing how this history shapes their present identity. The trauma of this migration remains deeply embedded in their collective memory, influencing not only their identity and political views but also decisions in areas such as voting, political alliances, and even naming their children. The paper mainly draws on the findings from the author’s PhD dissertation, which was defended in 2020.