Second East Turkestan Republic
East Turkestan Republic شەرقىي تۈركىستان جۇمھۇرىيىتى (Uyghur) | |||||||||
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| 1944–1946 | |||||||||
Territorial extent of the Second East Turkestan Republic (red), encompassing the three districts of Ili, Tarbagatay and Altay | |||||||||
| Status | Satellite state of the Soviet Union | ||||||||
| Capital | Ghulja | ||||||||
| Common languages | Uyghur (official, 1944–1945) | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam (majority; official, 1945–1946) | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary republic under an interim government | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1944–1946 | Elihan Tore | ||||||||
| Vice President | |||||||||
• 1944–1946 | Hakim Beg Khoja | ||||||||
| Independence from the Republic of China | |||||||||
| Historical era | World War II · Cold War | ||||||||
• Start of the Ili Rebellion | 7 November 1944 | ||||||||
• Independence declared | 12 November 1944 | ||||||||
• Formation of the Coalition Government of Xinjiang Province | 27 June 1946 | ||||||||
• Collapse of the Coalition Government | 12 August 1947 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1944 estimate | 705,168 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | China | ||||||||
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| East Turkestan Republic | |||||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||||
| Uyghur | شەرقىي تۈركىستان جۇمھۇرىيىتى | ||||||||
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| Russian name | |||||||||
| Russian | Восточно-Туркестанская Республика | ||||||||
| Romanization | Vostochno-Turkestanskaya Respublika | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 東突厥斯坦共和國 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 东突厥斯坦共和国 | ||||||||
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| History of Xinjiang |
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The East Turkestan Republic (ETR) was a satellite state of the Soviet Union in northern Xinjiang (East Turkestan) that existed from 1944 to 1946. It is often described as the Second East Turkestan Republic to differentiate it from the First East Turkestan Republic (1933–1934), but "second" was never a part of its official name.
It emerged from the Ili Rebellion in three districts of Xinjiang Province: Ili, Tarbagatay and Altay. It was initially backed by the Soviet Union, but the Soviets' wartime alliance with the Republic of China's (ROC) led to the cessation of aid. In June 1946, following peace negotiations between the leaders of the ETR and representatives from the Republic of China (ROC), the Coalition Government of Xinjiang Province was established in Dihua (Ürümqi) and the ETR government was reformed as the Ili District Council, although the region retained its political independence. The appointment of a pro-Chinese Uyghur official as head of the Coalition Government led to its collapse in August 1947, when the former ETR leaders withdrew in protest and established the Three Districts Economic Commission to continue governing the three districts independently from the rest of Xinjiang.
In late 1949, most of the ETR's former leaders died in a plane crash in the Soviet Union, while en route to attend talks in Beijing. By the end of 1950, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) had captured most of the ETR's former territory and incorporated it into Xinjiang Province, which became the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in 1955. The three districts were reorganised as subordinate divisions to the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in 1953.