Southern Kazakhstan Mission headquarters

Photo courtesy of Southern Kazakhstan Mission.

Southern Kazakhstan Mission (2010–2022)

By Jón Hjörleifur Stefánsson, and Dmitry O. Yunak

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Jón Hjörleifur Stefánsson, M.A., is a Ph.D. candidate, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

Dmitry O. Yunak graduated in Finance and Economics from a Soviet secular educational institution and completed a six-year course of Theology at an underground SDA Theological Institute (Moldova, USSR). In the Soviet times, he served as a pastor, administrator, and bible/history professor in the underground Theological Institute. In 1990, he was appointed as Treasurer and Publishing Ministries Director for the USSR Division. After the Euro-Asia Division was organized in 1991, Dmitry O. Yunak served as ESD auditor and under treasurer. He was the author of a dozen of SDA history books and scores of other publications. He owns a major SDA history archive.

First Published: February 21, 2021 | Last Updated: October 15, 2024

The Southern Kazakhstan Mission was formerly known as the Southern Kazakhstan Conference. It was organized in 2000 and reorganized in 2010. It ceased to exist as a separate church administrative unit in 2022 when it was merged with the Northern Kazakhstan Mission to form the Kazakhstan Mission.

Territory and Statistics1

Period: 2001–2012 (Conference); 2012–2022 (Mission)

Territory: Almaty City, and the Almaty, Eastern (since 2016?), Kzylorda, Southern (since 2016?), and Zhambyl Regions of Kazakhstan

Population: 10,078 833

Membership: 1,015

Churches: 15

Address: Kairbekova Street, 81a; 050010 Almaty; Kazakhstan.

Origin of Seventh-day Adventist Work in the Territory

After the large Russian church units, the first Central Asian church unit was the Central Asian Mission, shortly thereafter renamed the Turkestan Mission (1909–1925), the Central Asian Conference (1926–28), and then Central Asian Mission (1929–≥1930). During most of the Soviet era, Central Asia disappeared from the Yearbook. For the origin of the work in Kazakhstan, see the article on the country and on the preceding church units.

Organizational History

The Kazakhstan District was organized in 1979, and became the Kazakhstan Conference in 1990. In 1993 the headquarters of the Kazakhstan Conference was transferred to the city of Akmola (former Tselinograd). From 1994 to 2000, the congregations in the Dzhambul, Shymkent, South Kazakhstan, and Kyzylorda Regions were included into the Kyrgyz Conference.

In 2000 the Southern and Kazakhstan Conferences were reorganized. The Southern Conference was dissolved and its territory divided between two church units. Kyrgyzstan was assigned to the Central Asia Conference. The Kazakh Regions that had belonged to the Southern Conference—the Zhambyl and Kzylorda Regions—were organized into the Southern Kazakhstan Conference, along with the Almaty Region, which was cut off from the Kazakhstan Conference. The Kazakhstan Conference was renamed the Northern Kazakhstan Conference, since Kazakhstan was now divided into two church units, north and south. The Southern Kazakhstan Conference had headquarters at Omskaya Street 83A, Almaty. Membership stood at 1,944. Initial officers were President Vladimir Y. Zel, Secretary Michael V. Konev, Treasurer Ivan L. Talalaev, and executive committee members Vladimir E. Gopp, Oleg S. Kim, Alexander N. Orfonidi, Andrew E. Sinelnikov, and Vitaliy E. Snytko. The conference was part of the Southern Union.2 In 2002 the address was listed as Microrayon Ainabulak 124/33,3 in 2003 as Shakarima 54,4 in 2006 back at Omskaya Street 83A,5 and in 2010 at Kairbekova Street 80–81a.6

In 2010, the Shymkent, Taldykorgan, and Ust-Kamenogorsk Regions were added to the territory description.7 In 2012 the conference was demoted to a mission.8

In 2016, the territory description listed Almata City, and the Almaty, Eastern, Kzylorda, Southern, and Zhambyl regions.9

In in 2022, the Southern Kazakhstan Mission was merged with the Northern Kazakhstan Mission to form Kazakhstan Mission.

List of Presidents

Southern Kazakhstan Conference: Vladimir Y. Zel, 2000–2002; Mikhail V. Konev, 2002–2004; Oleg S. Kim, 2004–2010.

Southern Kazakhstan Mission: Vladimir P. Mikhailov, 2010-2022.

Sources

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1904. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1905–1979. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000–2014. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2015–.

“Trekhmesyachnyy otchet Rossiyskogo uniona. Vostochno-Rossiyskoye missionerskoye pole.” Maslina Magazine Supplement, 1908, 94.

Yanzen, I. A. “Nekotoryye soobshcheniya so vsekh kontsov SSSR.” Blagovestnik, no. 5, 1927.

Yunak, D. O. Podvig stradaniy. Istoriya Tserkvi ASD v Sredney Azii. Tula, 2007. Personal Archives.

Notes

  1. “Southern Kazakhstan Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2018), 77.

  2. On the reorganization and territory of the church units, as well as statistical information, see “Central Asia Conference,” “Northern Kazakhstan Conference,” and “Southern Kazakhstan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2001), 117–118.

  3. “Southern Kazakhstan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2002), 122.

  4. “Southern Kazakhstan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2003), 96.

  5. “Southern Kazakhstan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2006), 94.

  6. “Southern Kazakhstan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2010), 96.

  7. Perhaps these reflected new administrational divisions in Kazakhstan without actual added territory. “Southern Kazakhstan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2010), 96.

  8. “Southern Kazakhstan Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2012), 100.

  9. There may have been some misunderstanding in the territory description up to this point, which usually began with the phrase, “Eastern and Southern Kazakhstan regions of.” Perhaps the Eastern and Southern regions proper had been part of the territory all along? “Southern Kazakhstan Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2016), 84.

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Stefánsson, Jón Hjörleifur, Dmitry O. Yunak. "Southern Kazakhstan Mission (2010–2022)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. October 15, 2024. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=CD9R.

Stefánsson, Jón Hjörleifur, Dmitry O. Yunak. "Southern Kazakhstan Mission (2010–2022)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. October 15, 2024. Date of access February 13, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=CD9R.

Stefánsson, Jón Hjörleifur, Dmitry O. Yunak (2024, October 15). Southern Kazakhstan Mission (2010–2022). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved February 13, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=CD9R.