Information about the Department of History
Department name: Department of History.
Head of the department: Doctor of Historical Sciences (DSc), Professor Askar Mambetovich Djumashev.
Scientific potential of the department: The department has 1 leading researcher (S.Nurjanov), 2 senior researchers (B.Opaev, G.Seydametova), 2 junior researchers (R.Tadjieva, A.Muratbaeva), 1 doctoral student (A.Saparniyazov) and 8 basic doctoral students (A.Yakubov, A.Gulimbetov, A.Naubetov, A.Niyazov, A.Idrisov, E.Nizamatdinov, G.Taspolatova, I.Mambetov).
Brief historical background of the department: The Department of History was organized in the Karakalpak Complex Scientific Research Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, which was established in 1957 by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of Uzbekistan. In 1961, Ya.M.Dosumov was the first in Karakalpakstan to defend his doctoral dissertation on history. Since December 1961, Candidate of Historical Sciences S.K.Kamalov headed the Karakalpak branch of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. If in 1960 there was only 1 Doctor of Historical Sciences (Ya.M.Dosumov) at the Institute of History, Language and Literature, then by 1970, 3 Doctors (Ya.Dosumov, S.Kamalov, U.Shalekenov) and 15 Candidates of Sciences worked at the institute.
The 90s of the twentieth century were characterized by a large influx of a significant number of young people interested in historical science into the Department of History. The opening of postgraduate and doctoral programs, the creation of conditions for continuing research work in the central cities of Uzbekistan made it possible to expand the composition of the scientific staff of the Department of History. Currently, most of the scientific staff of the department have already managed to conduct research in foreign (Karakalpakstan, Russian Federation, Germany, Poland, France) scientific centers and they are considered scientists with extensive scientific experience.
The main scientific directions of the department: The department is designed to develop the problems of the history of the peoples of Karakalpakstan, to study the issues of medieval, modern and contemporary history, the problems of ethnogenesis and ethnic history, the material and spiritual culture of the Karakalpak society. The department carries out academic work that covers the following problematic issues: The socio-economic and political history of the peoples of the Southern Aral Sea region of the XVIII-early XX centuries based on the materials of Western travelers and researchers; The colonial policy of tsarist Russia; The history of the Kazi courts (late XIX – early XX centuries); National liberation movements; The history of the formation of the Karakalpak statehood; The periodical press of Karakalpakstan as a historical source; The history of everyday life; Socio-economic consequences of the Aral disaster; Analysis of political, economic and socio-cultural processes in Karakalpakstan in the XX-XXI centuries, etc.
The department’s connections with foreign scientific organizations: Today, the department has extensive international connections. Employees of our department give lectures at universities in Karakalpakstan, have completed internships under the DAAD program, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at Humboldt University (Berlin, Germany), the Lane Kirkland Scholarship program at the University of Warsaw (Warsaw, Poland), as well as the Atlas program, the Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme (FMSH) and Institut Français d’Etudes sur l’Asie Centrale (IFEAC) (Paris, France). During the above-mentioned internships, it was possible to collect a wealth of historiographical material, which is of great importance for historical and source studies in Karakalpakstan. At the same time, the department staff took an active part in summer schools and seminars (St. Petersburg, Russia; Almaty, Karakalpakstan; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, etc.), participated in international conferences and round tables (Naples, Italy; Berlin, Regensburg, Germany; Brussels, Belgium; Olomouc, Czech Republic; Siirt, Turkey; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Moscow, St. Petersburg, Elista, Ulan-Ude, Russia; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Astana, Almaty, Aktobe, Aktau, Uralsk, Turkestan, Karakalpakstan; Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Tashkent, Nukus, Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan, etc.).
Scientific work being developed by the department: The department is currently conducting fundamental research on the topic “Interethnic tolerance and the development of interethnic relations in Karakalpakstan (from 1873 to the present)”, designed for 2024-2026. The purpose of this study is to reveal the historical roots of interethnic ties in Karakalpakstan through a historical and retrospective approach to enriching the process of implementing the slogan “Only united – we are one people, only together – we are a strong country!” based on a new content and value system.
The main objectives of this study:
– Study of migration processes in the territory of Karakalpakstan, as well as trends in cultural development and their impact on the spiritual life of the population;
– Identification of the political and economic roots of the interaction of the peoples of Karakalpakstan with neighboring regions;
– A study of the manifestation of interethnic tolerance of the population of Karakalpakstan during the years of the repressive policy of the Soviet government;
– Analysis of cultural and spiritual ties of the peoples of our region through the study of aspects of daily life;
– The disclosure of universal and unique aspects of the social interests of the peoples of Karakalpakstan and Central Asia, the attitude of the citizens of this region to their identity and the study of multiculturalism issues;
– Coverage of the foundations of unity and prosperous life of the peoples of Uzbekistan on the example of the economic, social and cultural development of the Republic of Karakalpakstan during the years of independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The most important scientific results obtained by the department:
– A scientific analysis of the historical development path of Karakalpakstan in 1991-2021 has been carried out;
– The history of the city of Nukus and the urban settlements of Karakalpakstan, the issues of formation and functioning of urban culture have been developed;
– The issues of political repression of the Soviet government in the 30-50s of the twentieth century have been studied;
– A historical and retrospective analysis of the ideological education of the population in the conditions of Soviet totalitarianism and the problem of continuity of forms at the present stage has been implemented, the experience of the functioning of the periodical press of Karakalpakstan in the twentieth century has been critically rethought and recommendations have been developed to improve the activities of the media;
– For the first time, a source analysis of documentary materials on the history of the Karakalpak Autonomous Region has been carried out and the issues of the formation of the administrative apparatus and the tragic moments of the collectivization of agriculture in 1925-1932 have been studied;
– Research continues on the transformation of social attitudes (lifestyle and thinking, habits, everyday culture, language, living conditions) in Karakalpak society in the twentieth century;
– A scientific analysis of the issues of access to public administration and the internal mechanisms of the relationship between government and society during the years of Soviet power is being carried out in the context of the practical implementation of social partnership and public control at the present stage.
As a result of the above research, the staff of the department prepared and published a collective monograph “History of Karakalpakstan (1991-2015)” (2018), as well as monographs “Karakalpak Autonomous Region: history in sources” (2014), “Periodical press of Karakalpakstan in the system of public relations” (2015), “Son of the Fatherland” (2018), “The Soviet system of public administration in Karakalpakstan (1924-1941): a history of formation and transformation” (2021), “Socio-cultural aspects of daily life in Karakalpakstan in the 1960s and 1990s” (2022), “The history of the periodical press of Karakalpakstan (1925-1953)” (2023), “The scientific heritage of Oriental thinkers” (2023), scientific collections “Transformation of social attitudes in Karakalpak society: history and practice” (2020), “Qaraqalpaqstanda siyasiy, ekonomikaliq hám social-mádeniy processlerdiń tariyxiy retrospektivasi (1946-1991)” (2024), textbooks for universities “Архив әмелияты” (2022), “Ózbekiston tarixi” (2024), “Globallasıw sharayatında Ozbekstan hám dúnya mámleketleri sherikligi” (2024) and textbooks on the history of Karakalpakstan for general educational institutions (2014, 2018).
In addition, the staff of the department participated in the preparation of collective monographs “The modern history of Uzbekistan” (Tashkent, 2019), “Political repression among Karakalpaks in the republics of Central Asia in the 20-50s of the twentieth century (in the light of new archival sources)” (Almaty, Karakalpakstan, 2022), “Қорақалпоғистон Республикаси судлари: тарих ва бугун” (Tashkent, 2024), “Тарихий ҳотира беҳиёс” (II Vol. Tashkent, 2024), “Тарих: хотира, хулоса ва сабоқлар” (Tashkent, 2024), “Ўзбекистон давлатчилиги тарихшунослиги очерклари” (III Vol. Toshkent, 2024), etc.
In 2018-2023, the following thematic studies were carried out in the department:
According to the program of the Foundation for Support of Fundamental Research of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2018-2019).
Project name: ИЖ.7-18. The daily history of the city of Nukus – the capital of Karakalpakstan in memoirs (the second half of the twentieth century). Project manager: Djumashev A.
Project name: ИЖ.8-18. The image of the “enemy of the people” in the periodical press of Karakalpakstan in 1936-1941. Project manager: Nurjanov S.
According to the State Scientific and Technical Program of Applied Research for 2018-2020.
Project name: ПЗ-20170915198. Transformation of social attitudes in Karakalpak society: history and practice. Project manager: Nurjanov S.
According to the State Program of Fundamental Research for 2021-2023.
Project title: Historical retrospective of political, economic, and socio-cultural processes in Karakalpakstan (1946-1991). Project manager: Djumashev A.
Conferences organized by the department: In September 2024, the department organized an international scientific and theoretical conference “The History of Karakalpakstan in the context of Central Asian studies”, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the famous scientist, Academician Sabyr Kamalovich Kamalov, where domestic and foreign colleagues demonstrated the theoretical and practical achievements of historical science. In November 2024, the department organized the republican conference “A scientist who has gone through a difficult and honorable path of science”, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Honored Scientist of the Republic of Karakalpakstan Uzakbai Kalniazovich Kalniazov.