Sons of Turkmenistan in Sandarmokh

The article tells about the life of three prominent political figures of Turkmenistan, who were executed in Sandarmokh (Karelia, Russia) on October 27, 1937 - on the 13th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the biographies of these people, who were the victims of Stalin’s purges. The analysis of specific new materials enables to conclude that the notorious 58th article (aimed against counterrevolutionary activity) of the RSFSR Criminal Code of 1926 (and its subsequent editions) formed the legal basis for carrying out mass repressions by punitive bodies, especially in the 1930s, with the peak of this purges reached in 1937 and 1938. Three prominent Turkmen political figures - Kumushali (Kumush Ali) Boriyev (1896-1937), Orazmammed Vepayev (Oraz Mamed Vafayev, 1885-1937) and Sejitmurad (Seid Murad) Ovezbayev (1889-1937) - did not escape the common destiny. On May 10, 1933, they were sentenced to 10 years in prison, and on October 9, 1937, were sentenced to capital punishment. This information is presented to a wide audience for the first time.