Today marks the birthday of Mukhamedzhan Tynyshpaev, a prominent figure in the Alash movement, a historian, and the first railway engineer of Kazakh origin, as reported by “Adyrna.”
He was born on May 12, 1879, at the foot of Zhylandy Mountain in the Makanshy-Sadyr volost of the former Lepsinsk district in the Zhetysu region, in the family of Aldekeyuly Tynyshbai. On August 14, 1890, he was admitted to the Verny Boys’ Gymnasium. In 1900, after graduating with honors, he entered the Institute of Railway Engineers named after Emperor Alexander I in St. Petersburg.
From 1900 to 1906, while studying in St. Petersburg, he witnessed significant political and social unrest, including opposition movements against the monarchy. These experiences deeply influenced him, leading to the formation of his socio-political views. As a student, he wrote sharp articles criticizing colonial rule and was involved in anti-government propaganda. He also engaged with opposition Russian parties and Turkic-Muslim movements. His famous report “The Kyrgyz and the Liberation Movement” led to the imperial police placing him under surveillance.
In 1907, he was elected as a deputy to the Second State Duma from the Muslim population of the Zhetysu region, a sign of the trust and respect he had earned.
During the 1916 uprising against the Tsarist regime’s conscription decree, Tynyshpaev foresaw the tragedy and attempted to prevent the rebellion, fearing it would only lead to suffering. He joined other Kazakh intellectuals in calling for calm. After the revolt, he took part in relief efforts.
Until the February Revolution of 1917, Tynyshpaev worked in Central Asia and Zhetysu as a railway engineer. After the revolution, like many other Kazakh intellectuals, he had high hopes for political reform. He became a member of the Provisional Government’s Turkestan Committee and was actively involved in political activities.
A key chapter of his political life was his role in the Alash Orda government. As Russian political instability worsened in late 1917, Kazakh leaders advocated for national autonomy. Despite the civil war making progress difficult, the Alash Orda government negotiated with various powers to represent Kazakh interests. Tynyshpaev was elected as one of the 15 members of the Alash Orda and later served as Deputy Chairman, signing many legislative acts.
From 1911 to 1918, he held senior engineering roles in the Ursaiev-Andijan railway section and later led construction of the Arys-Äuliye-Ata line of the Zhetysu railway.
In December 1917, he was elected to the All-Kazakh Congress and helped draft the provisional land use law for the Alash autonomous territory. In 1918, he attended the Fourth All-Turkestan Muslim Congress, where he was elected Prime Minister of the Turkestan (Kokand) Autonomy.
After the Soviet government granted amnesty in 1919, he worked in the education department in Semey. In 1924, he began teaching at what is now the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. He also lectured on Turko-Mongol history in Tashkent and taught physics and mathematics.
Among his scholarly works are key studies on Kazakh ethnic and political history, including “Genealogy of the Kyrgyz-Kazakh Tribes,” “The Origin of the Kyrgyz-Kazakhs,” “The Formation of the Kazakh Khanate,” and “The Great Disaster (Aktaban Shubyryndy)”, which remain historically valuable today.
In his engineering career, he contributed to major infrastructure projects like the Turkestan-Siberian Railway, and participated in the architectural planning of Kyzylorda and Almaty.
However, during Stalin’s Great Purge, Tynyshpaev was arrested on August 3, 1930, and exiled to Voronezh for five years. From 1933 to 1937, he worked on the Moscow-Donbas railway while in exile. He returned ill but was arrested again in November 1937 and executed in Tashkent under accusations of being an “enemy of the people.”
On September 29, 1959, he was posthumously exonerated by the Supreme Court of the Kazakh SSR, with further rehabilitation by the USSR Prosecutor’s Office in 1970.
Historical documents and evidence about his life are preserved in archives across Kazakhstan, Russia, and other CIS countries, as well as in private collections abroad.
