| Azat Sherqiy Turkestan Yislam Devleti/East Turkistan Islamic Free State | |
|---|---|
|
Population |
15,000,000 |
|
Capital |
Urumchi |
|
Head of State |
Sheng Shicai (1933-1944 as Governor of Xinjiang), Elihan Tore (1944-1966), Ehmetjan Qasim (from 1966) |
|
Ruling Party |
Turkistan Islamic Independence Movement |
|
Head of Government |
Ospan Batyr (1944-1966), Abdulkerim Abbas (from 1966) |
History[]
The Chinese region of Xinjiang became effectively independent of the Chinese Nationalist Government under the governorship of Sheng Shicai. Shicai turned the region into a virtual sattelite of the USSR, but switched back to a pro-Chinese position in 1942 after the defeats inflicted on the Soviet Union by Germany and Japan. In August 1944, with the Chinese Nationalist Government also on the verge of defeat, he switched his alleigence to Japan.
Formerly repressive of the indigenous peoples of East Turkistan, Shicai attempted to form a coalition government with the East Turkistan separatists. In October 1944, Shicai was overthrown and an independent Islamic and Turkic state was established. Within a year, the Japanese-allied East Turkistan forces had driven the Chinese Nationalist Forces from the region.
Elihan Tore, both anti-Chinese and anti-Soviet was the leader of the new state. Germany established a rival Turkic government under Mustafa Shokay, a Kazakh Soviet defector and founder of the Turkistan Legion and Muhammad Amin Bughra, a Uyghur leader based in Afghanistan.