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{{infobox military conflict
| conflict = Jeltoqsan'''<br /> {{lang-kk|Желтоқсан көтерілісі}}
| partof =
| image =
| caption = A depiction of the Jeltoqsan events on Republic Square in Almaty
| date = December 16–19, 1986
| place = [[Almaty|Alma-Ata]], [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]], [[Soviet Union]]
| coordinates =
| map_type =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| map_label =
| territory =
| result = Massacre of civilians
| status =
| combatant1 = {{flagdeco|Kazakh SSR}} Kazakh protesters
| combatant2 = {{flag|Soviet Union|size=23px}}
*{{flagicon image|Red Army flag.svg|size=23px}} [[OMON]]
*{{flagicon image|Emblema_KGB.svg|border=no|size=25px}} [[KGB]]
| combatant3 =
| commander1 = ?
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]<br>{{flagicon|USSR}} [[Gennady Kolbin]]
| commander3 =
| strength1 =
| strength2 =
| strength3 =
| casualties1 = 168–200 civilians killed <br />More than 200 injured
| casualties2 =
| casualties3 =
| notes =
}}

The '''Jeltoqsan''' ({{lang-kk|Желтоқсан көтерілісі; Jeltoqsan köterilisi}}) or '''"December" of 1986''' were riots that took place in [[Almaty|Alma-Ata]] (present day Almaty), [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]], in response to [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s dismissal of [[Dinmukhamed Kunayev]], the First Secretary of the [[Communist Party of Kazakhstan]] and an [[ethnic Kazakh]], and his appointment of [[Gennady Kolbin]], an outsider from the [[Russian SFSR]].<ref>[http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a782006656&db=all "Nationalist riots in Kazakhstan: Violent nationalist riots erupted in Alma-Ata, the capital of Kazakhstan, on 17 and 18 December 1986"], Informaworld</ref><ref name="HIMETHNICITY"/> Some sources cite Kolbin's ethnicity as [[Russians|Russian]], others as [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]].

The events lasted from 16 December until 19 December 1986. The protests began in the morning of 17 December, as a [[student demonstration]] attracted thousands of participants as they marched through [[Republic Square, Almaty|Brezhnev Square]] across to the CPK Central Committee building. As the result, internal troops and [[OMON]] forces entered the city,<ref name="TROOPS"/> violence erupted throughout the city.<ref name="HIMETHNICITY">"[http://countrystudies.us/kazakstan/6.htm Reform and Nationalist Conflict]", [[U.S. Library of Congress]]</ref><ref name="TROOPS">“[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0712F7395A0C728EDDAF0894D1484D81 Soviet Troops Enforce Kazakh City Curfew]”, ''The New York Times''</ref><ref name="IMPOSED">“[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50712FC3B5B0C7A8DDDAB0994DE484D81 Soviet Nationalities: Russians Rule, Others Fume]”, ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref name="SEGREGATION"> “[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40713FF35540C728DDDA80894DF484D81 Origins of Kazakhstan Rioting Are Described]”, ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref name="NATIONWIDE">[http://inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=147080 1986 "December events showed people’s striving for independence"] KAZINFORM</ref> In the following days, protests spread to [[Shymkent]], [[Taldykorgan]], and [[Karaganda]].

== Protests ==
{{Eastern Bloc sidebar}}
{{History of Kazakhstan}}
The dismissal of the long-serving First Secretary of the [[Communist Party of Kazakhstan]], [[Dinmukhamed Kunayev]] (1964–1986), an ethnic Kazakh, on 16 December and the appointment of an outsider, [[Gennady Kolbin]] (1986–1989), as the First Secretary was the primary reason for the peaceful student demonstrations that started in the early morning of 17 December.<ref name=gorb330>Mikhael Gorbachev, ''Memoirs'', New York: Doubleday, 1996, p. 330</ref>

According to Gorbachev's memoir, after the 27th Party Congress of December 1986, he met with Kunayev and discussed Kunayev's resignation. Kunayev expressed his desire to retire and proposed the appointment of a Russian in his place to stop advancement of [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] (later and also the current [[President of Kazakhstan]]) in the party ranks.<ref name=gorb330/> Kunayev, in his own book, said that Gorbachev never asked him about his replacement and only said "a good comrade will be 'sent'".<ref>Dinmukhamed Kunayev, ''O Moem Vremeni'', Almaty: Dauir, 1992, p. 8</ref>

Demonstrations started in the morning of 17 December 1986 as 200–300 students gathered in front of the Central Committee building on Brezhnev Square to protest the decision of the CPSU to appoint Kolbin rather than an ethnic Kazakh. The number of protesters increased to 1,000–5,000 as students from universities and institutes joined the crowd on Brezhnev Square.

[[Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union|TASS]] reported,
<blockquote>"A group of students, incited by nationalistic elements, last evening and today took to the streets of Alma-Ata expressing disapproval of the decisions of the recent plenary meeting. Hooligans, parasites and other antisocial persons made use of this situation and resorted to unlawful actions against representatives of law and order. They set fire to a food store and to private cars and insulted townspeople."<ref name=LATimes/></blockquote>Meetings were held at factories, schools, and other institutions to condemn these actions.<ref name=LATimes>[http://articles.latimes.com/1986-12-18/news/mn-4155_1 ''Los Angeles Times''], 18 December 1986</ref>

Witnesses reported that the rioters were given vodka, narcotics and leaflets, indicating that the riots were not spontaneous. They disagreed with the characterization of the riot as related to nationalism or independence; they said it was a protest over Gorbachev's appointing an outsider to head the state.<ref>''San Francisco Chronicle'', December 23, 1986; Retrieved March 27, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand, .</ref>

As a response, the CPK Central Committee ordered troops from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ''druzhiniki'' (volunteers), cadets, policemen, and the KGB to cordon the square and videotape the participants. The situation escalated around 5 p.m., as troops were ordered to disperse the protesters. Clashes between the security forces and the demonstrators continued throughout the night in the square and in different parts of Almaty.

The second day, protests turned into civil unrest as clashes in the streets, universities and dormitories between troops, volunteers, and militia units, and Kazakh students turned into a wide-scale armed confrontation. The clashes were not controlled until the third day. The Almaty events were followed by smaller protests and demonstrations in [[Shymkent]], [[Pavlodar]], [[Karaganda]] and [[Taldykorgan]].

== Estimates of protesters ==
Estimates of the number of protesters vary.

Initial reports from Moscow said that about 200 people were involved in the riots. Later reports from the Kazakh SSR authorities estimated that the riots drew 3,000 people.<ref>"Soviet Riots Worse Than First Reported", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', February 19, 1987. p. 22</ref>

Other estimates are of at least 30,000 to 40,000 protesters, with 5,000 arrested and jailed, and an unknown number of casualties.<ref name="MARKED"/> Jeltoqsan leaders say over 60,000 [[Kazakhs]] participated in the protests nationwide.<ref name="BLAME">"[http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/kazakhstan/hypermail/200204/0053.shtml "Jeltoqsan" Movement blames leader of Kazakh Communists] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904060721/http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/kazakhstan/hypermail/200204/0053.shtml |date=2008-09-04 }}", EurasiaNet</ref><ref name="MARKED">"[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/1B31A151-3C74-413B-909C-876E8F3020A9.html Kazakhstan: Jeltoqsan Protest Marked 20 Years Later]", ''RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty''</ref>

In [[Karaganda]], 54 students were excluded from the universities, and five students were prosecuted.{{cn|date=December 2016}}

== Loss of life ==

According to the Kazakh SSR government, there were two deaths during the riots, including a volunteer police worker and a student. Both of them had died from blows to the head. About 100 others were detained and several others were sentenced to terms in labor camps.<ref>''San Francisco Chronicle''. Retrieved March 27, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand.</ref>

Sources cited by the US [[Library of Congress]] claim that at least 200 people died or were [[summary execution|summarily executed]] soon after. Some accounts estimate [[casualties]] at more than 1,000.<ref name="DEATHCOUNT"/>

The writer [[Mukhtar Shakhanov]] claimed that a [[KGB]] officer testified that 168 protesters were killed.<ref name="DEATHCOUNT_1"/> The Jeltoqsan events formed the basis of the main platforms of the Azat and Alash political parties and the Jeltoqsan movement that developed in independent Kazakhstan.

Kazakh students [[Kayrat Ryskulbekov]] and [[Lazat Asanova]] were among the victims.<ref name="DEATHCOUNT">"[http://countrystudies.us/kazakstan/6.htm Reform and Nationalist Conflict]", [[U.S. Library of Congress]]</ref><ref name="DEATHCOUNT_1">"[http://origin.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2006Dec16/0,4675,KazakhstanRememberingDecember,00.html Kazakhs remembering uprising of 1986]", Associated Press, 2006</ref>

== Separation from USSR ==

In the March 1991 referendum, the population of Kazakhstan overwhelmingly voted to preserve the Soviet system. 89.2% of the population participated in the vote, of which 94.1% voted in favor.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qmN95fFocsMC&pg=PA419&dq=89.2+kazakhstan+march+1991&cd=1#v=onepage&q=89.2%20kazakhstan%20march%201991&f=false Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Volume 4| publisher= Europa Publications Limited]</ref>


After the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|aborted coup d'état in August]], the Soviet government in Kazakhstan declared independence on 16 December 1991 as the last republic to declare independence. The Soviet Union itself disintegrated ten days later.{{cn|date=December 2016}}

On 18 September 2006, the Dawn of Liberty monument, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Jeltoqsan, was opened with a solemn ceremony in Almaty. In the 21st century, Jeltoqsan has come to be regarded as the symbol of Kazakhstan's struggle for independence. The monument has three-parts: two [[Pylon (architecture)|pylons]] of intricate shapes symbolizing the breach and conflict of past and future, the explosion of the nation's consciousness and downfall of ideological canons, and the triumph of liberty and independence of the state.<ref name="ceremony">"[http://inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=144658 The Head of the State unveiled a monument in Almaty]", ''KAZINFORM''</ref><ref name="aspiration">"[http://inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=147080 1986 December events showed people's striving for independence]", ''KAZINFORM''</ref>

[[Dinmukhamed Kunayev]] died in 1993 at the age of 82. An avenue and an institute in Almaty were named for him, as well as an avenue in downtown [[Astana]], designated as the capital in 1997.{{cn|date=December 2016}}

== See also ==
* [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]]
* [[Black January]]
* [[January Events]]
* [[9 April tragedy]]
* [[Zharmakhan Tuyakbay]]
* [[Tulip Revolution]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://iicas.org/english/enlibrary/libr_13_04_01kp_0.htm Let my people print]
* [http://folk.uio.no/palk/stability.htm The price of stability. Kazakhstani control mechanisms in a bipolar cultural and demographic situation]

{{Kazakhstan topics}}

{{coord missing|Kazakhstan}}

[[Category:1986 riots]]
[[Category:History of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Protests]]
[[Category:Ethnic riots]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:1986 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Protests in the Soviet Union]]

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