ENU Professor Arailym Musagaliyeva Awarded the “Bene Merito” Medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland

During events dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the deportation of Poles to Kazakhstan, held in the village of Ozyornoye, Taiynsha District, North Kazakhstan Region, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Kazakhstan, Michał Łabenda, solemnly presented the “Bene Merito” Medal to Arailym Musagaliyeva, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Professor of the Department of History of Kazakhstan at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University.

On the same day, a monument entitled “To the People of Kazakhstan - Gratitude from the Poles” was unveiled in Ozyornoye, one of Kazakhstan’s sacred sites. The ceremony was attended by the Marshal (Speaker) of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, who was on an official visit to Kazakhstan.

The honorary distinction “Bene Merito” is awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of international cooperation, the strengthening of friendly relations between Poland and other countries and peoples, and the promotion of Polish culture and historical heritage abroad.

According to the official website of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland: “The award was granted in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the study of the history of Poles in Kazakhstan and to the dissemination of knowledge about Polish historical heritage. For many years, Arailym Musagaliyeva has conducted systematic scholarly research devoted to the history and experiences of the Polish community in Kazakhstan. Her works serve as a valuable source of knowledge for both Polish and Kazakhstani historians and contribute to the development of academic cooperation between Poland and Kazakhstan.”

This award is a well-deserved recognition of her many years of research dedicated to the history of the Polish community in Kazakhstan, the tragic pages of the deportation of Poles, as well as issues of interethnic interaction and the preservation of historical memory. Thanks to her fundamental studies, new archival materials revealing the fate of deported Poles and their contribution to the development of Kazakhstan have been introduced into scholarly circulation.