Meltha Magazine Online

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2002 May Conference page 26

Repression Against the Assyrians in the USSR (1920 -1953)

Mikhail Yu. SADO

The 20th century turned out to be the most bloody in the hist9ry of mankind: world and local wars,

revolutions, totalitarian regimes, religious intolerance and a lot of other things took away lives of millions of people, led many nations to fall or to the edge of destruction. One of these suffered nations appeared to be the Assyrians.

The role of Russia in the fate of Assyrians in XIX and XX centuries is great. By the beginning of the World War I many Assyrians had already lived in Russia and been its subjects.

Capture of power in October 1917 in Russia by the Bolsheviks was a tragedy for the Russian nation and many other nations residing in Russia or being its allies. Russia, being practically a winner in this world war, was plunged into a catastrophe. Withdrawal of Russian troops from the Caucasus front became a tragedy for the Armenians and Assyrians. They couldn't resist a regular Turkish army and, escaping from Turkish slaughter, some of the Assyrians fled to Russia that was an ally and patron of the Assyrians.

Revolutionary events in Russia didn't captivate the majority of the Assyrians who happened to be there. Most of them developed their life in Russia healing wounds of war and escape.

By the middle of twenties a national social and political movement among the Assyrians was outlined in the USSR. In December 1925 an All Union. Assyrian Congress under the direction of communists took. place in Moscow. It established an All-Russian Alliance of Assyrians (ARAA) with its center in Moscow. Creation of ARAA aroused national and social activity among the Assyrians in the USSR, inspired in them a hope for revival of national life and culture. National schools appeared in many cities, national textbooks were in the press, national teachers were trained in Armavir and Leningrad, there were national clubs" and a national newspaper was issued. Assyrian collective farms were founded in rural areas and trade workmen's cooperative associations -in cities.

By the middle of thirties one should note considerable progress on the Assyrian national social life in the USSR. There already were prepared national specialists in the spheres of language and culture, a number of Assyrians with higher and secondary education was increasing.

By that time a political struggle for power in C.P.S. U .became acute to the limit in the USSR. Repressions took a more severe and mass character. In 1937-38 Stalin's repressions covered all nations of the USSR, including the Assyrians. It's essential to mention that some Assyrians were subjected to repressions as early as the beginning of twenties: Assyrians -officers of the Russian army (Mikhail Yulev, Shakhgeldov, Fedor Sarkisov and others) were short. In 1927 Fraidoon Atouraya (Abramov) was shot. It was the first political process against Assyrian national leader. And in 1937 in Leningrad Zigl Levkoyev was shot.

A mass character of persecution of the Assyrians started in autumn of 1937, when the authorities issued a decree of persecution of former Iranian and Turkish subjects. Under this decree all the Assyrians who worked in the system of ARAA, in Assyrian clubs, schools, on collective farms, in the newspaper "Kokhva d'Madinkha" were arrested. During this period extrajudicial organs sentenced not less than 1000 Assyrians to be shot; several thousands were sentenced to long-term imprisonment in GULAG camps. In 1949-50 the Assyrians residing in Azerbaijan and Georgia underwent mass deportation to Siberia and Kazakhstan.

A nation can't have future without letting its victims, sons of the nation, who gave their lives for the sake of preservation of their national name, be remembered forever. That's why it's necessary to collect thoroughly all data about victimized Assyrians, about those died without guilt. This movement grows stronger in St. Petersburg and in 2000 a first memorial to the Assyrians -victims of repressions was unveiled. We hope that in all regions where Assyrians suffered similar memorials will be erected and names of all victims will become the common property of history.