Jeltoqsan

The Jeltoqsan (Желтоқсан көтерілісі) or "December" of 1986 were riots that took place in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, in response to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's dismissal of Dinmukhamed Konayev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and an ethnic Kazakh, and the subsequent appointment of Gennady Kolbin, an outsider from the Russian SFSR. Some sources cite Kolbin's nationality as Russian, others as Chuvash.

The events lasted from 16 December until 19 December 1986. The protests began in the morning of 17 December, as a student demonstration attracted thousands of participants as they marched through Brezhnev Square across to the CPK Central Committee building. As internal troops and OMON forces entered the city violence erupted throughout the former capital of Kazakhstan. In the following days, protests spread to Shymkent, Taldykorgan, and Karaganda.

Protests
The dismissal of the long-serving First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Dinmukhamed Kunayev (1964-1986) on 16 December and the appointment of an outsider, Gennady Kolbin (1986-1989) as the First Secretary was the primary reason for the peaceful student demonstrations that started in the early morning of 17 December.

According to Gorbachev, after the 27th Party Congress of December 1986, he met with Kunayev and discussed Kunayev's resignation. In the meeting, Kunayev expressed his desire to retire and proposed the appointment of a Russian in his place to stop advancement of Nursultan Nazarbayev (later President of Kazakhstan) in the party ranks. Kunayev, in his own book, states that Gorbachev never asked him about his replacement and only said "a good comrade will be sent".

Demonstrations started in the morning of 17 December 1986 as 200–300 students gathered in front of the Central Committee building on Brezhnev Square to protest the decision of the CPSU to replace Kunayev with Kolbin. The number of protesters increased to 1,000–5,000 as students from universities and institutes joined the crowd on Brezhnev Square.

Tass reported that "A group of students, incited by nationalistic elements, last evening and today took to the streets of Alma Ata expressing disapproval of the decisions of the recent plenary meeting. Hooligans, parasites and other antisocial persons made use of this situation and resorted to unlawful actions against representatives of law and order. They set fire to a food store and to private cars and insulted townspeople". Meetings were held at factories, schools, and other institutions to condemn these actions.

Witnesses reported that the rioters were given vodka, narcotics and leaflets, indicating that the riots were not spontaneous. However, the reports about "December" were not true because students knew what they were doing. Moreover, there was not any idea about a "nationalism" or an "independence", it was just a protest towards Gorbachev's decision about Konayev.

As a response, the CPK Central Committee ordered troops from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, druzhiniki (volunteers), cadets, policemen and the KGB to cordon the square and videotape the participants. The situation escalated around 5 p.m., as troops were ordered to disperse the protesters. Clashes between the security forces and the demonstrators continued throughout the night in the square and in different parts of Almaty.

The second day, protests turned into civil unrest as clashes in the streets, universities and dormitories between troops, volunteers and militia units and Kazakh students turned into a wide-scale confrontation. The clashes could only be controlled on the third day. The Almaty events were followed by smaller protests and demonstrations in Shymkent, Pavlodar, Karaganda and Taldykorgan.

Estimates of protesters
The number of estimates of protesters vary.

Initial reports from Moscow said that about 200 people were involved in the riots. Later reports from Kazakh SSR authorities estimated that the riots drew 3,000 people.

Other estimates are of at least 30,000 to 40,000 protestors with 5,000 arrested and jailed, and an unknown number of casualties. Jeltoqsan leaders say over 60,000 Kazakhs participated in the protests.

In Karaganda, 54 students were excluded from the universities while five students were prosecuted.

Loss of life
According to the Kazakh SSR government, there were two deaths during the riots, including a volunteer police worker and a student. Both of them had died due to blows to the head. About 100 others were detained and several others were sentenced to terms in labor camps.

Sources cited by Library of Congress claim that at least 200 people died or were summarily executed soon after. Some accounts estimate casualties at more than 1,000.

The writer Mukhtar Shakhanov claimed that a KGB officer testified that 168 protesters were killed, but that figure remains unconfirmed as most material about Jeltoksan is in Moscow, locked in Communist Party of the Soviet Union and KGB archives.

Kazakh students Qayrat Rısqulbekov and Lazat Asanova were among the victims.

Separation from USSR
In the March 1991 referendum, the population of Kazakhstan overwhelmingly voted to preserve the Soviet system. 89.2% of the population participated in the vote, of which 94.1% voted in favor.

Nevertheless, the Soviet government in Kazakhstan declared independence on 16 December 1991. Many details surrounding the Jeltoqsan events remain locked up in the archives in Moscow and Almaty. The Jeltoqsan events constitute the main platforms of Azat and Alash political parties and the Jeltoqsan movement in independent Kazakhstan.

On 18 September 2006, the Dawn of Liberty monument, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Jeltoqsan, was opened with a solemn ceremony in Almaty. Today, Jeltoqsan is regarded as the symbol of Kazakhstan's struggle for independence. The monument has three-parts and points out first two pylons of intricate shapes symbolizing the breach and conflict of past and future, the explosion of the nation's consciousness and downfall of ideological canons, and the triumph of liberty and independence of the state.

Dinmukhamed Konayev died in 1993 at the age of 82. An avenue and an institute in Almaty bear his name as well as an avenue in downtown Astana.