Some issues of the national liberation movement in Turkestan in the legacy of Mustafa Shokay

Abstract

Relevance. The history of the Turkestan uprising in the works of Mustafa Shokay is rather poorly researched, especially the biographical writings that covered these processes were barely analysed. The Turkestan uprising of 1916 is a grey area in historiography, and the study of Mustafa Shokay's writings for the interpretation of those events is still relevant nowadays. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to investigate the writings of Mustafa Shokay for the interpretation of the 1916 uprising, to trace the processes and causes that followed, and to examine Mustafa Shokay's role in the Muslim faction - which was important in clarifying the issue. Methodology. The study used a variety of historical methods and approaches to analyse and select information regarding the issue of the uprising in Turkestan in the works of Mustafa Shokay. The research also made wide use of methods of analysis and synthesis, general methods of scientific cognition, and methods of empirical investigation. The historical-comparative, retrospective and abstractive methods made it possible to reconstruct and model the processes on the days before the uprising in Turkestan, and its consequences, in as much detail as possible. The study analysed Mustafa Shokay's work, his role in these processes, and his views on all the processes that occurred in Turkestan during the uprising. Results/Conclusions. Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were made: the role of Mustafa Shokay in the Turkestan uprising of 1916 is implicit, his standpoint of this event is insufficiently studied by modern historians, which gives grounds to consider his writings as another important source for the coverage of those events. However, it is Mustafa Shokay's work in the 1916 uprising commission and his biographical notes from that time that provide valuable and complete information for a comprehensive consideration of the issue.