Social Aspect in the Architecture of Turkistan

SOCIAL ASPECT IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF TURKI STAN The culture and lifestyle of the residents are closely related to the location and architectural features of the city. Especially the formation and development of medieval cities in Central Asia and Kazakhstan are adapted to the social structure of the population and human life. Turkistan is one of the rare cities in Kazakhstan with such a characteristic. The architecture of the ancient city of Turkistan, one of the distinguished examples of the Eastern style, reflects the traces of the social structure of the Middle Ages. The unique development in Turkistan architecture has also influenced the development of local handicrafts, stone carving, trade and culture. In addition, the division of medieval cities into citadels (administrative center), shahristan (part of public buildings) and rabads (part where the people live) determines the social structure of the urban population. In general, the architecture of urban buildings and houses has been influenced by the traditional family lifestyle. For example, the position and duty of family members at home, their routine activities in daily life are considered a manifestation of the social relations of urban residents. For instance, most of the architectural works preserved in Turkistan since the Middle Ages consist of religious complexes. Especially the architectural structures near Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum are a proof of the life of the city in that period. These types of architectural objects include mosques, madrassas, tombs and tombstones. Religious and ritual complexes in the city played different political and social functions at different times. This has been confirmed by artifacts found in subsequent archaeological excavations. According to the sources of the researchers, the social structure of the city was preserved until the second half of the XIX century. In the streets around the mausoleum of the Hazrat Sultan, markets, teahouses, etc. facilities are important in terms of showing the structure in the city as of the period. So Russian researchers could not hide that they felt as if they came to Paris when they came to Turkistan.

The architectural appearance of Turkistan in the end of XIX and early XX centuries and in the Soviet period is characterized by the construction of a railway station, military barracks, educational institutions and a number of residential buildings in the city. Among them, the Turkistan train station, built in 1904, is still operating. Again, one of the educational institutions remaining from that period is today serving as the Sattar Erubaev Memorial Museum. The cultural and social development of Turkistan brings many changes in today’s social life. This is evidenced by the fact that the old city is developed and expanded with new buildings. In this context, the further cultural and social development of the regional center is directly dependent on human capital. For example, living in a city building, regardless of age or gender, serves as a unifying force. This is because many people’s jobs, leisure time and whole life are connected with certain buildings. In this respect, the state tries to create the most suitable conditions for the improvement of cultural and social life in Turkistan. This explains, first of all, the need to create social urbanism. This creates great opportunities for Turkistan to reach a new level in the socio-cultural context. Currently, the social structure of Turkistan can be determined by the main directions of construction in the city. For example, Turkistan’s 2050 strategic plan is divided into two parts: the first is the ancient “Turkistan - a tourism city”, the second is “Turkistan for a comfortable life”. The first part of the strategic plan, the reconstruction and construction works in the ancient city are designed to improve the cultural and social life of the city community. The city will be renewed with new districts, various business and shopping centers. This shows that the role of human capital is important in increasing the cultural potential of the city. Accordingly, in the old city, newly built museums, art centers, theaters, cultural houses, research centers and social facilities built in the eastern style should increase the quality of life of the society. This issue is one of the main priorities of current urban transformations. On the other hand, the buildings designed for the city in the old eastern style show that Turkistan is a medieval city and supports traditional values. It is seen in postmodern architecture as a crossroads of local tradition and innovation. In addition, the increase in the number of recreation areas, parks and fountains located in different parts of Turkistan will allow residents and visitors to effectively organize their leisure time. In general, the main social issues in the life of the city are related to the development of infrastructure. In this regard, the city of Turkistan has some problems. Especially, the problem of quality drinking water, air pollution and environmental conditions are the main problems of the ancient city. In addi-tion, the repair of roads in the city, the installation of rubbish bins, placing lanes for people with disabilities, developing service areas in the parking lots and parks can be expressed as other deficiencies. These problems must be resolved in the restructuring process.

Modern architectural structures in the cities aim to increase the quality of society life. In this context, the buildings under construction as the touristic and administrative center of Turkistan have their own unique function. This shows that the architectural structures in today’s Turkistan have a multi-functional function. For example, in large business centers not only the activities of business structures, but also training courses, shops and cafes, etc. services are also available. Unlike modern trends, such events provide the centralization of multidisciplinary services in the city. Subsequently, conditions for people to live comfortably in the building are created.

The General Plan, prepared for the development of Turkistan, predicts that the city population will reach 500 thousand people by 2050. This raises the issue of comprehensive expansion of the city and the increase of housing. In this regard, the plan provides for the expansion of the housing project in Turkistan. For example, according to 2019 data, 92.2% of the residences in Turkistan are single-storey and consist of 3.3 million square meters. According to the General Plan for the development of Turkistan, it has been approved to increase housing projects, mostly high-rise buildings, to 9.3 million square meters by 2035. In addition, the construction of social facilities such as schools, nurseries and clinics is planned to be increased rapidly. These plans will create favorable conditions for solving the social problems of the city.

As a result, the main purpose of the social structures in Turkistan is to facilitate the life of the people of the city and to organize them according to modern trends. On the other hand, residences and public buildings built in different periods of ancient Turkistan will continue to reveal their own history. Moreover, social trends in urban architecture are recognized as the main research goal of urban anthropology study. This reveals the need to study Turkistan architecture in a symbolic, semiotic way in the future.

Written by Daulet Zhaylybayev, Eurasian Research Institute, Kazakhstan Politics, Foreign Affairs, and Security       The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Ruslan Kazakbaev, had a meeting with the Ambassador, the Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Kyrgyzstan, Eduard Auer. Minister Kazakbaev mentioned that the country was firmly committed to the values of democracy and protection of human rights. He added that Kyrgyzstan was interested in cooperation with the EU and intended to sign and ratify the Agreement on Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation. According to Auer, the EU welcomed the well-organized presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan (Kabar, 21.01.2021).

The First President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, held a phone conversation with Dmitry Medvedev, the Chairman of the United Russia Party and the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia. Medvedev congratulated Nursultan Nazarbayev on the convinced victory of the Nur Otan Party. He mentioned that the election results showed strong public support for the strategic course of the party. Both politicians noted high level of cooperation between ruling parties and agreed to further deepen and widen bilateral ties (Kazinform, 19.01.2021).

Members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) held an online meeting, which was chaired by Tajikistan's Permanent Representative, Hasan Sultonov. According to the spokesperson of the CSTO, Vladimir Zainetdinov, the Permanent Council of the organization has approved drafts of several important political statements, including the one on prohibition of development and production of new types of weapons of mass destruction. The UN ambassadors of the CSTO member states will revise and adopt the approved documents (BelTA, 22.01.2021). On January 21st, 2021, the Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the CIS countries participated in the traditional annual meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov. During the meeting, the Ambassadors “synchronized watches” on upcoming events in 2021 and discussed issues of cooperation between the CIS countries in different areas of international affairs. The participants noted the importance of fulfilling the commitments within the CIS, CSTO and EurAsEC (Kazembassy.ru, 21.01.2021).

The presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan held on January 10th, 2021 were officially recognized as valid by the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Resolution of the CCER has determined to register Sadyr Zhaparov as the President of Kyrgyzstan and issue the certificate of election as the President and the badges of distinction: the badge and the Standard (flag) of the President. According to the final protocol, he received 79.20% of the votes (Kabar.kg, 20.01.2021).

The Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Shahin Mustafayev, the Acting Chairman of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, Ajmal Ahmadi, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan, Bayramgeldi Ovezov, held an online meeting. The parties exchanged views on the current state and prospects for mutual cooperation among Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan in various fields. The sides also signed a roadmap for expanding and intensifying cooperation in trade and investment, energy, transport and logistics, telecommunications and information technologies, customs and border issues (Today.az, 20.01.2021).       Economy, Finance, and Energy Turkic-speaking countries are deepening their cooperation in the energy sector in order to strengthen the community. Recently, the President of Azerbaijan's State Oil Company SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, had a meeting with a delegation from the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States. According to Abdullayev, SOCAR is the basis of economic cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan. It has developed partnerships with well-known companies from the Turkic states, including KazMunayGas, Uzbekneftegaz and Hungary’s MOL Company. The SOCAR’s energy cooperation with Turkmenistan is also expanding (MENAFN, 19.01.2021).

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are deepening their energy cooperation. Recently, the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Ilham Aliyev and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, held a video conference, where they signed a memorandum of understanding on joint exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources of the “Dostlug field” in the Caspian Sea. President Berdimuhamedov mentioned that the signed document would create favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation and sustainable energy, while his Azerbaijani counterpart noted that the Caspian Sea would unite two countries and their people (AZERTAC, 21.01.2021).

The United Nations Development Programme together with the government of Kazakhstan and local financial institutions launched the second phase of the EcoDamu Loan Program for 2020-2024. The program is designed for rural people living near specially protected natural areas. It aims to develop environmentally friendly businesses such as ecotourism, forestry, poultry farming, rabbit breeding and beekeeping. The program will provide low interest rate loans at 6% up to 4.5 years and its budget has amounted to 275.3 million tenge (653 thousand dollar) (Kazinform, 21.01.2021).

According to Russia’s Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, the country’s 2020 budget executed with deficit of 3.8% of GDP or $56 billion. Russia’s budget revenues amounted to $254 billion, while its expenditures equaled $310 billion. The Minister added that the unprecedented scale of support during the pandemic period had caused the growth of budget spending, which by the end of 2020 had increased by more than a quarter compared to 2019. By expenditure growth, Russia is among the top five countries of the G20 (TASS, 21.01.2021).

According to data from the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, in 2020, the country’s foreign trade turnover decreased by $5.4 billion and amounted to $36.3 billion. Uzbekistan’s exports equaled $15.1 billion, while it imported products worth $21.2 billion. The country’s top three trade partners include China, Russia and Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan has mainly traded with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, where it exported products worth $4.1 billion, while its imports amounted to $7.7 billion (UzReport, 21.01.2021).

Recently, members of Tajikistan’s parliament voted for ratification of a grant agreement that was signed between Tajikistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in October last year. The grant aims to strengthen the skills of the country’s youth, women and labor migrants. The government will launch three new migration service centers under the project. The ADB allocated $30 million for the project implementation, while Tajikistan’s government and the Japan Fund for Information and Communication Technology provided $3 million and $1.5 million, respectively (Asia-Plus, 20.01.2021).

Prepared by Saule Akhmetkaliyeva and Kanat Makhanov Society and Culture       The Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, announced that Ukraine would develop a Concept for the development of the Crimean Tatar language until 2032. He noted that the concept would help Ukrainians discover the entire Turkic world of 170 million people. This step will also strengthen Ukraine’s relations with Turkic states such as Turkey, Azerbaijan and Central Asian states (Interfax.com.ua, 20.01.2021).

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, received the Turkic Council Secretary-General, Baghdad Amreyev, the Secretary-General of TURKSOY, Dusein Kaseinov, and the President of Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Gunay Afandiyeva. President Aliyev thanked the delegation for their visit to the liberated regions and thanked the Turkic international organizations for their support during the conflict with Armenia. He noted that Azerbaijan would refer to the Turkic Council and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in restoring the historical and cultural monuments in the liberated territories (Dailysabah.com, 20.01.2021). Medical supplies sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey arrived in Bishkek. The humanitarian aid was organized with participation of the World Union of Ahiska Turks (DATUB) based in Istanbul. The cargo induced 20,000 surgical masks, 1,200 N95 face masks, 1,500 protective overalls, seven thermometers, a ventilator, 115 face shields and medicine boxes (Kabar.kg, 19.01.2021). According to a recent report by Save the Children humanitarian aid organization for children, nearly 10 million children in Afghanistan are at risk of having malnutrition in 2021. More than 18 million Afghan people, including 9.7 million children, urgently need immediate lifesaving support and food. The primary reasons for such a disastrous situation are violent conflicts, poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization called for $3 billion in new funds to pay for assistance in 2021 (Aljazeera.com, 21.01.2021).

The Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan announced the start of the first stage of construction of the National Training Center for rescuers from Central Asian states and Afghanistan. The project is called “Stabilization of Tajikistan’s southern border region with Afghanistan'' and is aimed at addressing various threats and risks related to natural disasters. The opening ceremony of the center was attended by ambassadors of Germany, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and France, as well as heads of different international organizations (Asiaplustj.info, 19.01.2021).

In 2020, around 13 thousand ethnic Kazakhs returned to their historical homeland. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Kazakhstan, 53.1% of ethnic Kazakhs who returned to Kazakhstan in 2020 came from China, 31.3% from Uzbekistan, 8.7% from Turkmenistan, and from other countries. More than half (51.3%) of the newcomers settled in the Almaty region, 13.3% in Mangystau and 5.6% in Turkestan regions (Inform.kz, 21.01.2021).