Informant38

Z. V. Togan: The Origins of the Kazaks and the �zbeks
The event takes place in June 1922 in the vicinity of Samarkand:
When a Bolshevik military unit, detailed to liquidate us, opened fire, we took refuge in a nearby cemetery. As we began defending ourselves, I noticed that Togan had taken out his ever-present notebook and was busily scribbling. The circumstances were so critical that some of those among our ranks even thought that he was hurriedly recording his last will and testament. He kept writing, seemingly oblivious to the flying bullets aimed at him, and the accompanying sounds of war. I shouted at him from behind the tombstone that was protecting me, and asked why he was not fighting. Without looking up, continuing to write, he shouted back: You continue firing. The inscriptions on these headstones are very interesting.