Item number: M496

Year: AD 1946

Material: Silver

Size: 75.0 x 41.8 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 23.1 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2026

This object is an “Independence Medal” issued in AD 1946 by the East Turkestan Republic, a de facto independent regime that controlled the three northern Xinjiang administrative districts of Ili, Tarbagatay (Tacheng), and Altay from AD 1944 to 1949.

The medal features a five-pointed star silhouette and is crafted from silver. A small loop at the apex connects the star to a green ribbon, allowing the recipient to wear it pinned to the chest. At the center of the obverse is the national emblem of East Turkestan, depicted through a five-pointed star and crescent moon—imagery signifying both Islamic faith and Pan-Turkic nationalism—which originally would have been inlaid with enamel. Separated by a concentric circular border, each ray of the outer star is decorated with radiating lines. The center of the reverse bears the Chagatai (Uighur) inscription “استقلاليت” (Istiqlalit) and “ئۇچۇن كۈرەش” (Uchun Kuresh), translating to “Struggle for Independence.” Stamped above and below the text are the medal’s serial number, “751,” and its year of issue, “1946,” respectively.

On November 7, AD 1944, in the strategic political and economic hub of Yining, located in northern Xinjiang near the Soviet border, local Kazakh and Uyghur forces launched an attack on the stationed Republic of China troops. This effort, led by local religious leader Alihan Töre and secretly supported by the Soviet Union, succeeded in capturing the city on November 12. Following this victory, Töre declared the establishment of the East Turkestan Republic. This marked the second attempt in the 20th century by the Turkic peoples of Xinjiang to break free from Chinese rule, following the short-lived East Turkestan Islamic Republic in southern Xinjiang in AD 1933.

On April 8, AD 1945, the government of the East Turkestan Republic, aiming to consolidate its rule and maintain discipline, reorganised and expanded the various guerrilla forces that had emerged since the uprising. This effort led to the formation of the “National Army,” a formal military force modelled after the Soviet Red Army. By the summer of that year, the National Army had successfully taken control of three administrative regions in northern Xinjiang and even threatened the Republic of China’s provincial capital, Ürümqi, demonstrating the potential to seize all of Xinjiang.

However, motivated by its desire to negotiate with the Republic of China to secure post-World War II interests in China, the Soviet Union intervened. Soviet agents abducted Alihan Töre, the leader of the East Turkestan Republic, and placed him under house arrest in the USSR. They replaced him with Ahmetjan Qasimi, a Soviet-aligned figure, to lead the regime and engage in negotiations. Qasimi agreed to renounce the republic’s formal name externally, although the region retained de facto independence until the fall of AD 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was established.

In the summer of AD 1949, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gained the upper hand in the Chinese Civil War, Ahmetjan Qasimi and the leadership of the East Turkestan Republic secretly travelled via the Soviet Union to Beijing to discuss Xinjiang’s future with Mao Zedong. However, their delegation perished in a mysterious plane crash within Soviet territory, leaving the regime leaderless.

By October AD 1949, the People’s Liberation Army successfully entered Xinjiang. The administrative structure and National Army of the East Turkestan Republic were integrated into the framework of the newly established People’s Republic of China, marking the end of the republic.

物件編號: M496

年代: 公元 1946 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 75.0 x 41.8 x 1.5 mm

重量: 23.1 g

來源: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2026

這是一枚公元1946年，東突厥斯坦共和國頒發的「獨立獎章」。東突厥斯坦共和國為公元1944至1949年，控制新疆北部的伊犁、塔城和阿勒泰三個行政區的實質獨立政權。

這枚獎章的輪廓為五角星形，材質為銀。頂端的圓環用以銜接綠色綬帶，供得獎者佩戴於胸前掛飾。獎章正面中央是東突厥斯坦的國徽，即同時象徵伊斯蘭信仰和泛突厥民族主義的五芒星和新月意象，原應嵌有琺瑯。以環相隔，各臂星芒有放射狀線條為裝飾。獎章背面中央為「استقلاليت」(Istiqlalit)、「ئۇچۇن كۈرەش」(Uchun Kuresh)，意為「為獨立而鬥爭」。其上下端分別打印獎章的編號「751」和發行年份「1946」。

公元1944年11月7日，在新疆北部與蘇聯接壤的政經重鎮伊寧，當地的哈薩克和維吾爾族在獲得蘇聯暗中援助下，於當地的宗教領袖艾力汗．吐烈領導下，向駐紮於當地的中華民國軍隊展開攻擊。於11月12日成功控制市區後，吐烈宣告東突厥斯坦共和國的成立。這是公元1933年，新疆南部短命的東突厥斯坦伊斯蘭共和國之後，新疆突厥人群在公元20世紀第二度擺脫中國統治的嘗試。

公元1945年4月8日，東突厥斯坦共和國政府為了鞏固統治和維持紀律，對於起事以來的各路游擊隊進行整編和擴軍，成立效仿蘇聯紅軍的「民族軍」正規武裝力量。並且於當年夏季成功控制新疆北部的三個行政區，甚至一度逼近中華民國政府在新疆的首府烏魯木齊，大有一舉佔領新疆全境的氣勢。然而在蘇聯意圖和中華民國進行談判，以換取第二次世界大戰後在華利益的驅動下。蘇聯派遣特務將吐烈綁架至蘇聯軟禁，換上親近蘇聯的阿合買提江．哈斯木來主導政權和進行談判。阿合買提江同意對外取消國號，但仍維持實質獨立直到公元1949年秋中華人民共和國成立為止。

公元1949年夏，隨著中共在國共內戰日益占上風事態明顯，阿合買提江和執政班底秘密經蘇聯前往北京和毛澤東商討新疆未來局勢，卻於蘇聯境內遭遇神秘的空難全員罹難，頓時政權陷入群龍無首的窘境。公元1949年10月，解放軍成功進入新疆，東突厥斯坦共和國的行政團隊和民族軍併入中華人民共和國的體制，宣告共和國的結束。