The genesis of Kazak nationalism and independent Kazakstan : a history of native reactions to Russian-Soviet policies

Abstract

This manuscript is a study the political, social, and administrative past of the Kazaks who became independent at the last decade of this century, shouldering all the burdens and problems of being a subject people first to the Russian Tsarist order and later to the Soviet rule. It is a search to find solutions to the present-day problems by focusing to the historical roots of the matters. This study attempted to focus on issues vital for the very survival of the Kazaks who are now only a part of the population in the land called Kazakstan. The need to launch such a study stemmed from the fact of seeking an answer to the problem,.s of the present-day Kazakstan. Thus a historical account of the roots of the issues, such as land, population change, political participation, and dilemma of the native language were choosen as the topics of the work. Kazak economic and military dependence to its former center, Moscow, was another dimension of the difficulties, this new state face in its path towards an independent survival. Kazak native elite and intellectuals became the symbols of a new nationalist trend m Kazakstan. Thus short biographies of some fifty most prominent Kazak political, military, intellectual and administrative elite provided an important contribution. It is hoped that this work will help to draw the attention of the academic and political world to one important dimension, reactions of the native part of the society, during the last three centuries, in the actions, ideas, and activities of the native elite. It is believed that the future ethnic stability need such a focus if there is going to be a stable social and ethnic order in Kazakstan. Thus it is an attempt to fill the gap in western literature with the most needed native account of the facts.