Aziz Burkhanov1; 1 Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
Discussion
This paper uses data from interviews with history teachers and local residents in the towns and villages in Karaganda region in Central Kazakhstan, many of which hosted various facilities of the Soviet Gulag camp system. Main question is whether the local collective memory narrative and broader Kazakhstan’s history discourse has departed from the Soviet framing and approaches. The paper seeks to explore whether a thorough reassessment of history remains relatively limited in Kazakhstan, including at local level. As such, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion around post-colonialism in Central Asia by exploring whether the post-independence history narrative in Kazakhstan has tried to critically reassess and reflect on the Soviet legacy.
