Poles in the Development of Virgin and Fallow Lands in Northern Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article examines the participation of Polish special settlers in the development of virgin and fallow lands in Northern Kazakhstan. The deportation of Poles from Western Ukraine and Belarus to Kazakhstan in 1936 and the establishment of labor or special settlements for them in the northern region led to the formation of compactly populated areas of these ethnic communities. Such settlements existed in the Shortandy district of the Akmola Region, and in the Krasnoarmeysky and Kellerovsky (now Tayynshinsky) districts of the North Kazakhstan Region. The Polish special settlers deported in 1936 remained in Northern Kazakhstan during World War II. In the 1950s, they actively participated, along with other local ethnic groups, in the development of virgin and fallow lands in this region. Many of the kolkhozes and labor settlements where the special settlers lived were transformed into state-owned virgin land farms (tselina sovkhozes). Poles became involved in the new agrarian reform of the Soviet Union. A striking example includes agricultural workers
who were awarded high honors for their contributions during the virgin lands campaign. However, for many years their achievements were left unacknowledged, and therefore, many sources used in this article are new and have not yet been introduced into academic circulation. The article draws on  documents from the collection of the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the State Archive of Akmola Region, and the State Archive of North Kazakhstan Region. In addition, oral sources collected from former Polish special settlers who lived in these areas during the special settlement period and the virgin lands campaign were also used.