“I AM A COMMUNIST!..”
<Tokchoro Joldoshev was born in 1903 in the area of Kara-Jilga, later part of the Kemin district of the Kirghiz SSR.
His parents were nomadic herders from a poor class. Tokchoro became an orphan at an early age and was raised by relatives. Thanks to them, he completed a primary Russian-native school before the revolution. At that time, there were about 70 such schools in Kyrgyzstan, designed for the children of Russian and Kyrgyz wealthy families. Locals recounted that the rich and influential were reluctant to send their children to such schools out of fear that they would be raised in the spirit of the "infidels." Therefore, they often resorted to deceit, sending the children of their poor dependent relatives instead.
After finishing school, Tokchoro worked as a laborer in Tokmak, and under the influence of Red Army soldiers Zavaleshin and Pavlov, he joined the Bolshevik party. He was barely 16 years old at the time, but to appear more "serious," he added two years to his age.
For the young Joldoshev, grasping communist ideas proved to be a challenging task. It seems he did not even fully understand the significance of his action—joining the party. After participating in several party meetings, he moved to work for another employer and simply lost touch with his party cell. According to the charter, he mechanically dropped out of the party.
Nevertheless, his brief time among the Bolsheviks left an indelible mark on his young soul.
Despite his insufficient theoretical training, lack of political experience, and the heavy burden of peasant psychology, Tokchoro intuitively grasped the essence of Bolshevik agitation— a new, genuinely popular power had come, capable of destroying social oppression and injustice, offering all the downtrodden the opportunity to live and work freely, to build a new life.
Today, it is hard to imagine how difficult the choice was for those first ones. For centuries, a system of patriarchal-clan and feudal relations had developed in the region. Mass illiteracy reigned, and religious fanaticism was imposed. The way of life, customs, and worldview of the people had been formed throughout its entire history. The people did not conceive how to change all this...
In the troubled year of 1919, when the existence of Soviet power was still problematic, Tokchoro became a Komsomol member. The civil war had ended. The most pressing issue for the young Soviet country was the problem of educated and professionally literate people, as without them, the restructuring of the old society was impossible.
This problem was particularly acute in the former colonial outskirts, where a layer of national intelligentsia had not formed. Therefore, the party and government spared no effort in preparing national personnel.
In the spring of 1920, Tokchoro enrolled in a 3-month pedagogical course in Pishlek. In the summer of the same year, he underwent retraining at similar regional courses. After completing them, he worked as a teacher in Susamyr. The following year, he went to study at the Jetysu Institute of Education in the city of Verny (Alma-Ata). The instruction was conducted in Kazakh and Tatar. At that time, the Kyrgyz written language had not yet been established, and there were no textbooks or qualified Kyrgyz teachers.
While studying in Verny in 1923, Joldoshev was accepted as a candidate member of the RCP(b), and in 1925, he became a party member.
During his student years, his talent for public service began to emerge. It was during this time that he was elected as a delegate to Komsomol congresses in Turkestan and the First Constituent Congress of the Komsomol of the Kara-Kyrgyz AO. The young man developed a genuine interest in his native literature, and his literary inclinations emerged, which ultimately determined his entire life path. As the editor of the socio-artistic magazine "Saule," the organ of Inprosa, and collaborating with periodicals "Tilchi" and "Ak-Zhol," Joldoshev published invaluable treasures of Kyrgyz oral folk art on their pages.
37 years in Kyrgyzstan
