The life of J. Shayakhmetov after retirement

Abstract

The article sheds light on the last years in the life of Zhumabay Shayakhmetov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan (1946-1954), Chairman of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1950-1954), after his dismissal and retirement. It highlights the Moscow period (1955-1964), which includes his illness, surgery and follow-up treatment at the Burdenko Institute of Neurosurgery, participation in the 20th Party Congress as a delegate, and eventual retirement, and the Alma-Ata years (1964-1966), which cover Shayakhmetov’s return to Kazakhstan after the loss of his wife in February 1964, continued treatment, interaction with family and former colleagues, and finally his death on October 17, 1966. The text is based on archival and family records, publicly available documents, and the author’s notes from years of conversations with Zhumabay Shayakhmetov’s children, relatives, and friends.