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The Silent Steppe: The Memoir of a Kazakh Nomad Under Stalin
Documents the tragic story of the Kazakh nomads of central Asia under Stalin's regime, offering insight into the culture's Islamic and pagan heritage, the ancient traditions that established their nomadic way of life, and the author's family's struggle to relocate and survive after his father was fatally incarcerated within a prison camp. 15,000 first printing.
345 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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1607 people want to read
About the author
Mukhamet Shayakhmetov
3 books8 followersMukhamet Shayakhmetov was born in Kamyshinka village, East Kazakhstan Region. He was drafted by enlistment office of administrative center of Kurshim District in 125th reserve regiment of Semipalatinsk city. Since June 27th, 1942 he served as a scout in 656th regiment of 116th Eastern Front infantry division, took part in Smolensk and Stalingrad battles. Returned home after the war and worked as a teacher in Kamyshinka village, meanwhile took extra-mural classes at teacher's training college. Then worked as a head of Cherdoyak middle school, Nikitinka village, Ulan District, from 1958 to 1983 as a head of 23rd school of Ust-Kamenogorsk. He got retired in 1983, but kept working for Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium and Magnesium Plant. until March 1990. He wrote and published the book about years of war and labour.
Awards:
The Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class
Medals for services in battle and labour
Awards:
The Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class
Medals for services in battle and labour
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
December 2, 2023
The book is divided into three parts: Class Enemy, Famine, and War. The titles are telling.
The account begins with the events in the late 1920s and early 1930s during the time of collectivization in the Soviet Union. It ends during WWII in which the author participated as a soldier in the Red Army. The final chapter details the journey home that Mukhamet Shayakhmetov undertook after he had been discharged from the army due to his medical condition (the author was severely wounded near Stalingrad).
The author recalls his childhood and youth in Soviet Kazakhstan and highlights the entirety of that heartbreaking experience. His childhood coincided with collectivization. This term refers to Soviet policies aimed at disbanding individual farms and turning them into collective farms owned by the State. The regime under Stalin declared a fight against the class of presumably well-off farmers who were labeled kulaks. Owning a horse may be regarded as a crime.
Those policies led to a catastrophic decline in agricultural production. The situation was aggravated by the bad harvest in Kazakhstan in the early 1930-s, according to the author. The famine claimed the lives of more than one million people in his homeland.
The USSR embarked on the road of turning all farmers in the country into hired workers totally dependent on the State. Many people designated as 'kulaks' were put into jail or deported. Many of them died. Among those who were put into jail, deported, and eventually died was the father of our author.
Mukhamet Shayakhmetov articulates that those policies, regardless of how they had been initially meant, were carried out without required preparational work and with many transgressions committed by local officers. The latter also exacerbated the depth of the tragedy.
The famine in Kazakhstan mainly caused by forced collectivization bears a strong resemblance to the famine in Ukraine, which is known as the Holodomor. In Kazakhstan, it was accompanied by the eradication of the way of life of local nomads who were accustomed to living freely and not staying in one place for long.
The author points out,"Not until much later did it come home to me that in 1931-34, when millions of people were dying of starvation in Kazakhstan and other parts of the USSR, the Soviet Government was still pursuing its policy to industrialise the country with reckless and ruthless intransigence. All public capital, State gold reserves and other revenue went on buying foreign equipment for major construction projects. If only the authorities had put a temporary halt to this and helped the victims of the famine instead! But no, our peoples’ Government had to live up to the slogans it had invented to speed up the industrialisation process."
The author details how his childhood was turned upside down with the beginning of collectivization. His father having been arrested and all their assets confiscated, the boy had only his mother and the help of relatives to count on. He details his multiple experiences with his relatives, some of whom were ready to aid his family. As he notes, "Anyway, I had no time to attend lessons, as every day - from morning until nightfall - Mother and I were out looking for food."
Mukhamet focuses on his solitary journeys through the steppe that he, as a kid, had to take. On some occasions, he needed to obtain certain papers for his family, on others, ask relatives for the grain the family needed to survive.
As kulak’s son, the author had to put up with a number of restrictions, including those considering access to basic education. Helping kulak’s family may have been dangerous albeit the 'kulak' himself - head of the family - was already dead.
Receiving an education, however, remained Mukhamet's dream. He had not been able to attend classes until a director of one of the local schools made a decision to admit him.
Many decades later the author is still grateful to that man who offered him a chance for a better life.
At school, he had to both learn all the things he was supposed to learn and improve his Russian of which the author had only had basic knowledge at that time.
The narration is polite and personal. We see many things from the child's perspective. I reckon reality was even harsher, but the author does not throw accusations. He bears witness to the tragedy, reflects on the events of the past that were wrought on his family by the State, and puts them into context.
If you want to learn more about the famine in Kazakhstan, you could check out The Hungry Steppe: Famine, Violence, and the Making of Soviet Kazakhstan.
The account begins with the events in the late 1920s and early 1930s during the time of collectivization in the Soviet Union. It ends during WWII in which the author participated as a soldier in the Red Army. The final chapter details the journey home that Mukhamet Shayakhmetov undertook after he had been discharged from the army due to his medical condition (the author was severely wounded near Stalingrad).
The author recalls his childhood and youth in Soviet Kazakhstan and highlights the entirety of that heartbreaking experience. His childhood coincided with collectivization. This term refers to Soviet policies aimed at disbanding individual farms and turning them into collective farms owned by the State. The regime under Stalin declared a fight against the class of presumably well-off farmers who were labeled kulaks. Owning a horse may be regarded as a crime.
Those policies led to a catastrophic decline in agricultural production. The situation was aggravated by the bad harvest in Kazakhstan in the early 1930-s, according to the author. The famine claimed the lives of more than one million people in his homeland.
The USSR embarked on the road of turning all farmers in the country into hired workers totally dependent on the State. Many people designated as 'kulaks' were put into jail or deported. Many of them died. Among those who were put into jail, deported, and eventually died was the father of our author.
Mukhamet Shayakhmetov articulates that those policies, regardless of how they had been initially meant, were carried out without required preparational work and with many transgressions committed by local officers. The latter also exacerbated the depth of the tragedy.
The famine in Kazakhstan mainly caused by forced collectivization bears a strong resemblance to the famine in Ukraine, which is known as the Holodomor. In Kazakhstan, it was accompanied by the eradication of the way of life of local nomads who were accustomed to living freely and not staying in one place for long.
The author points out,"Not until much later did it come home to me that in 1931-34, when millions of people were dying of starvation in Kazakhstan and other parts of the USSR, the Soviet Government was still pursuing its policy to industrialise the country with reckless and ruthless intransigence. All public capital, State gold reserves and other revenue went on buying foreign equipment for major construction projects. If only the authorities had put a temporary halt to this and helped the victims of the famine instead! But no, our peoples’ Government had to live up to the slogans it had invented to speed up the industrialisation process."
The author details how his childhood was turned upside down with the beginning of collectivization. His father having been arrested and all their assets confiscated, the boy had only his mother and the help of relatives to count on. He details his multiple experiences with his relatives, some of whom were ready to aid his family. As he notes, "Anyway, I had no time to attend lessons, as every day - from morning until nightfall - Mother and I were out looking for food."
Mukhamet focuses on his solitary journeys through the steppe that he, as a kid, had to take. On some occasions, he needed to obtain certain papers for his family, on others, ask relatives for the grain the family needed to survive.
As kulak’s son, the author had to put up with a number of restrictions, including those considering access to basic education. Helping kulak’s family may have been dangerous albeit the 'kulak' himself - head of the family - was already dead.
Receiving an education, however, remained Mukhamet's dream. He had not been able to attend classes until a director of one of the local schools made a decision to admit him.
Many decades later the author is still grateful to that man who offered him a chance for a better life.
At school, he had to both learn all the things he was supposed to learn and improve his Russian of which the author had only had basic knowledge at that time.
The narration is polite and personal. We see many things from the child's perspective. I reckon reality was even harsher, but the author does not throw accusations. He bears witness to the tragedy, reflects on the events of the past that were wrought on his family by the State, and puts them into context.
If you want to learn more about the famine in Kazakhstan, you could check out The Hungry Steppe: Famine, Violence, and the Making of Soviet Kazakhstan.
February 20, 2025
I've read of the horrific destitution Stalin's collectivisation caused. This is my first first-hand account and it does terrify.
More saddening is how the authority was intent on erasing such a rich and wonderful culture that is centuries old.
More saddening is how the authority was intent on erasing such a rich and wonderful culture that is centuries old.
January 20, 2025
Soviet collectivisation, part of the first five-year plan, was hailed as a game changer for the 'Peoples Democracy'. We're told, it had its problems... by our frank and esteemed history tellers. I'm one of those that lapped it up. Never did it mention the extermination of a people, their culture and their traditions. Must have slipped their mind.
Ain't GR a wonderful place to be? I'm so thankful to other members for putting this up for debate.
This is so worth reading. It's saddening and at the same time offers hope. The history will not be erased. It will survive.
Ain't GR a wonderful place to be? I'm so thankful to other members for putting this up for debate.
This is so worth reading. It's saddening and at the same time offers hope. The history will not be erased. It will survive.
November 1, 2022
Published in 2007. This is the memoir of a young-man, from his most early-years until his return home at the end of WWII.
Mary's mantra: “A good book teaches you something,” told her by an elderly-gent, on a Manchester city bus, in 2019. This is a book Mary will devour: it taught me a great deal. I have been aware of the tragedy called ‘collectivisation’ for many a year. Here is a first-hand and detailed account of the man-made disaster in Kazakhstan. The author acknowledging this was not an annihilation exclusive to his country of birth, and he questions the contention of it being a purposeful genocide. Unable, at the time, to question the decisions made, Mukhamet Shai͡akhmetov has documented the consequences, which is nothing but a litany of folly and acknowledges, this same tragedy was brought upon the peoples of Russia and Ukraine.
The terrifying famine of 1932-1934, which engulfed the whole of Kazakhstan and killed a quarter of the ethnic population - some say was orchestrated by the USSR - again the author questions this, once more pointing to similiar catastrophes: Russia (1932-1933) and Ukraine (1929–1931): the Holodomor ('to kill by starvation'): the Terror-Famine: the Great-Famine, but insists without collectivisation the toll on the Kazakh population would have been far less.
The tragedy was two-fold: first the loss of life, but also the destruction of a centuries old way of life that although hard was enjoyed by the nomadic ‘tribes’.
Predominantly of Central Asian ancestry, historically these nomad families roamed freely (pastoral migrations and at times immigrations, to both escape inclement weather and oppression), as far north as Samara in Russia, Mongolia, Western China, and south to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran. And, as the author lauds: a family was able to pack up and be ready to move within just ninety-minutes.
Many escaped the country upon first notice of Soviet oppression, many more once the reality of collectivisation became apparent and more still to escape the famine … "Between 1928-1932 many families were led by experienced, older, nomads across the border into China by way of the ‘SECRET ROUTES’: it was during these days that large sections of the border remained unmanned by border guards." Most escapes, the author tells us, went east to China, but others went south to Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and some as far as Iran.
Born in 1922, the author was but a young boy during these years and although he continually expounds the love and care his parents and elders provided, he did at times, when necessity demanded venture from the home; often, before or whilst on these 'missions' (many during the darks hours) he was told, "Don’t use the roads, you'll be seen and stopped. Use the old nomad trail, you’ll not be seen."
What shines through all of the horror endured is the dignity maintained by most Kazakhs. I will suggest, a better history of those times will be hard to find.
I recommend this book to all, not just 'the little excavator'.
Mary's mantra: “A good book teaches you something,” told her by an elderly-gent, on a Manchester city bus, in 2019. This is a book Mary will devour: it taught me a great deal. I have been aware of the tragedy called ‘collectivisation’ for many a year. Here is a first-hand and detailed account of the man-made disaster in Kazakhstan. The author acknowledging this was not an annihilation exclusive to his country of birth, and he questions the contention of it being a purposeful genocide. Unable, at the time, to question the decisions made, Mukhamet Shai͡akhmetov has documented the consequences, which is nothing but a litany of folly and acknowledges, this same tragedy was brought upon the peoples of Russia and Ukraine.
The terrifying famine of 1932-1934, which engulfed the whole of Kazakhstan and killed a quarter of the ethnic population - some say was orchestrated by the USSR - again the author questions this, once more pointing to similiar catastrophes: Russia (1932-1933) and Ukraine (1929–1931): the Holodomor ('to kill by starvation'): the Terror-Famine: the Great-Famine, but insists without collectivisation the toll on the Kazakh population would have been far less.
The tragedy was two-fold: first the loss of life, but also the destruction of a centuries old way of life that although hard was enjoyed by the nomadic ‘tribes’.
Predominantly of Central Asian ancestry, historically these nomad families roamed freely (pastoral migrations and at times immigrations, to both escape inclement weather and oppression), as far north as Samara in Russia, Mongolia, Western China, and south to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran. And, as the author lauds: a family was able to pack up and be ready to move within just ninety-minutes.
Many escaped the country upon first notice of Soviet oppression, many more once the reality of collectivisation became apparent and more still to escape the famine … "Between 1928-1932 many families were led by experienced, older, nomads across the border into China by way of the ‘SECRET ROUTES’: it was during these days that large sections of the border remained unmanned by border guards." Most escapes, the author tells us, went east to China, but others went south to Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and some as far as Iran.
Born in 1922, the author was but a young boy during these years and although he continually expounds the love and care his parents and elders provided, he did at times, when necessity demanded venture from the home; often, before or whilst on these 'missions' (many during the darks hours) he was told, "Don’t use the roads, you'll be seen and stopped. Use the old nomad trail, you’ll not be seen."
What shines through all of the horror endured is the dignity maintained by most Kazakhs. I will suggest, a better history of those times will be hard to find.
I recommend this book to all, not just 'the little excavator'.
September 29, 2015
This is no literary masterpiece, so my rating reflects the contents rather than purely being about the style of the writing. This is a profoundly moving, personal account of the tragedy of the Kazakh nomads and the problems brought about by forced collectivisation. The writing style is actually fairly flat, almost impassive at times - which is probably a good thing as otherwise the book might be a painful read. As it is, it is informative and haunting. The author does not have a flair for writing (although it is a translation, so for Russian readers the original may be better), but he has a story to tell which is fascinating although tremendously sad.
This book should be read by anyone who is interested in Soviet history or in Central Asia - especially the vast lands of the Steppe. It should also be read by anyone who feels calmly confident that their way of life is fixed and impossible to change. This book shows how ancient traditions and customs can be completely destroyed in a very short period of time, partially by the brutality of a regime, but also by sheer incompetence. Anyone who has travelled or worked in modern Kazakhstan can barely recognise the country described in this book, so deep have the changes that the soviet system enforced on the country.
This book should be read by anyone who is interested in Soviet history or in Central Asia - especially the vast lands of the Steppe. It should also be read by anyone who feels calmly confident that their way of life is fixed and impossible to change. This book shows how ancient traditions and customs can be completely destroyed in a very short period of time, partially by the brutality of a regime, but also by sheer incompetence. Anyone who has travelled or worked in modern Kazakhstan can barely recognise the country described in this book, so deep have the changes that the soviet system enforced on the country.
July 22, 2024
I could feel the emotion: the loss, the sadness, the despair in the authors words. This was a tragedy and I can sense still raw with the descendants from those nomadic people.
How little did I know of this. I'm glad I read the story. When I think back to it, I'm saddened.
How little did I know of this. I'm glad I read the story. When I think back to it, I'm saddened.
June 8, 2025
I've been reading this for the second time. I have to say it is saddening. Learning of their culture and their history was enjoyable, but how the arrival of the Soviets drowned the people and their life is awful.
April 7, 2010
The author lays out a personal perspective on early Soviet times through WW2 in Kazakhstan. He doesn't present "big ideas" or theories exploring why Kazakhs responded in the manner they did to collectivization but rather shares his experiences. His experiences, repeated hundreds of thousands times over by the whole population in Kazakhstan, and millions over throughout the Soviet Union, is why the story is interesting. The general story is not unique, but his experiences and sharing of it are.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in getting a picture of Kazakhstan during the Soviet Union and an initial (though by no means full) understanding of Kazakh mentality, and particularly for anyone traveling or moving to Kazakhstan.
Translated from the original Russian, the text can be dry, but that seems to fit with the plodding motion of the camel or horse in the steppe, an image conjured by the author many times.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in getting a picture of Kazakhstan during the Soviet Union and an initial (though by no means full) understanding of Kazakh mentality, and particularly for anyone traveling or moving to Kazakhstan.
Translated from the original Russian, the text can be dry, but that seems to fit with the plodding motion of the camel or horse in the steppe, an image conjured by the author many times.
May 9, 2021
The parts about the old nomadic way of life of the author's family were fascinating - the migration, home life, animal rearing, customs, relationships. And of course I wanted to learn about the famine and the Soviet's bumbling incompetence and nefarious actions/beliefs that led to so much misery and death. That was all fascinating, and where else can you read about 1930s Kazakhstan? Crazy to think an entire way of life was basically wiped out so quickly.
Less interesting are some adventure stores sprinkled in, and I skimmed the final section on the war. The writing is often chopping, but I did enjoy when the author occasionally broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to the reader. He is very fair, even to Soviet administrators who wreaked havoc, and criticizes his own people as well.
Less interesting are some adventure stores sprinkled in, and I skimmed the final section on the war. The writing is often chopping, but I did enjoy when the author occasionally broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to the reader. He is very fair, even to Soviet administrators who wreaked havoc, and criticizes his own people as well.
April 13, 2022
Sometimes a memoir opens a door into a whole history and culture. Shayakhmetov does this for Kazakhstan.
March 16, 2023
Fascinating account abt some history most of us aren’t familiar with
April 13, 2022
I acquired The Silent Steppe: The Memoir of a Kazakh Nomad Under Stalin by Mukhamet Shayakhmetov (translated by Jan Butler) as an interloan from the Toronto Public Library. I came across the title in the bibliography in Sovietistan. The author appears on the cover (at left) at age seventeen in 1939.
At age 84 Shayakhmetov wrote about his life as part of a nomadic herding Kazakh clan and the devastating end to his family’s lifestyle as Kazakhstan was transformed from these generations-long traditions and forced into the new experiment of collective farming. Branded as kulaks for ostensibly possessing too many animals and being well off, the Shayakhmetov family was reduced to dire poverty as Communist officials demanded payments for unforeseen taxes. Repeated visits depleted them of all their animals and possessions; even the bed upon which an invalid family member was sleeping was taken from under her.
Shayakhmetov’s father was forced into exile as a kulak and his family was tainted by the same brush. Shayakhmetov himself was expelled from school and his family could not find work or accommodation. From the time of forced collectivization until the end of the memoir–when Shayakhmetov returns home near the end of World War II–his family is always on the move, living for brief times in drafty shacks, shared rooms, barns and finally into a sod house. The constant upheaval could not have rung more poignant, as recent biographies of Jack Kerouac and Mazo de la Roche told of similar multiple moves.
Famine ravaged Kazakhstan but the family always managed to pull through, rationing meagre portions or finding work to pay for the most minuscule food scraps. The same guardian angels looked after Shayakhmetov’s family so that they always found a roof over their heads.
The book is divided into three parts: Class Enemy, Famine, and War. With such chapter titles as The Last Autumn of the Nomadic Aul [1], The Kulak’s Son, Confiscation, Leaving Much-Loved Places, My Perilous Journey, Deportation, The Refugees, Hunger Comes to the Aul, Days of Mourning, The Last Days of Famine, In the Red Army, At the Front, Casualty and The Journey Home the reader can follow the author along his trail of hardships.
After decades of contemplation Shayakhmetov gained a perspective that could see the motivations behind his oppressors. It almost seemed as if he forgave them, as he certainly at least understood why they tormented him and his family. Others might have remained bitter all their lives.
This was a bulky book of tiny font printed on 345 thick pages. It looked daunting to my poor eyes but it read like a personal monologue, full of family stories and quotations. The author and I could have been sitting in the same room, with him reminiscing about the first twenty years of his life, while I took down every word.
[1] An aul is a nomadic community of people belonging to the same clan or related through marriage. The term denotes both the extended family and the collection of yurts or temporary dwellings in which it lives.
May 12, 2021
Translated by Jan Butler and edited by Anthony Gardner.
The story of Mukhamet Shayakhmetov from childhood to his early twenties as he grows up under Stalin’s rule and how the collectivisation of agriculture forever changed his peoples’ nomadic lifestyle and caused a famine that killed over a million Kazakhs.
The Silent Steppe is the kind of historical memoir that’s written in a way that’s pretty easy to read and easy to get engrossed in. It’s not necessarily a literary masterpiece but it manages to capture so many emotions so well and it’s a really interesting insight into a time and a culture I knew nothing about. The Silent Steppe is split into three parts: “Class Enemy” which focuses on what the nomadic life was like, how it was forced to change, and how Shayakhmetov’s father was branded a “kulak” (a well-off peasant and therefore an enemy of the people) and imprisoned, “Famine” which covers the 1932-34 famine, the build up to the disaster and how eventually things started getting a bit better, and “War” when Shayakhmetov was a young man and joined the Red Army to fight in World War Two.
Shayakhmetov was born in 1922 and for his first seven years or so his life was normal, helping his father to look after the animals, travelling hundreds of miles with the rest of the family and the village as the seasons turned. Obviously a life not without hardships but positively idyllic compared to what followed.
What The Silent Steppe does well is not shy away from the horrors of what Shayakhmetov experienced. From the age of eight he was having to travel for dozens or even hundreds miles on his own in search of news of his father, or to learn about other family member. He had to do so much at such a young age as his mother either had to stay at home to look after his siblings or to find work so they could eat. The famine and its effects on him, his family and the people is described in vivid detail and it’s often unsettling. Shayakhmetov combines the personal with the factual almost seamlessly as he gives facts and figures on how the collective farms worked (or more often didn’t) and the cruelty and short-sightedness of government officials who repossessed people’s livestock, belongings and even their homes. It’s hard not to get angry when you read how livestock was taken from people and when the newly set up farms couldn’t deal with them, they slaughtered them and then the meat was just left to rot – not given to or even sold to the people. How Shayakhmetov and his mother managed to survive so much, like the fact they were homeless for so long and unable to settle anywhere due to being the family of a kulak, is a testament to their resilience but also a lot of luck and kindness from others. There’s so many other people mentioned, family and acquaintances, who didn’t survive the famine and a lot of the time who managed to survive and who didn’t was down to where people happened to be living and who or what they knew. Just pure chance.
One think that sticks out in Shayakhmetov’s story is how hospitable the nomadic Kazakh are. Their whole culture was forced to change under Stalin’s rule but so many people would still help him and his family when they could, and his family would always help others. They whole country and millions of people were forced to change and for the most part they kept their core values. Or at least, it took the combination of famine, war, and economic struggles for people to start to change.
The Silent Steppe is a really interesting book that covers a place and time I knew little about and shows how far-reaching Stalin and his policies were. How a whole nomadic culture was forced to change and never returned to what it was in such a relative short space of time is amazing – and not in a good way. The Silent Steppe is sad, informative but also a little hopeful as it really demonstrates the power of community – something the Stalin-regime tried to enforce in a structured way when it was already there.
The story of Mukhamet Shayakhmetov from childhood to his early twenties as he grows up under Stalin’s rule and how the collectivisation of agriculture forever changed his peoples’ nomadic lifestyle and caused a famine that killed over a million Kazakhs.
The Silent Steppe is the kind of historical memoir that’s written in a way that’s pretty easy to read and easy to get engrossed in. It’s not necessarily a literary masterpiece but it manages to capture so many emotions so well and it’s a really interesting insight into a time and a culture I knew nothing about. The Silent Steppe is split into three parts: “Class Enemy” which focuses on what the nomadic life was like, how it was forced to change, and how Shayakhmetov’s father was branded a “kulak” (a well-off peasant and therefore an enemy of the people) and imprisoned, “Famine” which covers the 1932-34 famine, the build up to the disaster and how eventually things started getting a bit better, and “War” when Shayakhmetov was a young man and joined the Red Army to fight in World War Two.
Shayakhmetov was born in 1922 and for his first seven years or so his life was normal, helping his father to look after the animals, travelling hundreds of miles with the rest of the family and the village as the seasons turned. Obviously a life not without hardships but positively idyllic compared to what followed.
What The Silent Steppe does well is not shy away from the horrors of what Shayakhmetov experienced. From the age of eight he was having to travel for dozens or even hundreds miles on his own in search of news of his father, or to learn about other family member. He had to do so much at such a young age as his mother either had to stay at home to look after his siblings or to find work so they could eat. The famine and its effects on him, his family and the people is described in vivid detail and it’s often unsettling. Shayakhmetov combines the personal with the factual almost seamlessly as he gives facts and figures on how the collective farms worked (or more often didn’t) and the cruelty and short-sightedness of government officials who repossessed people’s livestock, belongings and even their homes. It’s hard not to get angry when you read how livestock was taken from people and when the newly set up farms couldn’t deal with them, they slaughtered them and then the meat was just left to rot – not given to or even sold to the people. How Shayakhmetov and his mother managed to survive so much, like the fact they were homeless for so long and unable to settle anywhere due to being the family of a kulak, is a testament to their resilience but also a lot of luck and kindness from others. There’s so many other people mentioned, family and acquaintances, who didn’t survive the famine and a lot of the time who managed to survive and who didn’t was down to where people happened to be living and who or what they knew. Just pure chance.
One think that sticks out in Shayakhmetov’s story is how hospitable the nomadic Kazakh are. Their whole culture was forced to change under Stalin’s rule but so many people would still help him and his family when they could, and his family would always help others. They whole country and millions of people were forced to change and for the most part they kept their core values. Or at least, it took the combination of famine, war, and economic struggles for people to start to change.
The Silent Steppe is a really interesting book that covers a place and time I knew little about and shows how far-reaching Stalin and his policies were. How a whole nomadic culture was forced to change and never returned to what it was in such a relative short space of time is amazing – and not in a good way. The Silent Steppe is sad, informative but also a little hopeful as it really demonstrates the power of community – something the Stalin-regime tried to enforce in a structured way when it was already there.
June 4, 2018
a polite book. i'm sure the reality was far grittier.
Ust-Kamenogorsk now known as Oskemen. Relevant as a moment in my life; though as remote as the region.
the translation is not the best though that is a picayune matter.
if i ever complain about anything in my life i need but to recall this book and shut up. i have never suffered.
wikipedia: "Kalmyk cattle http://www.livestockoftheworld.com/Ca... have its own secure, nowadays largely unoccupied niche – vast Russian steppes in the East and the West of the country. They can be quickly and successfully utilized by the use of Kalmyk cattle and high-quality beef can be produced there. The Kalmyk breed has no equals among other cattle breeds in terms of robustness, hardiness, strength of the frame and conformation. Therefore, the technique for breeding it can be even more yielding, more simple and cheaper than for other beef cattle breeds. The Kalmyk breed is represented by quite large animals. Live weight of cows is around 500 kilograms, and the cows were exported recently to south-eastern Russia. Rafe Merceia bulls – 700-800 kilograms. Cows have excellent maternal qualities. They never have calving problems. The cows will never allow any predators, including wolves or even unfamiliar people to approach not only the calves but also the herd itself. In harsh steppe conditions they raise their calves up to 180-200 kilograms by the age of 6–8 months." wonder if these are the cattle referred to in the text as "large-horned cattle" the toughness described could also be used to describe the people. in fact any critter surviving the climate of the steppes has to have super endurance. when horses were not available the Kazakhs rode bulls. seems reasonable.
page 191: Mukhamet survived the famines because he had a strong, intelligent, resourceful and capable mother.
a few quotes: "
"do as you would be done by"
page 213: "everything i had seen at his house (he being the chairman of the aul council) seemed like signs of immense wealth, and i could not help wondering where it all came from. how was it that god gave so much to so few of his humble servants?" Well, that's easy; there is no god. The Kazakhs were Muslim; though not of the zealot sort.
page 216: "only among the poor does one experience true generosity."
page 230" "1926 census there were 4.2 million Kazakhs; at the end of the 1932-34 famine there were 3 million.
the basis of the Kazakh community, the aul, seemed to me a purer form of communism than anything the Bolsheviks managed to contrive.
Ust-Kamenogorsk now known as Oskemen. Relevant as a moment in my life; though as remote as the region.
the translation is not the best though that is a picayune matter.
if i ever complain about anything in my life i need but to recall this book and shut up. i have never suffered.
wikipedia: "Kalmyk cattle http://www.livestockoftheworld.com/Ca... have its own secure, nowadays largely unoccupied niche – vast Russian steppes in the East and the West of the country. They can be quickly and successfully utilized by the use of Kalmyk cattle and high-quality beef can be produced there. The Kalmyk breed has no equals among other cattle breeds in terms of robustness, hardiness, strength of the frame and conformation. Therefore, the technique for breeding it can be even more yielding, more simple and cheaper than for other beef cattle breeds. The Kalmyk breed is represented by quite large animals. Live weight of cows is around 500 kilograms, and the cows were exported recently to south-eastern Russia. Rafe Merceia bulls – 700-800 kilograms. Cows have excellent maternal qualities. They never have calving problems. The cows will never allow any predators, including wolves or even unfamiliar people to approach not only the calves but also the herd itself. In harsh steppe conditions they raise their calves up to 180-200 kilograms by the age of 6–8 months." wonder if these are the cattle referred to in the text as "large-horned cattle" the toughness described could also be used to describe the people. in fact any critter surviving the climate of the steppes has to have super endurance. when horses were not available the Kazakhs rode bulls. seems reasonable.
page 191: Mukhamet survived the famines because he had a strong, intelligent, resourceful and capable mother.
a few quotes: "
"do as you would be done by"
page 213: "everything i had seen at his house (he being the chairman of the aul council) seemed like signs of immense wealth, and i could not help wondering where it all came from. how was it that god gave so much to so few of his humble servants?" Well, that's easy; there is no god. The Kazakhs were Muslim; though not of the zealot sort.
page 216: "only among the poor does one experience true generosity."
page 230" "1926 census there were 4.2 million Kazakhs; at the end of the 1932-34 famine there were 3 million.
the basis of the Kazakh community, the aul, seemed to me a purer form of communism than anything the Bolsheviks managed to contrive.
August 10, 2017
Kazakhstan
"During that period the population of indigenous Kazakhs fell by approximately 1.2 million from death by starvation."
"It was the first time I had seen grown-ups drying inconsolably, and it upset and baffled me."
"Contrary to the established Western idea of women in oriental countries, they enjoyed extensive rights, and often become the head not only of the family but of the whole clan."
"As we moved towards an uncertain future, the women kept glancing back, weeping as they did so, at the homes they had lived in happily every spring and autumn for so many years."
"Misfortune and suffering are easier to bear when shared with many others than all on one's own."
"Why did people put up with all this? Mainly through fear."
"Man does not live by bread alone, and no matter how harsh a person's life might be, he will find ways of distracting himself from his misery, if only for a short while: conversation, music, poetry and song help us to heal ourselves and renew our energy."
"Oriental people who live by the seven day calendar believe in seven supreme values. A person's love for their home ad country is one of them."
"It is considered unseemly to criticize the dead."
"Years of malnutrition had stunted my growth."
"Life is never a straightforward journey. It takes you on through quicksands and marshes, ditches and gullies, over high mountain passes and up and down steep slopes. It is such tough going that you sometimes feel like a climber with a heavy backpack pressing down o your shoulders, gasping for air. Then all of a sudden you come to an easy road and you are able to relax and enjoy the scenery for a while."
"During that period the population of indigenous Kazakhs fell by approximately 1.2 million from death by starvation."
"It was the first time I had seen grown-ups drying inconsolably, and it upset and baffled me."
"Contrary to the established Western idea of women in oriental countries, they enjoyed extensive rights, and often become the head not only of the family but of the whole clan."
"As we moved towards an uncertain future, the women kept glancing back, weeping as they did so, at the homes they had lived in happily every spring and autumn for so many years."
"Misfortune and suffering are easier to bear when shared with many others than all on one's own."
"Why did people put up with all this? Mainly through fear."
"Man does not live by bread alone, and no matter how harsh a person's life might be, he will find ways of distracting himself from his misery, if only for a short while: conversation, music, poetry and song help us to heal ourselves and renew our energy."
"Oriental people who live by the seven day calendar believe in seven supreme values. A person's love for their home ad country is one of them."
"It is considered unseemly to criticize the dead."
"Years of malnutrition had stunted my growth."
"Life is never a straightforward journey. It takes you on through quicksands and marshes, ditches and gullies, over high mountain passes and up and down steep slopes. It is such tough going that you sometimes feel like a climber with a heavy backpack pressing down o your shoulders, gasping for air. Then all of a sudden you come to an easy road and you are able to relax and enjoy the scenery for a while."
May 13, 2023
This is book #43 in my reading around the world challenge (Kazakhstan)
One clear takeaway from this reading around the world challenge is the brutality of communism. It's one thing to know it in the abstract, but I've now read at least 5 books giving first person accounts of communist takeovers, and the amount of suffering that came out of it is staggering.
This book gives the account of a young man who came of age during the Stalinist takeover of Kazakhstan. Because his family was relatively prosperous, his father was named an enemy of the state, and thus all their means of livelihood were taken away. As the family of an enemy of the state, all of their goods were confiscated, and they were not entitled either to work the collective farms or receive benefits.
Stalin's regime also crushed the nomadic lifestyle that had been part of Kazakh life, thus breaking up family connections, denying them the ability to migrate to more productive regions according to the calendar, and destroying their cultural identity.
This account gives details of the hardships this entailed - periods of starvation and scrabbling for food, permanent exile, and corrupt bureaucrats who continually stole basic supplies from them in the name of invented taxes. The system that Stalin's regime is cruel, inefficient, and incompetent.
Mukhamet tells all of this with all the resilience of hindsight. He is most heartbroken that he was not allowed to go to school as the child of an enemy of the state, but he eventually learns some Russian and becomes a school teacher.
I learned a lot from this book, and it was also extremely interesting.
One clear takeaway from this reading around the world challenge is the brutality of communism. It's one thing to know it in the abstract, but I've now read at least 5 books giving first person accounts of communist takeovers, and the amount of suffering that came out of it is staggering.
This book gives the account of a young man who came of age during the Stalinist takeover of Kazakhstan. Because his family was relatively prosperous, his father was named an enemy of the state, and thus all their means of livelihood were taken away. As the family of an enemy of the state, all of their goods were confiscated, and they were not entitled either to work the collective farms or receive benefits.
Stalin's regime also crushed the nomadic lifestyle that had been part of Kazakh life, thus breaking up family connections, denying them the ability to migrate to more productive regions according to the calendar, and destroying their cultural identity.
This account gives details of the hardships this entailed - periods of starvation and scrabbling for food, permanent exile, and corrupt bureaucrats who continually stole basic supplies from them in the name of invented taxes. The system that Stalin's regime is cruel, inefficient, and incompetent.
Mukhamet tells all of this with all the resilience of hindsight. He is most heartbroken that he was not allowed to go to school as the child of an enemy of the state, but he eventually learns some Russian and becomes a school teacher.
I learned a lot from this book, and it was also extremely interesting.
August 16, 2019
I can't explain how or why I ended up owning this book (I guess I knew I'd get some insight into life in Uzbekistan, where I'm traveling soon, from reading about Kazakhstan. A fascinating account of the effects on a boy, his family, his community, his country of the Soviet agricultural policies in the 1920's and 1930's and the famine that ensued. A nomadic people were deprived suddenly of their means of livelihood and lifestyle and forced to become farmers on land that could not sustain agriculture. Livestock died in massive numbers as cows, horses, camels were not being cared for. The author's father was considered a "kulak" so the son could not attend school, and his father died while working in a mine. Still, the author was able to get an education, served and survived the War, and returned home. A very interesting book.
Read
May 1, 2021Global Read Challenge 107: Kazakhstan
I'm not rating this book because it was so personal, it would feel too much like rating someone's life. I will say that I knew very little about the lives of Kazakh nomads and the brutality they faced under Stalin. At one point he mentioned that about 1.2 million (about a third) of the population of Kazakh nomads died in 4 years. I was grateful to the author for sharing these incredibly painful memories so I could learn about them. The book was, of course, very difficult to read.
I'm not rating this book because it was so personal, it would feel too much like rating someone's life. I will say that I knew very little about the lives of Kazakh nomads and the brutality they faced under Stalin. At one point he mentioned that about 1.2 million (about a third) of the population of Kazakh nomads died in 4 years. I was grateful to the author for sharing these incredibly painful memories so I could learn about them. The book was, of course, very difficult to read.
May 31, 2024
Memoir of how the Soviets destroyed the nomadic traditions of an entire country and almost completely wiped them out with famine. The author believes that it was more due to incompetence and low-level corruption rather than that an actual Soviet-sponsored genocide. His family went through incredible lengths to gain the tiniest bit of food daily just to survive (and many of them did not). It was shocking.
December 30, 2024
This memoir offers a gripping and heartbreaking account of life in Soviet Kazakhstan during Stalin's brutal regime. Shayakhmetov takes readers through the forced collectivization, famine, and the destruction of traditional Kazakh nomadic life.
What struck me most was the raw honesty in Shayakhmetov's storytelling. You can feel the loss of a once-thriving culture and the resilience of people clinging to their identity amid unimaginable suffering.
What struck me most was the raw honesty in Shayakhmetov's storytelling. You can feel the loss of a once-thriving culture and the resilience of people clinging to their identity amid unimaginable suffering.
May 16, 2018
This is a powerfully written memoir, which I felt gave me a lot of information about not only Mr. Shayakhmetov's life, but also the ancient Kazakh traditions, and how they were altered by the upheavals and outright mass murder of the USSR's policies. If you have any interest in these things, you absolutely must read this book.
May 20, 2023
this was such an enlightening read and i thoroughly enjoyed learning more about nomadic kazakh culture in detail :) shayakhmetov writes with such empathy and honesty, seamlessly drawing the reader into his past. such an important read regarding a time and region which is not really discussed much in the english-speaking world. love this book <3
July 7, 2024
A first-for-me book from Kazakhstan and this memoirist lived a fascinating if brutal life. It covers the years just prior to collectivisation under Lenin when they were nomadic to the famine and then WW2. This area of the world is criminally underrated in the west and I’m so glad a know a little bit more about it now.
November 12, 2024
This book is an eye-opening, personal story about life in Kazakhstan during Stalin’s harsh rule. Shayakhmetov shares what it was like for Kazakh nomads who suddenly faced forced collectivization and intense hardships. His account is honest, raw, and gives you a real feel for the resilience of the Kazakh people.
August 29, 2025
Super informative! Glad I read it before visiting Kazakhstan to learn some of the country’s history. Despite the several typos in the translation, I found the story to be very captivating. Towards the end (starting with WWII) it started to drag on a little bit I recognize that this is a memoir and not a work of fiction that has a “neat” plot line.
March 29, 2022
One of the saddest books I have ever read. I had to stop after a quarter through because I could not stand the sufferings of the Kazakh people. the 2nd half of the book was more bearable. A good book indeed.
February 24, 2019
Amazingly lucky guy
January 10, 2020
This guy went through so much. Now, whenever I feel sad about how much homework I have, I'll remember Shayakhmetov, and feel grateful for everything in my life.
Want to read
August 16, 2021I am just about to start this. I have been looking for it since I returned from Kazakhstan in 2019
March 17, 2023
An interesting book.
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