Struggle for the autonomy of Gorno-Altai: initiatives of the regions leadership in the 1950s, their causes and consequences

The article examines the notes on the administrative separation of the Gorno-Altaisk autonomous oblast from the Altai krai, sent by the first secretary of the Gorno-Altaisk obkom N.M. Kiselyov to the Altai kraikom and the Central Committee of the CPSU in the second half of the 1950s. These initiatives are placed in a broad historical context, primarily in connection with changes in the regional politics in the wake of Stalin’s death. A number of similar initiatives of other ethnic regions during the same period, their causes and consequences are also noted. Conclusions are drawn about the essence of the changes in the system of center-regional relations during the “Thaw”. The short- and long-term consequences of Kiselyov’s initiatives for the future of Gorno-Altai and neighboring regions are traced.