Kazakh sultan before the Russian court: a case of Kaipgali Ishimov (1829)

Abstract

. The article is a research of a case of sultan Kaigali Ishimov of the Inner Horde (Bukey Khanate) who attempted to migrate to the Junior Jhuz in 1829, but was arrested by Orenburg authorities and prosecuted. The author analyses the investigation of Kaipgali’s case, the means and methods of finding the evidence, the position of sultan himself during the trial as well as specific features of relations between the authorities of the Orenburg Region and the Inner Horde at the time of the investigation. The author finds that the problem was in the absence of clear regulation of the way to put representatives of Kazak population (including the Inner Horde) on Russian imperial trial. Besides that, the position of sultan Kaipgali during the investigation is evidence of his knowledge and experience of relations with the Russian frontier authorities. That, in its turn, is an example of acculturation of Kazakhs in the borderland regions even in such specific sphere as court and proceedings.