Why are we disappointed at Kazakhstan history textbooks and so President Nazarbaev?

II International Youth Innovation Forum “Interra” finished its work on this weekend. One of its most important events was the meeting of education ministers of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
In a special conference, the ministers have determined the work directions of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization University and collaboration development regarding the education. “Our meetings have a regular base. We meet in this format twice a year, draw plans and then perform them. And quite serious plans have been outlined. Two years ago we decided to establish a new structure, namely a network Shanghai Cooperation Organization University. The University already functions in a pilot mode. It is an important tool of higher education development in our countries. We have now identified further steps to promote and improve education in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries,” told to journalists Andrey Fursenko, the minister of education and science of the Russian Federation.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization today includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Other four countries (Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia) have an observer status, while Belorussia and Sri Lanka have a status of the dialog partners. According to Mr. Andrey Fursenko’s opinion, the main task of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization University is to train high qualified specialists in the field of regional studies, ecology, energy, nanotechnology and IT-technology on the basis of agreed innovative educational programs.“Today, we consider the network university as our internal structure. May be there will be the circumstances when the Shanghai Cooperation Organization extends. 16 Russian universities participate in the project (including the Novosibirsk State University and Novosibirsk State Technical University – edit.). But this is not a frozen scheme and a number of high schools, even the leading ones, already would like to join”, remarked the Russian education minister. The Minister of education of the People’s Republic of China Yuan Guigen emphasized at the meeting with Novosibirsk journalists that there is an urgent task to solve all problems by mutual acknowledgement of diplomas in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization states.
The issues of education system quality and modernization in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were also discussed at the ministers meeting. “Such modernization is necessary, primarily, for our citizens, our societies and our economics. Above all, we have a system work which enables the education development in region that is very important for the whole world with its 1.5 million people population” said Mr. Andrey Fursenko. According to his colleague Mr. Azimzhon Parpiev, the Minister of Education of Uzbekistan, he saw the achievements in education being in Novosibirsk. He thinks, “The modernization in high schools gives the good opportunities for management training and future of the country.
The higher education experts have already made a list of Russian high schools on which the hopes and big plans are placed. Those which have not been included in this list have to change their work: either join the leading institutions of higher education or lower their status and become the colleges or to become the university branches. “In this way we are going to restructure the whole Russian higher education system essentially” said Mr. Fursenko.
The education ministers meeting in Novosibirsk resulted in a plan of cooperation development in the education and science, designed for the next two years. Support studying and teaching of Chinese and Russian languages play a large role in this plan. A festival of student creative works is planned for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization members. The next two years the Association of students of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be created.

During a brief meeting with the ministers, the Novosibirsk journalists asked whether the People’s Republic China is going to establish Chinese high school branches in Russia as the number of Siberian students wanting to study in China is very large. The Chinese minister answered that he is glad about such trend but braches establishing is not actual yet.

One of the key questions in the press conference was the one about Kazakh and Uzbek history textbooks. Answering the question of Mega Novosibirsk correspondent, why is Russia presented there as a blood thirsty empire, while some of these textbooks are approved by the Ministry of Education, the Kazakh representative Mrs. Shaken Turmukhambetova, head of the Department for higher education strategy and content, evasively said: “We do not rewrite the history, it remains as it was. Kazakhstan history includes the histories of other nations. The textbooks show the events influencing history of a nation. But they do not contain any anti-Russian tendencies. They may occur in some books or publications but certainly not in textbooks. As their contents are strictly controlled by the political department in the Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and by the president administration. We stand for a peaceful coexistence of all nations and our textbooks are written in the same manner”.
Further the Kazakhstan representative admitted that some problems however exist. She remarked particularly that at the present “we are completely revising syllabi and their accordance. We surely revoke them if they do not meet the requirements and especially textbooks…”
But it is not clear how such attitude fits the opinion of Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbaev who strongly criticized the Kazakh textbooks for comprehensive schools as long ago as 2004 (!). “One is really astonished when reading a history textbook how the author turns unsubstantiated legends to historical facts”, he said. Kazakh authors of history textbooks, e.g. T. Tulebaev, A. Abdakimov, K. Ryspaev, M. Shaymerdenova and some others make such historical “inventions” that you can only be amazed: there are Russian colonizing policy, suppression, compulsory christening, and heaven knows what else…

We could admire such a luxuriant imagination but for one aspect: This are the souls of children whose fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers fought shoulder to shoulder with people of other ethnic origins who lived in the Russian empire, later on in the USSR. With a simple human point of view is simply unworthy…. Is it really unclear that children will always trust their parents and grandparents rather than that nonsense coming from so-called schoolbooks? And how can you trust this school, therefore, this authority?
By the way, Mr. Nursultan Nazarbaev criticized Kazakh history textbooks authors in 2004:
“I learned from a history textbook that the destructive power of Saka arrows made up 800 meters!” the President wrote indignantly at his forum. “I’m not a professional soldier but I know that not all types of modern small arts have such features!” Moreover the head of the neighbor state found ignorance and stupidity in textbooks. He has ordered a revision of all textbooks and called journalists for searching and publishing nonsense and for presenting to these authors and publishers the offensive awards like “Golden rubber”.
Six years passed but Kazakh children are still continue to study the history from textbooks composed under some obviously false rules. And how much time is needed to ensure that these pages reveal the truth about the friendship between the Kazakhs and the Russians?
Judging by the fact that the issue of an incorrect statement of the Russian-Kazakh relations somehow was brought up by many members of the media, the problem really exists. Another story is how to solve it to keep the international friendship as a real one. And it is very interesting how long will it take to carry out all these measures and what will the Kazakh representative tell on this matter during the next Interra?