СОЛТҮСТІК ҚАЗАҚСТАННЫҢ ӘСКЕРИ ЖӘНЕ АЗАМАТТЫҚ ОТАРЛАНУ ТАРИХЫНАН

Abstract

The article comprehensively examines the historical dynamics of military and civil colonization processes in Northern Kazakhstan and their impact on the region’s ethno-demographic structure. The study is based on an analysis of the Russian Empire’s strategies for the incorporation of the Kazakh steppe and focuses on two interrelated directions of colonial policy: military Cossack expansion and agrarian colonization carried out through the resettlement of peasants. The authors demonstrate that the construction of military fortifications, defensive lines, and Cossack settlements became a key instrument for the administrative and institutional consolidation of imperial authority. At the same time, the mass resettlement policy of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led to profound transformations in the ethnic structure of Northern Kazakhstan, turning the region into a polyethnic space.

The study makes extensive use of materials from the 1897 First General Census of the Russian Empire, statistical surveys of the Akmola region, data from F. Shcherbina’s expedition, and archival documents. Based on these sources, the article analyzes population dynamics, changes in ethnic composition, and the scale of resettlement processes. In addition, it addresses issues such as the redistribution of land relations, the crisis of the traditional nomadic economy of the Kazakhs, and broader socio-economic transformations. The findings demonstrate that the processes of colonization had a long-term impact on the historical development of Northern Kazakhstan.