Poles in Kazakhstan

Immigrants of the late XIX - early XX centuries

The Polish settlement of the sparsely populated regions of Northern Kazakhstan began at the end of the 19th century. According to the first general census conducted by the tsarist Russian authorities in 1897 , 11,597 Poles lived in Central Asia . Poles settled mainly in cities (about 90%). It is also known that the economic emigration of the landless Polish peasantry from the territory of the Russian Empire controlled by the Kingdom of Poland in the late XIX - early XX centuries was sent to Siberia and Kazakhstan, although Russians and Ukrainians clearly prevailed in the colonization stream. But a few Polish peasants from the Kielce and Lublin provinces in 1906-1910. moved deep into the Russian Empire: the Orenburg province , the Omsk province , the Ishim Territory , and Western Siberia in general. A significant role in this was played by the Stolypin reform .

It is characteristic that in the North Kazakhstan region the Poles live compactly. So, the Tayynshinsky district of the North-Kazakhstan region (the district center is the city of Tayynsha / Krasnoarmeysk) is characterized by the highest concentration of Poles in the population ( 2004 , estimate), where they make up 22.82% of the population of the district (13.783 people), second only to Kazakhs (25.4 %) and overtaking Russians (21.72%). Moreover, in all other areas of the region, including the city of Petropavlovsk , the share of Poles does not reach 1%. ^[one]

The Public Association POLACY ^[2] operates in Astana. The main activity of the association is the study of the native Polish language, culture and history of the Poles. Representatives of the Polish diaspora come to the association to mingle, speak their native language, find something to their liking in circles and ensembles, celebrate national holidays, introduce children to national culture and traditions.

The Union of Poles of Kazakhstan represents the interests of the Polish population in the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan and in other government institutions of the country. His activities are aimed at reviving and developing national traditions and customs, studying the native language and Polish history. Maintaining and strengthening ties with Poland’s historical Motherland, Kazakhstani Poles gratefully perceive Kazakhstan as their homeland, where they were born, where they found friends, where the graves of their parents and grandfathers, where all ethnic groups merged into a single people of Kazakhstan.

The first association of Poles appeared in 1989 in Kokshetau (Kokchetav) at the initiative of Anatoly Dyachinsky. Such groups also arose in Karaganda (initiated by F. Boguslavsky), in Alma-Ata (A. Levkovsky) and others. These separate associations, having registered themselves legally in 1992, created the Union of Poles of Kazakhstan. Organizationally, the Union consists of 13 regional associations headed by elected chairmen of the regional councils of the Union of Poles. In districts and villages, regional and rural polonium organizations have been created, which are members of regional Polish organizations of the Union of Poles of Kazakhstan. At the republican level, the activities of the SEC are carried out by the Republican Coordination Council, headed by an elected chairman. On December 1, 2007, at the Vth Reporting-Election Conference, Vitaliy Zvridovich Svintsitsky (Pavlodar) was elected Chairman of the Union of Poles.

In regions and cities, Polish ethnic associations form part of the city and regional Assemblies. In recent years, the SEC has become an authoritative public organization, occupying a worthy place among the ethnic groups of the united people of Kazakhstan. The Union of Poles of Kazakhstan maintains the closest relations with other diasporas, as well as with state bodies and public organizations of Kazakhstan and Poland. To work with foreign Polish ethnic groups in Poland, there are special public organizations “Polish Unity” (“Pulpulota Polska”), “Help to the Poles in the East”, which carry out cultural, educational, educational activities and financial and material assistance to Poles abroad, including and in Kazakhstan. Over the years, cooperation has been established and developed with sister cities in the Republic of Poland, for example, the cities of Pavlodar - Bydgoszcz, Astana - Warsaw, Kostanay - Vzhenya. “We are aware and we know - we are Poles, and our duty is to remember and protect our past, continue traditions, develop culture, language, but we were born in Kazakhstan and our task is to contribute to the development of not only Polish, but also Kazakhstani culture

Since September 2014, the public association “Polska Jedność” ^[3] (Polish Unity) has been operating in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. The main activities of the organization are: the study of the Polish language; acquaintance with the history, traditions and customs of the Polish people; organization and holding of holidays (state, national, national, religious) of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Poland and cultural events aimed at popularizing Polish culture; establishing cultural and scientific ties between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Poland; development of business relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Poland; and much more.

Among the large projects implemented by the NGO “Polska Jedność” are the annual republican literary competition dedicated to the deportation of Poles to Kazakhstan ^[4] , the literary campaign “Narodowe Czytanie” ^[5] , Big Evening of Polish Poetry ^[6] , youth polony camp in Burabaya, etc. .

Anyone who is not indifferent to the concept of “Polish unity”, who is passionate about Polish culture or wants to preserve the traditions of their ancestors can become a member of the Polska Jedność NGO.

• Pole Map
• Poles in Latvia
• Poles in Lithuania
• Poles in Belarus
• Poles in Ukraine
• Poles in Azerbaijan

• Information about the Poles on the website of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan
• A. Volkov. Poles of Kazakhstan
• Socio-political situation in northern Kazakhstan