Dinmukhamed Kunaev

Origins His grandfather was Zhumabai (kaz. Jumabai) (–1912). His father, Minliakhmed (Akhmed) Zhumabaievich (kaz. Meŋlıahmed Jumabaiūly) (1886–1976), was literate, worked in agricultural and trade organizations of the Alma-Ata oblast and could write well in both Russian and Kazakh. His mother, Zaure Baiyrovna Kunayeva (née Shynbolatova (Chimbulatova)) (kaz. Zaure Baiypqyzy Qonaeva) (1888–1973), was born in a poor family in the Shelek aul, Almaty oblast. They lived together for 70 years. There are claims that Kunayevmight possibly come from the oiyq branch of the Ysty tribe, Senior juz. In his "From Stalin to Gorbachev" book, he mentioned that his "ancestors come from the Baidıbek, jigit of the Senior juz". According to the official biography, he is ethnically Kazakh and his ancestors were hunters, that lived on the coasts of Ili River and Kürtı rivers of the Balkhash District in the aul Bakanas. Kunayev, the son of a Kazakh clerk, was born at Verny, now Almaty, and grew up in a middle-income family. == Rise to power ==

After finishing the Almaty No.14th secondary school in 1930, he studied in the Institute of Non-Ferrous and Fine Metallurgy in Moscow in 1936, which enabled him to become a machine operator. By 1939 he had become engineer-in-chief of the Pribalkhashatroi mine, and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), a condition of the position. From 1946 to 1952, he was deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR. In 1952, he was elected President of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, which under his leadership conducted scientific research with the aim of developing and improving industry and agriculture, and the more efficient use of Kazakhstan's natural resources. Kunayev's rise in Communist Party ranks had been closely tied to that of Leonid Brezhnev's. In February 1954, Khrushchev appointed Panteleymon Ponomarenko as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and Leonid Brezhnev as the second secretary. Soon, Kunayev and Brezhnev developed a close friendship which lasted until the death of Brezhnev. Brezhnev soon became the first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in 1955 and a member of CPSU Politburo in 1956. When Brezhnev left Kazakhstan in 1956, Ivan Iakovlev became the First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party (and was succeeded by Nikolai Belyaev). On 19 January 1960, Kunayev was elected 1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. He was the first Kazakh to hold the post. First stint in charge: 1960-1962 One of Kunayev's first actions as leader of the Kazakh SSR was a visit to the United States in January 1960, as part of a delegation led by Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, Dmitry Polyansky. Over the course of a month, the delegation visited 23 American cities in 10 states, including New York and Washington. During the trip, Kunayev met with the leadership of the United Nations, including the Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld as well as with senior American statesmen including US Secretary of State Christian Herter, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Earl Warren, and several state governors. At the end of the visit, the Soviet delegation including Kunayev were received at the White House by the US president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. In March 1960, the leader of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev visited the Kazakh SSR, and together with Kunayev, they toured the republic for 13 days. Based on the decisions and conversations between Kunayev and Khrushchev during the latter's stay in Kazakhstan, large-scale work was launched to develop the republic: Another source of disagreements between Kunayev and Khrushchev had been the creation of a new administrative entity, the "Virgin Lands Territory", which incorporated the Kazakh regions of Kokchetav, Pavlodar, Kustanai, North Kazakhstan and Tselinograd into a new region with dual subordination to Alma-Ata and Moscow. == First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan ==

After his dismissal as First Secretary, he was Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR until 1964, when he became first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan again in 1964 when Khrushchev was ousted and replaced by Brezhnev. He kept his position for twenty-two more years. Kunayev was appointed as an alternate member of the Politburo in 1967, and became a full member in 1971. unit's battle flag, 1986. Economic development Kunayev's return to the position of First Secretary of the Kazakh SSR coincided with the start of major economic reforms in the USSR, known as the Kosygin reforms. That year, over 450 thousand people throughout Kazakhstan received apartments, and the average salary increased by 28% compared to 1958. Under Kunayev, Kazakhstan became one of the three largest economies of the USSR, along with Russia and Ukraine, the traditional industrial centers of the country since Tsarist times. As Russian political scientist Andrei Grozin notes, “Conventionally speaking, before Kunayev, Kazakhstan in economic terms was a desert.” Some of the major economic successes of Kunayev's Kazakhstan include: Nevertheless, Askar became subject to biased and unobjective criticism from the Soviet newspaper, Pravda, and was dismissed as President of the academy shortly after the party congress, to be replaced by Murat Aitkhozhin. It must also be noted that Kunayev himself was subject to criticism from Erkin Auelbekov, First Secretary of the Kyzylorda Regional Committee and Kamalidenov, the Ideology Secretary, who criticized the heads of universities for the high percentage of students of Kazakh ethnicity. However, this did not go well for Kunayev, who saw Nazarbaev keep his position as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Soon Kunayev himself was dismissed, as he was removed from office under pressure from Mikhail Gorbachev, who accused him of corruption. In modern Kazakhstan, this revolt is called Jeltoqsan (meaning December in Kazakh). The protests were violently suppressed by the KGB, who detained 8.5 thousand people. More than 1,700 people were injured, and about 5.5 thousand people were interrogated. In addition, hundreds were convicted, received penalties, fired from work, expelled from school, and subjected to administrative fines. Almost immediately after the December events D.A. Kunayev began to be accused of "nationalism" and was named among the organisers of the so-called riots by Kolbin, who stated that the reason for the "forceful solution to the issue" was allegedly Kunayev's refusal to speak to the youth. However, this is untrue, as Kunayev volunteered to speak to the protestors, but was not allowed to by Second Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party, Oleg Miroshkin. This version of events is backed up by the recollections of Anatoly Goryainy (chief of personal security, colonel of the KGB). ==Later life==

Isolation and smear campaign Kunayev was placed practically under house arrest. On Kolbin's personal instructions, Kunayev's contact with the outside world was minimized. Surveillance was established: where he goes, who comes to see him. Some of Kunayev's neighbors periodically reported to Kolbin about Kunayev's life, which is indirectly and directly confirmed by notes stored in the archives. There was a period when neighbors and old acquaintances avoided communicating with Kunayev. Among those who did not completely cut off ties with Dimash Akhmedovich in the period 1986-1989 were close relatives, as well as poet Olzhas Suleimenov, journalist Gennady Tolmachev, personal doctor Akhat Mulyukov, A. Goryainov, A. Shabdarbayev and others. Despite Gorbachev's policies of glasnost, perestroika and democratization, neither foreign nor domestic journalists were allowed to approach Kunayev. Even if Kazakh journalists interviewed D.A. Kunayev, their materials were published only in a negative light. Thus, journalist Nina Savitskaya recalled that her material about D.A. Kunayev with his interview was not allowed, saying that if they did publish it, only on the condition that Kunayev would have to be "diluted with dirt". She refused to publish her material under such conditions, doing so a year later, when the disgrace against Kunayev was lifted. Gennady Kolbin, with permission from the center in Moscow, also made sure that Kunayev was deprived of his dacha and the pension due to him. == Positions of power ==

Leadership Positions • Deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Kazakh SSR (1942–46) • Deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR (1946–52) • President of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR (1952–55) • Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR (1955–60, 1962–64) • 1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan (1960–62, 1964–86) Political Positions • Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR of the 2nd–11th conventions (1947–89) • Delegate to the XIX-XXVII Congresses of the CPSU (1952–1986) • Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 4th–11th conventions (1954–89) • Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1956–87) • Candidate-Member of the 23rd Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1966–71) • Full Member of the 24th–27th Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1971–87) == Achievements ==

Under D. A. Kunayev, a significant economic upswing in Kazakh SSR was achieved, the industrial potential of the republic increased significantly (mainly due to the mining, raw materials industries and the energy sector serving them) and agriculture (the annual famous “billion pounds” of grain was produced many times). In his book "From Stalin to Gorbachev" (1994), Kunayev himself referred to the data of the USSR State Statistics Committee, and he describes in detail his contribution to the development of living standards and the rise of the economy of the Kazakh SSR. By the end of Kunayev's time in power, compared with 1955, the economic potential of the Kazakh SSR increased by seven times, the standard of living, industry, production rose to a historic maximum, and the Kazakh SSR became the third largest economy in the Soviet Union (after the Russian SFSR and Ukrainian SSR). For great services to the development of the economy and the standard of living in the country, he was very popular among the Kazakh people and many still call the Kunayev era as the "Golden Age of Kazakhstan" to this day. == Awards ==

Soviet Foreign == Legacy ==

Kunayev spent the last years of his life in charitable activity, establishing the 'Dinmukhamed Kunayev Foundation', one of whose purposes was the support of political reform in Kazakhstan. • In Almaty, a bust is installed in the square of his name. Also, his bust is in Taraz and in the village of Tortkol. • Streets in a number of cities in Kazakhstan – in Almaty (Kunayev street), Taraz, Taldykorgan, Ekibastuz and the central street in the new administrative center of Astana. • In Uralsk, a microdistrict is named after Kunayev. • In Shymkent, a boulevard (former Alma-Ata Avenue and former Stepnaya Street) is named after D. A. Kunayev. • The main street and the square of the city of Usharal is named after D. A. Kunayev. Also in the central square is a monument to D. A. Kunayev. • The Eurasian Law Academy in Almaty is named after Kunayev. • The Kunaev Home Museum (117 Tulebaev St.), opened in 2002 to the 90th anniversary of D. A. Kunayev. • In Almaty, the Institute of Mining bears his name. • As of March 2022, city Kapshagai is planned to be renamed after Kunayev. • In May 2022, in the village of Bakanas, Almaty region of Kazakhstan, a monument to Kunayev was opened for the 110th anniversary. • On May 20, 2022, a mural depicting statesman Dinmukhamed Kunayev appeared in Almaty. The author is Adilzhan Musa. • On August 13, 2022, a monument to statesman Dinmukhamed Kunayev was unveiled in Taraz. • In October 2022, a memorial was erected in Qonayev in honor of the 110th anniversary of Dinmukhamed Kunayev, the 100th anniversary of Asanbai Askarov, the 110th anniversary of Shapyk Shokin, who stood at the origins of the construction of the Kapshagay Hydroelectric Power Plant and the foundation of the city. ==Notes==