Political Endeavors of Mustafa Shokay and Ahmed Zaki Validii in
Turkestan's Landscape
Rakhmatov Murod Gaybullayevich
Navoi State Pedagogical Institute, Navoi, Uzbekistan
Keywords: Muslim, Branch, Bolshevik, County, Congress, Empire, Revolution, Independence, Turkestan, National,
Culture, People.
Abstract: In this article, the fact that Mustafa Shokay and Ahmed Zaki Walidy are well-known state and public figures
and consistent fighters for the independence of the people of Turkestan is widely covered.
1 INTRODUCTION
Two notable representatives of the Turkic peoples,
Mustafa Shokay (1890-1941) and Ahmed Zaki
Validii (1890-1970), played significant roles in the
political processes of the Turkestan region in 1917.
Born in the same year and sharing similar ideologies,
Shokay hailed from a Bashkir village in present-day
Bashkortostan, while Validii was born into a noble
Kipchak family. Both individuals, being of the same
age and like-minded, migrated to Tashkent, the
political and economic center of the Turkestan region
during that period (Chokay, 1992a)
2 METHODS
The article employs scientific research methods,
including historicity, principles of systematization,
and a civilizational approach to the problem. It
utilizes comparative and chronological analyses to
enhance its exploration of the subject.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Mustafa Shokay, a well-known state and public figure
and a consistent advocate for the independence of the
Turkic peoples, was born on December 25, 1890 (or
January 7, 1891, according to a new calculation) in
Avliyotarang'il Ovul, Perovsk District, Syr Darya
Oblast, in the village of Narshok, as per some sources
(Sadykova, 2004). His father, the son of Shokaybey
Torgay dodkhoh, served as the head of a bolis
(volost), belonging to the nobles of the Kypchak clan
of Kazakhs, while his mother's ancestors were traced
back to the Khans of Khiva. Mustafa Shokay
identified himself as a Kipchak in his biography.
Mustafa Shokay received his primary education
in Okmachit and later attended the men's gymnasium
in Tashkent from 1902 to 1910. He graduated from
the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University in
1914. Notably, Alexander Kerensky (1881-1970),
who would later become the Prime Minister of the
Provisional Government in Russia, had graduated
from the same educational institutions about ten years
earlier, in 1899 and 1904. In 1916-1917, Mustafa
Shokay served as a secretary and translator in the
Muslim faction of the IV State Duma of Russia.
Following the brutal suppression of the 1916 uprising
in Turkestan, he, along with Kerensky, visited the
ruins of the devastated cities in Turkestan, including
Jizzakh (Rajabov, 2003)
The Central Asian uprising of 1916, known as the
"workers' uprising," aimed against the colonial policy
of the Russian Empire in the Turkestan region.
Mustafa Shokay, in his later memoirs, reflected on the
events in Turkestan in 1917 and the impact of the
February revolution on the region's life. He expressed
disappointment in the hope that the revolution would
lead to the establishment of a national state but
emphasized the importance of remembering their
participation in the 1917 revolution (Chokay, 1992b).
Mustafa Shokay was in Petrograd, the capital of
the Russian Empire, when the February Revolution of
1917 began. At that time, he represented Turkestan in
the bureau under the Muslim faction of the Russian
State Duma. He played a crucial role in providing
information about Turkestan to Muslim
representatives in the State Duma and documented
Gaybullayevich, R.
Political Endeavors of Mustafa Shokay and Ahmed Zaki Validii in Turkestan’s Landscape.
DOI: 10.5220/0012680600003882
Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
In Proceedings of the 2nd Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR-2 2023), pages 143-145
ISBN: 978-989-758-723-8
Proceedings Copyright © 2024 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda.
143
the events of the 1916 uprising. Shokay vividly
described the victory of the February Revolution in
Petrograd and the subsequent upheavals, which led to
his return to Turkestan in April 1917.
Upon his return, Mustafa Shokay became actively
involved in political processes in Turkestan. He
founded and started publishing the newspapers
"Birlik Tug`i" and "Свободный Туркестан" in
Tashkent during the spring of 1917. At the First All-
Turkestan Muslim Congress held in Tashkent on
April 16-23, 1917, he chaired the establishment of the
Central Council of Turkestan Muslims
(Kraymussovet), also known as the National Center.
Shokay participated in the First All-Kyrgyz [All-
Kazakh] Sejd held in Orenburg in July 1917 and
became a member of the Turkestan Committee of the
Provisional Government from August 1917. After the
Bolsheviks seized power in Tashkent, the National
Center led by Mustafa Shokay relocated to Kokand in
early November (Rajabov, 2021).
According to the "Ulug` Turkestan" newspaper,
on July 15, 1917, Mustafa Chokai was nominated and
elected as a member of the Turkestan Committee of
the Provisional Government of Russia during the
meetings of Tashkent city, Transcaspian, Fergana,
and Syrdarya regions (Committee of Turkestan,
1917).
Ahmed Zaki Validii, another prominent state and
public figure and a consistent advocate for the
independence of the Turkic peoples, was born on
December 10 (22), 1890, in the village of Kuzyanovo,
Ilchik-Temirovsky district, Sterlitamak [Istarlitomak]
uezd, Ufa province. His parents, both religious
workers, were educated and proficient in several
languages. Ahmed Zaki Validii, also known as
Akhmatzaki Akhmetshakhovich Validov or Toghan
in emigration and later in Turkey, played a crucial
role as an orientalist and Turkic scholar.
In his memoirs written abroad, Ahmed Zaki
Validii detailed his travels to Turkestan and Bukhara,
particularly his stay in the Bukhara Emirate in the
summer of 1914.
Similar to Mustafa Shokay, Ahmed Zaki Validii
arrived in Tashkent in April 1917 and actively
participated in the political processes of the country.
He became the general secretary (Proceedings of the
Convention, 1917) of the Muslim Council of
Turkestan (Kraymussovet), established at the First
Congress of All-Turkestan Muslims in April 1917.
Validii also served as the editor of the "Kengash"
newspaper, the official organ of the Council, and
played a key role in the autonomy movement in
Turkestan, consistently advocating for the unity and
independence of the Turkic peoples.
As the editor of the "Kengash" newspaper, the
press organ of the "Sho'roi Islam" society, Ahmed
Zaki Validii mentioned in his memoirs that he wrote
most of the main articles published in the press organ
(Validii, n.d.).
In order to provide a clearer understanding of the
activities of national political forces in Turkestan,
Validii categorized societies into three groups: class
organizations, sectarian organizations, and general
organizations. He emphasized the need for these
organizations to have charters to maintain order.
Validii also proposed the reform of various societies
and organizations operating in Tashkent and other
major cities of the Turkestan region.
Ahmed Zaki Validii served as secretary and
chairman in several meetings of the Central Council
of Turkestan Muslims held in June-July 1917. On
June 27, 1917, he was accepted as the director of the
organization and education department of the Central
Council (Turkestan Central Council, 1917).
In the fall of 1917, Ahmed Zaki Validii left
Tashkent and became one of the leaders of the
government and national movement of
Bashkortostan, assuming roles such as head of
government and military inspector. When autonomy
was restricted, he distanced himself from the Soviet
state and the Bolsheviks, arriving in Bukhara in the
fall of 1920.
4 CONCLUSIONS
In 1917, key figures among the Turkic peoples, such
as Mustafa Shokay and Ahmed Zaki Validii, played
pivotal roles in the political landscape of Turkestan.
Tashkent, being the political and economic hub,
witnessed the active involvement of these leaders in
guiding Turkestan progressives. Together, these
Turkic leaders spearheaded the fight for freedom and
independence, initially against the Russian Empire
and later against the Bolsheviks and Soviet Russia.
Alongside Mustafa Shokay and Ahmed Zaki
Validii, other prominent figures like Munavvar Qori
Abdurashidkhanov, Ubaydulla Khojaev, Abdulla
Avloni in Tashkent, Obidjon Mahmudov in the
Fergana Valley, Cholpon, Hamza, Mahmudhoja
Behbudi in Samarkand, Fitrat, Fayzulla Khojaev,
Abdulvahid Burkhanov, and Abdulkadir Muhitdinov
in Khorezm, as well as Polvonniyoz Haji Yusupov
and Bobohun Salimov in Khorezm, demonstrated
courage in the struggle for the unity and
independence of Turkestan and their people.
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