Алаш Орда

Mannan Turgambayev is a well-known figure in the Alash Orda movement, a journalist, an educator and critic.

Mannan Turgambayev was born in 1886 in a family of peasant cattle breeders in the Semipalatinsk province, Karkaralinsk district of the Abralinsk parish, aul №2, now the East Kazakhstan region, the Abralyn district. He educated in the city of Ufa – madrasah “Galiya”, enrolled in it in 1909. This educational institution was established in 1906 and was under the patronage of the Russian tsar. They preached democratic values ​​there. The religious school became the launching pad for those who are now called the pride of the nation. Annually 30-40 Kazakh young men studied at the madrasah. Even in the period of instruction in the madrasah “Galiya”, the educational and public activities of Kazakh students begin. Since 1915, a weekly manuscript magazine “Sadak” began to be published in the madrasah, where students and graduates were printed. The main goal was to attract students to literary creativity. Subsequently, the first verses and articles by M. Turganbayev were published in the pages of the magazine “Ay Qap” (1911-1915) and the newspaper “Kazakh” (1913-1918). In the madrasah great importance was attached to the study of languages. Therefore Turganbayev owned Turkish, Arabic, Persian, and Russian.

M.Turganbayev’s labor activity began in 1914 as a teacher. In 1915, at the personal request of Kalzhan Konratbayev, engaged in educational activities and on his personal savings, he wrote a textbook “Paigambar zamany”. (The prophet’s time). The book was distributed through the newspaper “Kazakh”.

From 1915 to 1917 he studied in Turkey in Cairo in the Muslim Academy, also he completed short-term teacher courses at the Istanbul Pedagogical University.

In 1917, at the Semipalatinsk regional Kirghiz Congress, held from April 27 to May 7, elected member of the Regional Committee of Kyrgyzstan. In 1917, the Kazakh national intelligentsia consolidated around the idea of ​​Alash – the idea of ​​creating a national autonomy for the Kazakh people. Mannan Turganbayev took an active part in the social and political life of the city and worked in the regional and district Kazakh committee of the cultural and educational society “Zhanar”. In addition, he periodically published his articles in the newspapers “Kazakh”, “Saryarka” and the magazine “Abai”. In the newspaper “Saryarka” together with Zh. Aimautov he was an active member of the editorial board, responsible editor of which was H. Gabbasov. The pages of the newspaper discussed the problems of the formation of Alash Orda and Kazakh statehood. On July 15, 1917 M. Turganbayev’s article of “Orys pen Kazakh” (“Russian and Kazakh”) in the newspaper number 5 was published. This article examined the problems of land relations between Russian peasants and Kazakhs.

Also, after the 1917 revolution, he teaches at a Kazakh school in the city of Alash. Since 1918 he teaches at the 2-year pedagogical Kyrgyz courses. He is engaged in responsible work as a member of the USSR, a member of the executive committee, a member of the Council of People’s Commissars. Actively participates in the formation of Soviet power in the Kazakh steppe.

From 1920 to1922 he collaborated in the newspaper “Kazakh tili” (now “Semey tany”), was its first editor, a member of the editorial board, the executive secretary.

In 1931 he was arrested by the PCIA (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs), but a year later he was released. On January 25, 1937 he was arrested again by the PCIA (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs). At the time of his arrest, he lived in the village of Red aul of the Belagach district and taught at a rural secondary school.

He was sentenced by the troika of the PCIA (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs) on August 18, 1937, and on August 20 was shot. Mannan Turganbayev was rehabilitated on December 14, 1963 by the Semipalatinsk regional court for lack of corpus delicti.