NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan – Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed to write a short history of Kazakhstan for a foreign audience and translate it into the main languages of the world. “This is the only way to tell the world the true centuries-old history of the Kazakh people. Each nation should write its own history, not succumbing to the influence of alien ideology. A history written from the standpoint of national interests, contributes to the awakening of national consciousness,” Tokayev wrote in an article “Independence Above All”, published in the Kazakh-language newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan.
The President recalled that this year marks the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence. In his opinion, this is an important milestone, marking the revival of Kazakh statehood and the acquisition of freedom, the dreams of which were cherished by many generations of our ancestors.
“Today, the global film industry is in demand for scenarios on a historical theme. A lot of films have been shot about landmark events in the history of America and Europe. Now Netflix, HBO and other world film companies are turning their eyes to Asia. Our story is also rich in unique stories that can be put into the basis of large-scale films. For example, the era of the Golden Horde, which was one of the most powerful empires of its time – isn’t this a ready-made script? These questions should be in the focus of special attention of film industry specialists,” Tokayev said.
He also recalled that 100 years have passed since the dramatic events associated with the famine of 1921-1922, as a result of which millions of people died or were forced to flee in order to survive. “If this terrible tragedy had not happened, the number of our people would have been many times greater than it is now. These pages of our history are still ‘blank spots’ and have not been fully studied,” the Kazakh President stressed.
He noted that it was time to write Kazakh history, taking into account new scientific approaches, and this fundamental work should form the basis of all textbooks. “This is a matter of strategic importance. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately start preparing a new academic publication on the history of Kazakhstan. The revival of our historical consciousness depends on this,” Tokayev said.
