Ablet Kamalov !new!

Dr. Kamalov has also written candidly about the structural challenges facing modern scholars in Central Asia. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the highly specialized Institute of Uyghur Studies in Almaty was downsized and integrated as a minor center under the R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies .

Born in the Crimean Tatar community during the mid-20th century, Ablet Kamalov grew up in an era when engineering was considered the priesthood of the Soviet economy. He graduated with honors from the prestigious Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI), a university known for producing Russia’s top energy strategists. Kamalov’s specialization was in high-voltage transmission systems—a niche field that would later define his career.

In the early hours of November 22, 2015, unknown saboteurs blew up four transmission pylons in the Kherson region of mainland Ukraine, effectively disconnecting the Crimean Peninsula from the Ukrainian power grid. For the 2.3 million residents of Crimea, the result was instantaneous: total darkness. Hospitals switched to generators, water pumps stopped, and the railway system ground to a halt.

Academic investigation into Xinjiang or contemporary Chinese ethnic policies has become highly sensitive. Local scholars must carefully balance their work with the multi-vector diplomacy and state interests of their home countries.

His research bridges the historical experiences of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, analyzing how the Uyghur community maintains its cultural identity amidst changing political landscapes. Academic Background and Focus ablet kamalov

. He is recognized as a leading authority on the history and culture of the Turkic- and Iranian-speaking peoples of Central Asia and the Chinese Tang dynasty. Central Asia Program Professional Profile Current Positions : Professor at Turan University in Almaty and a leading researcher at the R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies Academic Credentials

Kamalov highlights intellectual pioneers like , an early 20th-century figure whose historical writings were often overshadowed by his Soviet-era classification as a "revolutionary poet". Kamalov's research brings Abdusemätov's historical work back into focus. He highlights how early intellectuals used the expansion of local printing presses—an example of what Benedict Anderson termed "print-capitalism"—to unite disparate regional groups (such as the Taranchi and the Ili Turks) under a unified, modern Uyghur national consciousness. Academics on the Periphery

In this capacity, he has been instrumental in organizing major international conferences. He played a key role in the CESS 2024 conference, which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and hosted by his own Turan University. He also co-convened the international conference "The Future of the Eurasian Migration System" in 2023. His global profile was further elevated when, as CESS President, he opened the Joint CESS-ESCAS international conference "Geopolitics, Migrations and Identities in Central Eurasia" at the University of Lisbon in 2025, delivering a keynote address to hundreds of scholars from around the world.

The Scholar of Central Asian Borders: Dr. Ablet Kamalov and the Architecture of Uyghur Historiography Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies

: Utilizes American and British diplomatic archives to provide an alternative geopolitical perspective on the uprising [5.1].

His research led him to the works of early 20th-century pioneers like Nəzärγoja Abdusemätov , who wrote under the pen name Uyγur balisi (Uyghur Child). Through crumbling manuscripts and forgotten travelogues, Ablet traced how the term "Uyghur" evolved from a historical reference to a modern national identity. He saw how the simple act of writing a book in 1922 could spark a sense of unity among those once called "Sarts" or "Taranchis".

Following the collapse of the USSR, the ethnic policies of independent Kazakhstan aimed to foster a unified civic identity.

Kamalov has authored over 150 scholarly articles and several significant books. Notable "pieces" and areas of his research include: Central Asia Program Key Academic Contributions

During the by Stalin’s regime — when an entire nation was loaded into cattle cars for “suspected collaboration” — stories say Kamalov refused to board the train. He disappeared into the mountains, living as a hermit, preserving songs and genealogies that would have been erased.

His academic journey then took him to the prestigious Leningrad Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences). There, from 1985 to 1989, he worked on his Candidate of Sciences dissertation (the equivalent of a PhD) under the supervision of Sergey Grigoryevich Klyashtorny, a prominent Russian Turkologist. His dissertation, titled "Uyghur Khanate in Mongolia (744-840)," was successfully defended on May 4, 1990.

Ancient history of Turkic peoples, including the Tang dynasty and the Uyghur Khaganate. Key Academic Contributions