New book by Jamil Hasanli on Soviet-Chinese struggle for Eastern Turkestan released

A new book by Dr. Jamil Hasanli, a historian and senior researcher at the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London, titled “The Sino-Soviet War for the ‘Golden Apple’ (‘Kyzyl Alma’- according to Turkic mythology, a utopia and ideals that Turks should aspire to): Eastern Turkestan, 1930-1950” has been published. The monograph, printed in Azerbaijani by the Altun Kitab Publishing House in Azerbaijan, explores the political turmoil of Eastern Turkestan during the 1930s to 1950s.

 “The book delves into the intense and secretive conflict between the Soviet Union and nationalist and communist China over Eastern Turkestan. This work as the culmination of my historical series on Soviet policy, which covers a broad geographical area along the southern borders of the USSR, from the Turkish Straits to the Heavenly Mountains (Tian Shan), passing through Türkiye, Iran, and Western China (Eastern Turkestan,” Dr. Hasanli  said Turan.

Hasanli compares the nationalist policies of Chiang Kai-shek in Eastern Turkestan with Stalin’s colonialist policies. He utilized rare documents from the British National Archives related to the struggle for freedom and independence of the oppressed Uighur people, alongside Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tatars, and other Muslim peoples.

The historian also accessed documents from the Turkish Foreign Policy Archive and the Prime Minister’s Archive, which were opened to the public between 2019 and 2021.

The book examines the liberation struggle of the Muslims of Eastern Turkestan from 1931 to 1934, including the creation of the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Republic and the revolution that led to the establishment of the Eastern Turkestan Revolutionary Republic (1944-1949).

Dr. Hasanli notes that Stalin, like in South Azerbaijan, used the revolution in Eastern Turkestan as a tool to pressure nationalist China (Chiang Kai-shek) and then sold the aspirations and hopes of the Uighurs (and Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, and other Muslims) to Communist China. He argued that the creation of a second Muslim state in the Middle East after Pakistan (1947) could jeopardize the interests of the Soviet Union and China.

The book is dedicated to the memory of three prominent figures who played crucial roles in the national struggle of Eastern Turkestan: Masud Sabri Baykuz, Muhammad Amin Bughra, and Isa Yusuf Alptekin.

Dr. Hasanli also recounts the fascinating lives of the first head of the "Gulchi" government (Eastern Turkestan Revolutionary Republic), Uzbek Ali Khan Tore, the Kazakh national hero, Altai eagle Osman Batur, and many other heroes. He draws parallels to Seyid Ja'far Pishavari (leader of the Democratic Government of South Azerbaijan), who was eliminated in a car accident in 1947. Stalin had gathered leaders of Eastern Turkestan, including Ahmadjan Kasimi, in a Soviet plane that exploded under mysterious circumstances over Irkutsk in August 1949, just before the victory of Chinese communists.