The Use of Labor of Immigrants from the People's Republic of China, Including Ethnic Chinese, in the Development of Virgin and Fallow Lands of Northern Kazakhstan

Drawing on sources from local archives of Kazakhstan, the article examines little-studied aspects of the development of virgin and fallow lands in the northern regions of Kazakhstan in 1954—1955, including the migration policy of the Soviet Union. The development of virgin and fallow lands in the Soviet Union became a major socio-political megaproject of the 20th century, whose primary goal was to address the food supply issue in the post-war years. The article focuses on the history of settlers-citizens of the People’s Republic of China-their resettlement and socio-economic integration in the Kazakhstani virgin lands, particularly in the Kokchetav, Akmolinsk, North Kazakhstan, and Kostanay regions. Special attention is given to the conditions of settlement and living in the new locations, as well as to the employment of the settlers. Many archival documents have not been previously published or have been only partially studied; nevertheless, they shed light on understudied pages of national history.