Russian colonization of Central Asia and the genesis of Kazak national consciousness, 1868-1920

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. ## Contents Acknowledgements vii ## Notes on Transliteration ix Every project has support and encouragement from many people and this one is no different. The acknowledging and thanking of friends and colleagues is often too little a reward for the appreciation an author feels once a work is completed. But so many people gave their time and help that it is imperative to recognize them, even if that recognition is all an author can give. The support and encouragement given to me during the last fifteen years by Dr David Crowe has been steadfast. As an undergraduate student at Elon College, my unbridled enthusiasm for Russian history was capably challenged and stimulated. He never refused a request of assistance or advice, no matter how busy he might have been with his own work and research. Gratitude is little reward for such constant friendship. In addition, I must express my thanks to Dr Hugh Hudson of Georgia State University. As my dissertation adviser, his door was always open to me, the advice always thoughtfully given, and the encouragement never ending. There are several other people who either aided or supported my research through their friendship, collegiality, or both, and need to be gratefully acknowledged. Sean Roberts, a fellow graduate student from the University of Southern California, and I spent almost two years together in Almaty, Kazakstan following different paths, but pursuing the same goal. His friendship made those times more tolerable, more productive, and more enjoyable, and I will forever be in his debt. Our conversations about Central Asian history and culture were always stimulating and invaluable. Indeed, I am the better for counting him a friend. Another comrade, Dr Robert Page, with whom I shared a carrel at Georgia State, helped keep everything in perspective. In Kazakstan there are, of course, many people who I need to thank, in particular In the early 1900s, the Kazak intelligentsia reinterpreted Kazak national identity which had traditionally been defined by its nomadic culture and heritage. Russian colonization of Central Asia during the nineteenth century, had seriously eroded Kazak economic and social structures and threatened the existence of the Kazak nation. In response to this threat, the Kazak intelligentsia - whose members regarded themselves as the protectors of Kazak culture, language and history and were an important part of a self-proclaimed modernist movement - began to imagine a larger polity, the Kazak 'nation, ' and distinguish and celebrate what they identified as national characteristics. In this quest to identify and preserve the nation, they investigated distinctive religious, linguistic, historical and cultural expressions of identity, crucial to understanding the Kazak national past and development in the era of Russian conquest and colonization. The press and publishing were central to this effort at national invention and salvation. Creating a standardized Kazak written language and orthography, and establishing a literary heritage became the primary method of disseminating and understanding Kazak national distinctiveness This study concentrates upon the socio-political and nationalist views of three influential representatives of the early twentieth-century Kazak intelligentsia: Alikhan Bokeilhanov, Akhmet Baitursynov, and Mukhamedzhan Seralin. The resulting discourse on literature, education, and politics shaped the Kazak nationalist movement before 1920. This study draws on the published works of the Kazak intelligentsia, the periodicals Ai qap (1911-1915) and Kazak (1913-1918), and archival records from the Central State Archives of the Republic of Kazakstan. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-8 Kazak Nomadism: A Review of Kazak Society, Culture, and Economy....Pages 9-24 Russian Conquest and Administration of the Kazak Steppe....Pages 25-52 The Origins and Development of the Kazak Intelligentsia, 1800–1914....Pages 53-72 Alikhan Bokeikhanov....Pages 73-92 Akhmet Baitursynov....Pages 93-115 Mukhamedzhan Seralin....Pages 117-131 Epilogue: Alash Orda....Pages 133-149 Conclusion....Pages 151-155 Back Matter....Pages 157-233