Selective Favoritism and Confirmed «Sovietiness» among Kalmyk Special Settlers within the Qazaq SSR

Abstract

During World War II, Stalin’s Soviet regime implemented a repressive policy targeting entire nationalities through forced resettlement. As one of these ‘punished peoples,’ the Kalmyks were deported to the eastern parts of the USSR in late 1943, primarily encompassing Siberian oblast and krays, along with one oblast in the Qazaq SSR – Qyzyl-Orda. These regions were designated as their places of exile, subjecting deportees to the special settlement system for the subsequent thirteen years. While other oblasts in the Qazaq SSR were not officially designated for their deportation, Kalmyk special settlers were dispersed across Alma-Ata oblast, constituting the second-largest Kalmyk contingent within the republic, following Qyzyl-Orda. This study delves into Kalmyk special settlers within Alma-Ata oblast of the Qazaq SSR from 1944 to 1953 and posits that it stood out as a self-formed group comprising interconnected individuals. This implies that Kalmyk contingent in the oblast constituted a group of deportees who could choose their preferred location for special settlements and purposefully selected the oblast among places in the USSR. In doing so, they set themselves apart from the usual practice where the system forms contingents forcibly. Moreover, the study argues that the claimed exceptionalism within the regime is supported by the presence of the selective release from the system of certain Kalmyk special settlers, conducted legally. In turn, the existence of the combination of such exclusive treatments from the regime highlights dual standards in the interpretation and execution of officially announced policies toward groups of special settlers categorized as ‘exiled in perpetuity.’ Furthermore, the examination of each case of distinct treatments within this contingent in the oblast aims to illustrate the correlation between attained privileges and facts of confirmed ‘Sovietiness.’