The latest, 23rd issue of “Biuletyn Historii Pogranicza” (“Borderlands History Bulletin”) has already been published. It is entirely devoted to Polish-Kazakhstan relations. It is the result of the Polish-Kazakh Historical Commission, established for the first time in the history of our countries. The presentation of the latest issue of the “Bulletin” took place at the Commission’s meeting in Gdańsk on May 18 this year.
Kazakhstan played an important role in the history of the 20th century, which was difficult for our country and nation: during World War II, it was a place where thousands of citizens of the Second Polish Republic were deported. However, they were not the first Poles who ended up in Kazakhstan. Let us not forget the 19th-century exiles or the Soviet deportations from the 1930s, which affected people of Polish nationality living in the Ukrainian and Belarusian Soviet republics. Many of them survived only thanks to the help of the local, i.e. Kazakh people.
The task of the Polish-Kazakh Historical Commission established on June 6, 2022 at the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok is to conduct research focusing both on the subject of exiles and deportations, as well as on the history of Polish-Kazakhstan relations in general. One of such topics — of particular interest to the Kazakh side — is the fate of soldiers of Kazakh nationality conscripted into the Red Army and killed on Polish soil during World War II. The work of the commission was held under the honorary patronage of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Nur-Sultan and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Poland.
Realization of multi-threaded research requires extensive archival work in both Polish and Kazakhstan archives. The current political situation, related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, only emphasizes the exceptional importance of post-Soviet archival materials collected in Kazakhstan institutions.
The latest issue of “Biuletyn Historii Pogranicza” (“Borderlands History Bulletin”) contains articles delivered at the first meeting of the Polish-Kazakh Historical Commission and is published in three languages: Polish, Kazakhstan and Russian. In this way, we want not only to increase the range of audiences of the latest issue, but above all, to emphasize exceptional importance of the common history of Poland and Kazakhstan.
The last meeting of the Commission (first in Gdańsk and then in Białystok) was already its third meeting (previous ones were held in Białystok and Nur-Sultan). Alim Kirabayev — Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Poland also participated in it.
23rd issue of “Biuletyn Historii Pogranicza” (“Borderlands History Bulletin”) (as well as the previous ones) can be purchased both in the stationary or the online store of the Sybir Memorial Museum. We encourage all concerned to read!
