DEPORTATION POLICY IN NORTHERN KAZAKHSTAN AND THE FORMATION OF THE GERMAN DIASPORA (IN THE CONTEXT OF KOSTANAY, AKMOLA, AND NORTH KAZAKHSTAN REGIONS)

The history of forced migration occupies an important place in the study of Soviet nationalities policy and interethnic relations. One of the most significant examples of this policy was the mass deportation of ethnic groups during the Stalinist period. Among them, Soviet Germans experienced one of the largest forced resettlements in the USSR. After the outbreak of the Second World War in 1941, the Soviet government accused ethnic Germans of possible disloyalty, abolished the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and initiated the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Germans to Kazakhstan, Siberia, and other remote regions. Northern Kazakhstan became one of the main destinations for deported Germans because of its agricultural potential and labor demands. The Kostanay, Akmola, and North Kazakhstan regions received large numbers of deportees who were settled mainly in rural areas and involved in agricultural and industrial production. The aim of the study is to identify and analyze the specific features of the forced deportation of Soviet Germans to Northern Kazakhstan during the period of Stalinist national policy, determine the scale and main directions of their resettlement to the Kostanay, Akmola, and North Kazakhstan regions, and examine the social, economic, demographic, and historical consequences of the deportation for the region and the formation of Kazakhstan’s multi-ethnic society. The study of German deportation to Northern Kazakhstan is important for understanding Soviet ethnic policy, demographic changes, and the long-term consequences of forced migration. It also helps explain the formation of Kazakhstan’s multicultural society and preserves the historical memory of deported peoples.