1940 Attack on Soviet Geological Expedition

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Stephen_Rynerson
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Joined: 07 Jul 2013, 06:08

1940 Attack on Soviet Geological Expedition

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Post by Stephen_Rynerson » 29 Apr 2014, 05:55

Although this event took place in China, the information I'm looking for would probably be more likely found in Soviet/Russian sources, so I'm posting it in this forum. (Moderators, please feel free to move this if you think it should be posted in the China forum instead.)

According to David Wang's Under the Soviet Shadow: The Yining Incident, in February 1940, Ashan Kazakhs in Fuyun County (also called Koktogai), Xinjiang attacked a Soviet geological expedition in the area and killed "the head of a team, Banenko . . . ." The only source listed by Wang is a single page in a Chinese source. This attack is not mentioned in writings by Andrew D.W. Forbes or Linda Benson, who are the two principal modern English-language writers on the subject of Stalinist-era Soviet activity in Xinjiang.

Searching on-line, I've been able to turn up references in a geology publication to a "V.G. Banenko" having described the geology of the Koktogai area in 1940, so that is roughly consistent with Wang's account.

Can anyone confirm that such an attack took place and, if so, please provide as much in the way of detail about the attack as feasible, particularly an exact date and the composition of the forces involved (assuming the Soviet geological expedition was armed to some degree). Thank you in advance for any assistance with this.

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