How the artist Choros-Gurkin fought for Altai statehood

The origins of Altai statehood go back to the turbulent beginning of the 20th century. The Altai people's desire for autonomy first manifested itself in 1917 - in the whirlpool of revolution and civil war. But the first shoots of this idea appeared earlier - back in 1904, when the foundations of national identity began to take shape in the region.

We talk about how the movement for self-determination of Altai arose and what role the artist and public figure Grigory Choros-Gurkin played in it, in this material.

Tragedy in the Tereng River Valley

In May 1904, shepherd Chet Chelpanov told the Altai people that the spirit of the legendary Oirot Khan appeared to his daughter. The spirit called on the Altai people to gather in the valley of the Tereng River to meet the coming of the new god - Ak-Burkhan.

The coming of the spirit of Oirot Khan and the new deity in the minds of the Altai people meant the return of the “golden Oirot time,” a time of prosperity and well-being, and the advent of a new era of revival. Following Chelpanov’s call, the Altai people gathered in the valley of the Tereng River to offer prayers in honor of the new deity.

Why did the Altai people hope so much for the advent of a new time? The answer can be found in the notes of Sergei Akerblom, a contemporary of these events. He wrote that the movement of the Altaians was caused by the seizure of foreign lands and the oppression of cattle breeders, the brutal exploitation of the indigenous population by Russian merchants in trade transactions and credit, and the activities of the Orthodox mission.

The behavior of the Altaians greatly frightened the Russian population and officials. The prosecutor of the Biysk district wrote to the prosecutor of the Tomsk district court: in the Russian village of Ongudai they expect that the Altaians will massacre Russians on Easter. And when Easter passed safely, the day of the massacre, according to rumors, was postponed to a more distant time...

As a result, by order of the governor, about 1,500 Russian peasants arrived in the Tereng River valley. They surrounded the Altaians, who did not offer armed resistance, although they were in the majority. A pogrom began - the meeting was dispersed, and the organizers were arrested and tried.

These events spawned the seed of the national identity of the Altai people, which over time grew into the idea of ​​the need to create Altai statehood.

The Birth of an Artist

On January 8, 1870, in Ulala (now Gorno-Altaisk), a boy, Grigory, was born into the family of Ivan Grigoryevich Gurke and Paraskeva Ivanovna.

From an early age, Gregory studied at a parish school and studied at a local icon-painting workshop. Noticing the boy's talent, he was sent to a church school in Biysk. Already grown, Gregory worked as a teacher, first in his native Ulala, then in the village of Paspaul. At the same time, the young man worked part-time as an icon painter and fulfilled orders for portraits from photographs.

At some point, Gurkin meets Andrei Anokhin, a future ethnographer. The young people struck up a friendship. Anokhin introduced the artist to the leader of Siberian regionalism, Grigory Potanin. This meeting had a great influence on the future fate of the artist.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Siberian regionalism had emerged as an ideology for the autonomy of Siberia. In addition to the economic independence of Siberia, the regionalists proposed studying and supporting indigenous peoples, creating a national intelligentsia, and in the future, national autonomies to preserve the languages ​​and cultures of indigenous people.

Thanks to the patronage of the regionalists, Gurkin managed to become an apprentice to the painter Ivan Shishkin, and then a student at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Gradually, Gurkin’s works became popular among connoisseurs and art lovers.

In 1903, Gurkin settled on the left bank of the Katun in the village of Anos, where his main works were created. Two years later he returned to his homeland in Ulala. Two years later, the first personal exhibition was held in Tomsk with stunning success.

In the next decade, the artist wrote hundreds of sketches, thousands of a wide variety of drawings and created dozens of large paintings.

The fight for the right to self-determination

The year 1917 arrived. Two forces are fighting for power in Russia: the Bolsheviks and the provisional government.

Against the backdrop of all the changes and upheaval, it became clear that the Altai Kizhi want self-determination - that is, to independently resolve issues important to the people, starting with the question of whether they will have their own autonomy and statehood.

On May 7, 1917, a provincial people's assembly was held in Tomsk. The Altaians were represented there by Gurkin, who by that time called himself Choros-Gurkin, after the name of the family from which he came.

Choros-Gurkin made a report before the meeting, after which it was decided to “give the indigenous inhabitants of Altai the opportunity for self-determination and create their own self-government” due to their special culture, way of life and geographical conditions.

In June 1917, a congress of Altaians took place in Biysk. At this congress, the Altai Mining Duma was created, headed by Choros-Gurkin. The congress also adopted resolutions addressing issues of land management and others:

• all lands and forests that previously belonged to the state and church in the Altai Mountains are transferred to the permanent use of the Altai people;

• The Russian population is left with only the plots obtained during land development. All leases are cancelled.

• It was possible to develop subsoil only with the permission of the Mining Duma.

The Altaians also conducted a survey of residents: almost 90% of the population of Gorny Altai were in favor of secession from the Biysk district. But the Biysk Zemstvo Assembly ignored the results of the vote and opposed the self-determination of the Altai Mountains. They used as arguments the rumor that in the case of autonomy, the Altaians would “expel all Russians from their lands.”

Choros-Gurkin traveled to Altai villages and carried out his campaigning. This is how his speech to the Altai people in Kosh-Agach was recorded by the Altai educator and ethnographer Georgy Tokmashev:

“If we do not separate from the Russians now, then it will be bad for all of us: again our children will be taken as soldiers. Last year (1916, during the First World War - note by Asians of Russia) 86 people were taken from the Kosh-Agach volost, of which only 27 people remained alive. In a word, we must separate, otherwise foreigners will continue to die in the future. Moreover, they will have no land, no forest, no animals, no gold, no cattle, or anything else.”

In 1918, the Altai Mining Duma announced the territorial allocation of the population of Altai by way of appearance, that is, the allocation of autonomy without the consent of the authorities. In March, it was already decided to secede from the Biysk district and form an independent Karakorum-Altai district.

The authorities of the Biysk district called the leaders of the movement for self-determination enemies of the people. When the Whites gained power in Siberia at the end of 1918, they also recognized the ideologists of the Altai autonomy as enemies and separatists.

The Whites arrested Choros-Gurkin and tried him for treason. In 1919, he was again put in custody for campaigning against the tyranny of Kolchak officers. In prison, comrades advised Choros-Gurkin to leave Altai and wait out the time of troubles.

Gurkin saw himself first of all with the task of saving his paintings. He sent his paintings with his sons to Mongolia, and he himself rode a roundabout route on horseback.

At the end of 1919, the White Guards were defeated, and Soviet power came to Altai.

Emigration and return

In Mongolia, Choros-Gurkin and his sons first lived in Ulangom, a city near the border with Russia, where he was hired by Biysk merchants to wash wool for bread and carry firewood. By winter, the family left for the wooded mountains, where they could get firewood for heating. Gurkin continued to work - he created several sketches and paintings.

In 1921, Choros-Gurkin was advised to leave for independent Tannu-Tuva, since the White Guards were operating in Mongolia and it was unsafe to remain there. In mid-September, Gurkin and his sons left for Tyva.

In Tyva, he painted portraits of peasants, made rugs, oilcloths, and painted floors. In 1923, Choros-Gurkin and his family moved to Kyzyl, where he lived in the attic of the club and, at the request of cultural enlightenment, made decorations and signs. By the way, the cover of the first Tuvan primer was designed by Gurkin.

At this time, changes occurred in the homeland. Gorny Altai was nevertheless allocated to the Oirot Autonomous Region. Therefore, in 1924, Choros-Gurkin wrote to the Oirot regional committee of the CPSU (b) and emphasized that he “always stood for the best, the national.” Having received permission to return, the artist came to Altai.

At home, Choros-Gurkin continued to paint and fulfill orders from the Soviet government. In 1927, his old estate in Anos was returned to him, and three years later his voting rights were restored - he could vote.

But then everything went completely differently. In 1934, the artist began to be interrogated on a fabricated case about the “Union of Siberian Turks.” He was accused of espionage - he allegedly went to Novosibirsk to meet with an employee of the Japanese consulate. But the case fell apart and Gurkin was released.

The next arrest occurred three years later, in 1937. This time the accusations sounded even worse - “Japanese-military counter-revolutionary activities.” He was forced to sign a confession:

“Living in Altai in 1900, I was engaged in artistic work. At this time, an acquaintance, the ethnographer Potanin, came to see me from the city of Tomsk.

In conversations on political topics, the latter systematically expressed dissatisfaction with the colonialist policy of the Russians in Altai. Repeated conversations with Potanin strengthened my nationalist views and incited hatred of Russians.

Potanin invited me to take part in the organization fighting for the autonomy of Siberia, to which I agreed.”

This confession was extracted by torture. In October 1937, Choros-Gurkin was shot. His eldest son Gennady also died along with him.

After this, the name of Choros-Gurkin was banned for many years. Despite his posthumous rehabilitation in 1956, the artist and politician was labeled a “nationalist and counter-revolutionary” for a long time.

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