Khertek Anchimaa-Toka
Encyclopedia
Khertek Amyrbitovna Anchimaa-Toka (ru: Хертек Anchimaa-Тока)(1 January 1912 – 4 November 2008) was a Tuvinian/Soviet politician who in 1940-1944 was a chairman of Little Khural (parliament) of Tuvan People's Republic, and the first elected or appointed (i.e., not hereditary) female head of state in the modern world.
in a poor peasant family. She lost her father and elder brother due to smallpox
when a child. Despite her mother being illiterate, Khertek managed to learn to write and read in Mongolian language
, and in 1930, when the first national Tuvan alphabet was introduced, she was one of the first to learn it. The same year, she was admitted to Revsomol, the youth organization connected with Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party
(TPRP) (the analogue of Komsomol
in the USSR). She was among those put in charge of illiteracy eradication in her native kozhuun. The following year, in recognition of her successes, she was admitted to the party and sent, among 70 others, to Communist University of the Toilers of the East
. Apart from studying, students attended lectures of famous Soviet politicians; the meeting with Nadezhda Krupskaya is said to have affected Khertek greatly.
Khertek was one of only 11 Tuvan students who managed to graduate. Upon returning to Tuva in 1935, she was put in charge of propaganda
department of Revsomol; in 1938 she became the director of Tuvan Zhenotdel (the analogue of the Soviet Zhenotdel
). In 1940 she reached the peak of her career, having obtained the post of the chairman of Little Khural (thus becoming the highest-ranking female official of the time, having surpassed the previous achievement of Alexandra Kollontai
(who was the first ever female minister); the women who would surpass Anchimaa's achievement were Sühbaataryn Yanjmaa
and Sirimavo Bandaranaike
). The same year she married TPRP general secretary Salchak Toka
(however, she would retain family name "Anchimaa" until Toka's death). On this post she had an extensive correspondence with her Soviet colleague, Mikhail Kalinin
. During the Second World War she did much to mobilize the resources of the republic to help the USSR fight Nazi Germany. Khertek Anchimaa was also an instrumental to inclusion of Tuva in the USSR in 1944. After that, she worked as a vice-chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, and then a vice-chairman of Tuvan Council of Ministers, being responsible for social welfare, culture, sports and propaganda. She retired in 1972, acquired the family name "Anchimaa-Toka" after her husband's death in 1973 and led a quiet life until her death. Anchimaa-Toka died November 4, 2008 in Tuva. She was 96.
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka was a somewhat controversial figure in modern Tuva, since she was said to have been a member of troika (an analogue of NKVD troika
s) which sentenced to death Tuvan prime minister Churmit Dazhy and other high-ranking officials as "Japanese spies" in 1930s. She was, however, never legally prosecuted for this case, nor was the case ever properly investigated.
Biography
Khertek Anchimaa was born in what is now Bay-Tayginsky kozhuun of TuvaTuva
The Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
in a poor peasant family. She lost her father and elder brother due to smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
when a child. Despite her mother being illiterate, Khertek managed to learn to write and read in Mongolian language
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
, and in 1930, when the first national Tuvan alphabet was introduced, she was one of the first to learn it. The same year, she was admitted to Revsomol, the youth organization connected with Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party
Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party
Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party was a political party in Tuva, founded in 1921. When the Tuvinian People's Republic was founded in the same year, the party held single-party control over its government as a vanguard party.-History:...
(TPRP) (the analogue of Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
in the USSR). She was among those put in charge of illiteracy eradication in her native kozhuun. The following year, in recognition of her successes, she was admitted to the party and sent, among 70 others, to Communist University of the Toilers of the East
Communist University of the Toilers of the East
The Communist University of the Toilers of the East or KUTV was established April 21, 1921, in Moscow by the Communist International as a training college for communist cadres in the colonial world. The school officially opened on October 21, 1921...
. Apart from studying, students attended lectures of famous Soviet politicians; the meeting with Nadezhda Krupskaya is said to have affected Khertek greatly.
Khertek was one of only 11 Tuvan students who managed to graduate. Upon returning to Tuva in 1935, she was put in charge of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
department of Revsomol; in 1938 she became the director of Tuvan Zhenotdel (the analogue of the Soviet Zhenotdel
Zhenotdel
The Zhenotdel was the Women's Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union .In November 1918 Alexandra Kollontai, Inessa Armand, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Konkordiia Samoilova, Klavdia Nikolayeva, and Zlata Lilina organized the First National Congress of Women Workers and...
). In 1940 she reached the peak of her career, having obtained the post of the chairman of Little Khural (thus becoming the highest-ranking female official of the time, having surpassed the previous achievement of Alexandra Kollontai
Alexandra Kollontai
Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai was a Russian Communist revolutionary, first as a member of the Mensheviks, then from 1914 on as a Bolshevik. In 1919 she became the first female government minister in Europe...
(who was the first ever female minister); the women who would surpass Anchimaa's achievement were Sühbaataryn Yanjmaa
Sühbaataryn Yanjmaa
Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa was a Mongolian politician. Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa was the widow of Damdin Sükhbaatar, the hero of Mongolia's 1921 revolution...
and Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike was a Sri Lankan politician and the world's first female head of government...
). The same year she married TPRP general secretary Salchak Toka
Salchak Toka
Salchak Kalbakkhorekovich Toka was a Tuvan politician. He was for many years the communist ruler of Tuva, and as well the Second Prime Minister of the Tuvan People's Republic....
(however, she would retain family name "Anchimaa" until Toka's death). On this post she had an extensive correspondence with her Soviet colleague, Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
. During the Second World War she did much to mobilize the resources of the republic to help the USSR fight Nazi Germany. Khertek Anchimaa was also an instrumental to inclusion of Tuva in the USSR in 1944. After that, she worked as a vice-chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, and then a vice-chairman of Tuvan Council of Ministers, being responsible for social welfare, culture, sports and propaganda. She retired in 1972, acquired the family name "Anchimaa-Toka" after her husband's death in 1973 and led a quiet life until her death. Anchimaa-Toka died November 4, 2008 in Tuva. She was 96.
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka was a somewhat controversial figure in modern Tuva, since she was said to have been a member of troika (an analogue of NKVD troika
NKVD troika
NKVD troika or Troika, in Soviet Union history, were commissions of three persons who convicted people without trial. These commissions were employed as an instrument of extrajudicial punishment introduced to circumvent the legal system with a means for quick execution or imprisonment...
s) which sentenced to death Tuvan prime minister Churmit Dazhy and other high-ranking officials as "Japanese spies" in 1930s. She was, however, never legally prosecuted for this case, nor was the case ever properly investigated.