Household of the Special Settlers of Chechen Ethnicity in Semipalatinsk Region: Historical Sources Obtained from the Documentation Center of Contemporary History of Eastern Kazakhstan (Semey)

Abstract

The present paper features various sources obtained from the Documentation Center of Contemporary History of Eastern Kazakhstan (the city of Semey). The research objective was to draw a detailed picture of the resettlement and economic conditions that special immigrants from the North Caucasus had to face in the Semipalatinsk region of the Kazakh Republic during World War II. A source study analysis of the archive documents revealed various aspects of the subject in question. The documents were divided into several blocks: (1) information on the number and geography of the resettlement; (2) complex characteristics of the labor and economic household; (3) education and social security. The analysis of the documents showed that the placement of Chechens as special settlers led to extremely negative social and demographic consequences, causing an irreparable damage to their material and spiritual culture. Despite various economic, household, and labor measures, the deported people had to live in hard conditions.