History of Kazakhstan

The territory of Kazakhstan has been inhabited by humans for over a million years. According to historical records, early humans settled here as far back as the Lower Paleolithic era, establishing themselves in the Karatau region, which was abundant with game and wild fruits, providing ideal conditions for survival. The earliest stone-age sites discovered in this area are a testament to these beginnings. As time progressed, during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods, humans expanded their presence into central and eastern Kazakhstan, as well as the Mangyshlak Peninsula.

Excavations at the Botai settlement in northern Kazakhstan, dating back to the Eneolithic period, have revealed that Kazakhstan was one of the earliest regions where horses were domesticated, thus laying the foundation for nomadic civilizations. Researchers uncovered ancient dwellings and a plethora of stone and bone artifacts, which offer fresh insights into the country’s prehistoric past and archaeology.

According to legends, Alyasha is considered the founder of the Kazakh nation. Although no historical evidence confirms Alyasha’s existence, the legends associated with him have played a significant unifying role in Kazakh identity.

By the Bronze Age, about four millennia ago, the territory of modern-day Kazakhstan was inhabited by tribes of the Andronovo and Begazy-Dandybay cultures. These tribes were skilled in agriculture and animal husbandry and were known as excellent warriors, mastering the use of chariots in battle. Chariot carvings can still be found on rocks, where ancient people established tribal sanctuaries, under the vast sky. Sunbaked black cliffs depict ritual dances, sun-headed deities, powerful camels, and bulls, embodying the gods of their beliefs.

The burial mounds of noble warriors, scattered across the Kazakh steppes, are impressive both in their monumental size and grandeur. Notable necropolises include Begazy and Dandybay in the Sary-Arka steppes, and Tagiskent near the Aral Sea. These ancient people were not only exceptional warriors, shepherds, and farmers but also expert metallurgists. They crafted tools, weapons, and jewelry from bronze and mined copper from deposits like Zhezkazgan and Sayak, which are still in use today.

The Saka people followed in their footsteps. Known as “Saka” by the Persians, “Se” by the Chinese, and “Scythians” by the Greeks, these were nomads, semi-nomads, and farmers. Above all, they were superb horsemen, becoming the first in the world to master shooting arrows while on horseback.

In the 6th to 3rd centuries BCE, the Saka established their first state, centered in the Zhetysu region (Semirechye) in southeastern Kazakhstan. Their kings also served as high priests. The Saka had their own writing system, mythology, and a world-class artistic style known as the “animal style”. This art form depicted fierce beasts and herbivores, often locked in combat. Masterpieces crafted from gold and bronze adorn museum exhibits worldwide.

The linguistic situation of the time was complex. It is widely accepted that the population of Kazakhstan during the 1st millennium BCE primarily spoke Indo-European and Indo-Iranian languages. However, modern research suggests that some Bronze Age tribes, particularly the Saka, may have spoken Proto-Turkic languages.

In the Issyk burial mound, where the famous “Golden Man” was found, a silver bowl with an inscription of 26 characters was discovered. This inscription remains undeciphered. Some scholars argue that it is written in an Iranian language, while others believe it is Proto-Turkic. Regardless, this era marks the beginning of the formation of the Kazakh people’s ethnic identity, language, cultural practices, and psychological stereotypes, which would persist into the medieval and modern periods.

The middle of the 1st millennium CE was a pivotal period in Kazakhstan’s history. During this time, Turkic tribes began to dominate, with their central base in the Altai Mountains. By the second half of the 6th century, written records reference the term “Turk” as “Tujue” in Chinese and “Turk” in Sogdian.

Archaeological research on Turkic monuments allows for comparisons between these ancient cultures and certain Turkic tribal confederations. In the Sayan-Altai region, cultural links have been found between the early Kyrgyz, Kipchaks, and Oghuz tribes. During internal conflicts and struggles for power and pastures, many Turkic tribes migrated southward into Central Asia, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe.

From the 6th century until the early 13th century, various states existed in Kazakhstan, including the Western Turkic Khaganate, Turgesh Khaganate, Karluk Khaganate, and the states of the Oghuz, Karakhanids, Kimeks, and Kipchaks. After the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, the region was divided into the Jochi and Chagatai uluses of the Mongol Empire, which later gave rise to Ak-Orda, Moghulistan, and eventually the Kazakh Khanate.

These states had mixed economies, where nomadic tribes coexisted with farming communities, and cities like Taraz, Otrar, Ispidjab, and Talhir flourished along the Silk Road. This ancient trade route connected East and West, linking Japan, Korea, and China with Central Asia, Iran, the Seljuk Empire, Russia, Byzantium, France, and Italy.

Along the Silk Road, arts such as dance, painting, architecture, and music were exchanged, as were religions, including Manichaeism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. By the 8th century, Islam had become the dominant religion and later the sole religion of the Kazakhs. One of the most significant religious landmarks is the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum, built in Turkestan between the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

The historical trajectory of this region faced a significant interruption in 1218 when Mongol invaders, led by Genghis Khan, swept into Semirechye. This invasion resulted in Central Asia and Kazakhstan becoming part of the Mongol Empire, known as the “Golden Horde,” which stunted the economic and cultural progress of the region for two centuries. However, the Golden Horde was a fragile state, plagued by internal conflicts and strife. This disarray eventually led to the emergence of the White Horde, a khanate that formed in the area of Kazakhstan, encompassing the basin of the Syr Darya River, northeast of the Aral Sea, and extending to the Ishim River.

By the early 15th century, the White Horde fragmented into several territories, including the Nogai Horde, which occupied the interfluve of the Ural and Volga rivers, and the Uzbek Khanate, stretching from the lower reaches of the Syr Darya to the Ural and Tobol rivers. In the latter half of the 15th century, Kazakh khanates began to take shape, culminating in the formation of the Kazakh ethnic identity by the early 16th century. The ethnic foundation comprised ancient tribes such as the Usuns, Kangly, Kipchaks, Konrats, Dulat, and Arghyn, along with Mongolian tribes that migrated here in the 13th century, tribes from the Volga-Ural region, and tribes from the disintegrated Siberian Khanate of Kuchum.

The tribes that roamed the southern regions were referred to as the Senior Zhuz, while those traversing the territory from the Irtysh and Ishim rivers to the Syr Darya and Chu rivers were known as the Middle Zhuz. The tribes residing in the western part of Kazakhstan, on the Mangyshlak Peninsula and the Ustyurt Plateau, were identified as the Junior Zhuz. These tribes often banded together in alliances to defend against enemies or to launch attacks on neighbors. By the early 16th century, the Kazakh ethnic group had crystallized, despite the absence of a unified state; the territory of present-day Kazakhstan was divided into separate khanates.

The Kazakh khanates of the 16th and 17th centuries functioned as feudal states devoid of territorial demarcation, judicial bodies, or codified laws. They retained governance based on kinship. Each khanate was led by khans who managed the populace through sultans. Each sultan commanded several tribes, presided over by biys (tribal leaders). The sultans wielded all power—administrative, judicial, and military—allowing them to form and command military units at the behest of the khans. The social structure of Kazakh society at the time was divided into two classes: the feudal lords (khans, sultans, and clergy such as imams, ishans, and hodjas) and the peasantry (sharuas).

Livestock husbandry constituted the primary economic activity for the Kazakhs. During summer, herds grazed in the steppe regions, while in winter, they were moved to winter pastures in the desert areas of the Caspian Sea region, the pre-Aral region, and the southern areas of the Balkhash region. The Kazakhs moved in auls (nomadic camps) or groups of auls, with each tribe having its designated grazing areas, always ensuring access to fodder and water. As they migrated, camels laden with household goods led the procession, flanked by herds of sheep, horses, and cattle.

Agriculture in Kazakhstan during the 16th and 17th centuries was underdeveloped and could primarily be found in the basins of the Syr Darya, Talas, Chu, and Irtysh rivers. The primary wealth of the nomads lay in their livestock, with their diet predominantly comprising products derived from animal husbandry—lamb, horse meat, sheep’s milk, cheese, brine cheese, butter, and kumis (fermented mare’s milk). Kazakhs crafted felt from sheep wool for their yurts, sewed fur coats and clothing from sheep pelts, and wove lassos from horsehair. Those living in mountainous regions extracted ore by hand, fashioning it into metal items such as weapons, utensils, and ornaments.

In the latter half of the 16th century and the early 17th century, Russia initiated the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates. By the 1640s, forts were established in settlements like Yaik (Ural) and Guryev (Atyrau), as well as in Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, and Ust-Kamenogorsk. These cities became vital links in trade between Russia and Central Asia, as well as with Iran, India, and China.

The diverse ideas and achievements of different civilizations were absorbed by the people of Kazakhstan, who, in turn, contributed their innovations to global culture. These include the yurt, a portable dwelling, saddles, stirrups for horses, martial horseback skills, intricate carpet patterns, silver jewelry, and melodies reminiscent of galloping steppe horses. These elements have shaped the continuity of Kazakhstan’s ancient and medieval history.

By the 14th and 15th centuries, the formation of the Kazakh ethnic identity was largely complete. The first Kazakh state emerged under Khan Kasym (ruled 1511–1523). Under Khan Hak-Nazar (1538–1580), the Senior Zhuz (Semirechye), Middle Zhuz (Central Kazakhstan), and Junior Zhuz (Western Kazakhstan) were established. Each zhuz developed its clan structure, and their khans eventually became independent rulers. However, the Kazakhs remained a united people, with periods of unity interspersed with internal conflicts.

In the latter half of the 16th century, the Kazakh Khanate experienced political resurgence, a decline in internal conflicts, and the growth of its pastoral and agricultural economy, along with expanded trade relations with Russia and neighboring states.

Under Khan Tauke, a code of customary law known as “Zhety Zhargy” was compiled, outlining key principles of public order and state governance.

By the late 19th century, the colonial agrarian policies of Tsarist Russia began to alter the demographic balance between the nomadic and sedentary populations in Kazakhstan. New forms of economic activity emerged, such as sedentary livestock farming and sedentary agriculture. Social stratification within Kazakh society deepened, and some households began to engage in market-based relationships. The number of impoverished Kazakhs seeking work in industries, which had begun to develop in Kazakhstan during the last quarter of the 19th century, increased. Local merchants embraced a new form of trade—market fairs. Over the last decade of the 19th century, 482 versts of railway lines were constructed in Kazakhstan, facilitating the expansion of transit trade. Following the Kulja Treaty of 1851, trade relations with China intensified. Capitalist elements, including usury and private entrepreneurship, began to penetrate the region’s trade systems.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Kazakhstan’s territory was divided into several regions: Syr-Darya and Semirechye (under the Turkestan Governor-Generalship, with Tashkent as its center); Akmolinsk, Semipalatinsk, Ural, and Turgay (under the Steppe Governor-Generalship, with its center in Omsk); Mangyshlak, part of the Transcaspian Region; and the Inner (Bukey) Horde, part of the Astrakhan Governorate.

The intensification of Kazakhstan’s colonization was tied to the spread of capitalist relations. A sharp class divide in Kazakh villages became evident, with mass impoverishment pushing many to work in industrial enterprises. A growing movement emerged against the colonial and social oppression. However, this movement was characterized by its spontaneous and fragmented nature. Between 1905 and 1907, Social Democratic groups, largely aided by political exiles, began to organize. In 1907, the “Stolypin Reform” was implemented, along with a new “Law on Elections to the State Duma,” which stripped the peoples of Siberia, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan of their voting rights. Peasant resettlements from European Russia to Kazakhstan’s outskirts accelerated as part of an effort to resolve land shortages in the Russian heartland. Pasturelands belonging to nomadic Kazakh livestock farmers were confiscated, and by 1917, more than 40 million desyatins of land had been seized.

The colonial oppression severely impacted the Kazakh people. Increased taxes, forced labor duties, and land seizures exacerbated internal tensions in Kazakh villages and led to a crisis in the livestock industry.

The worsening socio-economic conditions fueled the growth of a national movement. The traditional elite and the emerging Kazakh intelligentsia vied for leadership. Alikhan Bukeikhanov became the leader of the national liberal-democratic opposition. The awakening of national consciousness led to a consolidation of Turkic-speaking peoples. Between 1913 and 1918, the newspaper “Kazakh” was published, serving as a platform for these emerging ideas.

Russia’s involvement in World War I triggered an economic crisis, laying the groundwork for the Kazakhs’ struggle for freedom and independence. The Tsar’s decree of June 25, 1916, which conscripted Kazakhs for labor duties behind the front lines, sparked the Kazakh national liberation uprising of 1916. Leaders of the movement against the Tsarist decree included B. Ashkeyev, A. Imanov, A. Zhanbosynov, and T. Bokin, among others.

The 1916 war marked the culmination of Kazakhstan’s national liberation movement within the Russian Empire. The victory of the February Revolution in Russia (on February 27) led to the overthrow of Tsarist power, establishing a dual power structure in the country. On one side stood the proletariat and peasantry, represented by the Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies; on the other, the bourgeoisie and landowners, represented by the Provisional Government.

Following the overthrow of Tsarism, Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies began to form in Kazakhstan. Alongside the Soviets, organs of bourgeois power were also established, such as “executive committees,” “civil committees,” and regional and district commissioners appointed by the Provisional Government.

The victory of the February Revolution and the subsequent growth of revolutionary activity between February and October 1917 spurred various segments of Kazakh society to become more politically engaged. This led to the formation of various political, professional, and youth organizations. As the revolutionary movement grew and class divisions deepened, these groups faced the challenge of addressing class, social, and political issues. Some rallied under the banner of Bolshevism and socialist revolution, while others joined the “Alash” party, advocating for the creation of a Kazakh national autonomy within a bourgeois-democratic Russia.

The “Alash” party was formally established at the First All-Kazakh Congress in Orenburg in July 1917. It was a liberal political party. The establishment of Soviet power in Kazakhstan was a gradual process, stretching from late October 1917 to March 1918. The “Alash” party and its leaders rejected the October Revolution. From December 5 to 13, 1917, they held the Second All-Kazakh Congress in Orenburg, where they declared the creation of a bourgeois autonomy called “Alash” and established a government known as the “Provisional People’s Council,” which they named “Alash-Orda.”

Between late October 1917 and March 1918, Soviet power was established primarily in cities and larger settlements across Kazakhstan. However, in most Kazakh villages and auls, the process of establishing Soviet authority continued until the beginning of the Civil War.

The armed conflict in Kazakhstan was part of the larger Civil War that engulfed the country, instigated by the ousted exploiting classes and foreign imperialists. As a result, the fighting in Kazakhstan was secondary compared to the main fronts of the Civil War. In March 1919, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR announced an amnesty for the “Alash Orda” group. Around this time, the Turgay group of “Alash Orda,” led by Akhmet Baitursynov, joined the Soviet side. The Civil War resulted in significant loss of life, and the victory of the Bolsheviks marked the end of the Kazakhs’ nomadic lifestyle.

In 1918, the lands of the Senior Zhuz were incorporated into the Turkestan ASSR. In August 1920, on the territory inhabited by the Middle and Junior Zhuz, an autonomous republic was formed, initially named the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, with Orenburg as its capital. Following national-territorial demarcation in 1924-1925, the autonomous republic was renamed the Kazakh ASSR, and its capital was moved to Kzyl-Orda.

Victory over foreign interventionists and White Guard forces created conditions for transitioning to peaceful economic development. In March 1921, the New Economic Policy was introduced, fostering agricultural growth by encouraging producers to take an interest in the outcomes of their labor.

Starting in 1925, the Communist leadership began dismantling the traditional structure of national governance. This led to chaos and a decline in agricultural production. The late 1920s and early 1930s were marked by a wave of peasant revolts against forced collectivization, a process that resulted in mass casualties and is now known as the “Kazakhstan Tragedy.” Prominent non-Communist leaders such as Akhmet Baitursynov and Mir Yakup Dulatov were arrested and executed. Soon, even Communist figures like Smagul Sadvakasov and Turar Ryskulov, who had previously worked with Stalin in the People’s Commissariat for Nationalities, were targeted. By the 1930s, a totalitarian regime had taken root in Kazakhstan, leading to widespread political repression that infiltrated all aspects of public life.

In November 1929, collectivization of agriculture began. Land and livestock were confiscated, and peasants were forced into collective farms (kolkhozes) under the leadership of party activists. The results were catastrophic. Between 1929 and 1933, it is estimated that up to 4 million people died in Kazakhstan, and four-fifths of the livestock were slaughtered or died from hunger. Grain production halved, leading to mass famine. During this period, many Kazakhs either perished or fled to China.

In 1936, the Kazakh ASSR was transformed into a full-fledged union republic within the USSR—the Kazakh SSR.

Between 1939 and 1941, Kazakhstan became a major base for the production of non-ferrous metals, coal mining, oil extraction, and the development of advanced agriculture.

From 1941 to 1945, Kazakhstan participated in World War II, particularly in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany. During this time, Kazakh enterprises switched to producing defense-related goods. Large industrial and cultural facilities were evacuated to Kazakhstan from western and central regions of the USSR. The war also witnessed the selfless labor of workers in industry and agriculture. Kazakhstan suffered human losses of approximately 425,000 people. The republic also provided refuge for hundreds of thousands of evacuated people, as well as deported groups numbering around 2 million people.

In 1946, the country began transitioning to a peacetime economy. Rapid construction of industrial enterprises began, and an energy base for industry was established. In June 1946, the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR was formed. The late 1940s and early 1950s saw the strengthening of the administrative-command system. The network of GULAG camps expanded, including KarLag, StepLag, ALZHIR, and others. Repressions were carried out against scholars and other intellectuals.

Nikita Khrushchev, who succeeded Stalin, initiated the development of Kazakh steppes for grain production, launching his Virgin Lands Campaign (1953-1965). The plan was to cultivate 4 million hectares of land that had previously been used as pasture.

However, the Virgin Lands Campaign did not live up to expectations. Khrushchev was eventually replaced by Leonid Brezhnev, who had served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan from 1962 to 1964. Brezhnev returned Dinmukhamed Kunayev, one of his former colleagues, to power in Kazakhstan. Kunayev led the republic from 1964 to 1986 and was a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee from 1971.

Kunayev’s rule had mixed results. Energetic industrialization was carried out, resulting in the construction of major enterprises in Almaty, Pavlodar, Karaganda, Ekibastuz, and other cities. Kunayev initiated large capital investments into the republic and actively promoted ethnic Kazakhs to leadership positions. By the 1980s, the dual structure of the Communist Party and government had emerged, with Russians managing the industrial sector and Kazakhs overseeing agriculture.

At the same time, the economy began to falter. Monetary incomes outpaced the growth of consumer goods, leading to a widespread shortage of goods. By the mid-1980s, Soviet society increasingly felt the need for change. Some political leaders recognized the necessity of profound reforms to overcome the negative trends in the USSR’s development.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s course of socio-economic reforms, proclaimed upon his rise to power, initially followed a similar path to previous leaders who had sought to present themselves as dynamic and democratic reformers. His policies of social, economic, and political reform became known as “Perestroika.”

A new political atmosphere began to take shape in the country. The dismissal of Kunayev in December 1986 and the appointment of Gennady Kolbin, a Russian with no ties to the republic, as his replacement triggered demonstrations in Almaty. Numerous civic movements and informal organizations emerged, laying the groundwork for multi-party politics. Various pressing issues of daily life and national development were discussed at public rallies, demonstrations, and voter clubs. The December 1986 events in Almaty, where youth protested against the methods of the administrative-command system, vividly exemplified the clash between old and new ways of thinking.

The young people who took to the streets expressed nationwide discontent with the system’s disregard for the republic’s population. Soviet authorities were unprepared for the mass uprising, as Kazakh youth attempted to seize the television center and the Central Committee building. It was only the deployment of internal troops that prevented large-scale clashes in Almaty. In time, life disproved the hasty and blanket accusations of nationalism leveled against the entire Kazakh population.

The elections for the USSR People’s Deputies in the spring of 1989 were crucial for the transition to genuine democracy. For the first time, the elections were based on alternative nominations and voting, accompanied by political competition. In June 1989, Nursultan Nazarbayev, a Kazakh who had served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR since 1984, became the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev had been one of the first to criticize Kunayev and support Gorbachev.

The growing political activity of society during Perestroika and the rise of the national movement forced Nazarbayev to adopt a cautious and balanced policy that maintained stability in the republic while also strengthening the position of Kazakh leaders. Recognizing that it would be increasingly difficult to balance interests within the republic, Nazarbayev supported Gorbachev’s proposal for a new union treaty.

In August 1991, a coup attempt took place in Moscow. Nazarbayev continued to support the preservation of the USSR, even as the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus declared their intent to leave the Soviet Union.

In September 1991, the Communist Party of Kazakhstan was dissolved, marking a new chapter in Kazakhstan’s history. The economic crisis deepened. New banking structures were established, inflation surged, and the standard of living for the majority of the population declined. In response to these challenges, the country embarked on a path toward developing a market economy. Nazarbayev addressed the republic, issuing decrees such as “On the Establishment of the Security Council of the Kazakh SSR,” “On the Transfer of State Enterprises and Organizations of Union Subordination to the Jurisdiction of the Government of the Kazakh SSR,” “On the Creation of the Gold and Diamond Fund of the Kazakh SSR,” and “On the Closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site.”

Nazarbayev’s position was further strengthened after his election as president in the nationwide elections of December 1991. After Kazakhstan declared its independence on December 16, 1991, Nazarbayev, while consolidating the Kazakh state, remained a strong advocate of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1994, recognizing the weaknesses of the CIS, Nazarbayev proposed the creation of a Eurasian Union, governed by a Council of Presidents, with an elected supranational legislative body, a single currency, and common economic and foreign policies. However, the lack of interest from other CIS member states made this vision unattainable.

The adoption of a new constitution in January 1993 marked a significant milestone in Kazakhstan’s development, paving the way for the country’s first parliamentary elections held in March 1994. However, that same year saw the dissolution of the parliament, and in 1995, a new constitution was enacted.

Regional disparities within Kazakhstan continue to pose a serious challenge, particularly in the north, where ethnic Kazakhs do not form the majority of the population, contrasted with the Central Asian south. In 1998, President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a pivotal decision to relocate the capital from Almaty in the south to Astana in the north, aiming to foster greater state integration. This move proved to be a significant upheaval for the officials and intelligentsia of Almaty, as transitioning to a harsh steppe climate and newly constructed apartments brought numerous inconveniences and challenges.