Qazaq Historical Review

We are pleased to present you the latest issue of the academic journal Qazaq Historical Review, published by the Institute for Humanities Studies ABDI.

The present issue’s articles concern the history of Qazaqstan in the imperial colonial period. The authors are Qazaqstani historians who publish the results of their research. The colonial past of Qazaqstan has today become the object of close attention not only by academy, but by various politicians and public figures, including foreign ones. Qazaq textbooks and books on history, which speak about the colonial nature of the policy of the Russian Empire towards Qazaqstan, are often criticized. In this context, the research of contemporary Qazaq historians, which analyzes the unequal relations between the Russian metropolis and its colonies, is important. We hope that the published material will help Qazaqstani historians in further research.

Four articles are published in the “Colonization and Scientific Study of Qazaqstan by the Russian Empire” section. The article by Prof. Gulbanu Izbassarova (Aqtobe Kudaibergen Zhubanov Regional University) deals with the Qazaq representation of borders and space, and its transformation in the Qazaq society of the 19^th century under the influence of Russian colonial policy. Dr. Svetlana Smagulova (Abay Qazaq National Pedagogical University) considers the activities of missionaries in the Qazaq Steppe in the context of religious policy of the Russian Empire at the end of the 20^th century. In the collective article by Gulshat Abikova (National Library of the Republic of Qazaqstan), Moldir Kulshigashova (Qazaq National Agrarian Research University) and Shyngys Tazhenov (Academy of Logistics and Transport) the preliminary results of the authors’ research work in archives, museums and libraries of Abay, East Qazaqstan, and Pavlodar regions, with the aim of identifying visual materials, are presented. Dr. Saule Uderbaeva (Al-Farabi Qazaq National University) is exploring the history of the establishment and activities of the Orenburg Scholar’s Archival Commission (1887-1917) and the historical significance of its «Works».

The “Historical Figures of the Colonial Era” section includes three articles. The activities of Barlybek Syrtanov, the first Zhetysu Qazaq to receive higher education, are investigated in the article by Rashid Orazov (Chokan Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology) on the basis of new archival documents. Maral Satenova (Chokan Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology) is discussing the history of the Southern Qazaq Steppe and the Tashkent Oasis in the 1^st half of 18^th century, and analyzes the role of the Qazaq khan Zholbarys, who, in difficult geopolitical conditions, had to find a balance between the Uzbeks, the Dzungars and the Russians. Dr. Galiya Shotanova (Chokan Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology) is revisiting the topic of Zhangir-khan, the ruler of the Bokey Khanate, and describes him as the main reformer of traditional Qazaq society.

Two reviews are published in the “Critics and Bibliography” section in the end of the issue. Maral Satenova (Chokan Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology) is analyzing the new book by Pavel Shabley and Paolo Sartori «Дело Мансурова: империя и суфизм в Казахской степи» (“The Mansurov Case: Empire and Sufism in the Qazaq Steppe”). Dr. Zhanerke Shaygozova (Abai Qazaq National Pedagogical University) is presenting a new album on visual sources about the Nomad Civilization.

On behalf of the Journal’s Editorial Board, I would like to thank our authors, reviewers, editors and translators for their contribution to this issue. Great help in translation and editing of texts in English were given by Dr. Zarine Dzhandosova (Saint-Petersburg State University) and Dr. Dinara Saykeneva. Special appreciation goes to Maral Satenova, who acted as special editor of the issue, corresponded with the authors and edited the texts.