Polyethnic Population Structure of Northeast and West Kazakhstan in the Eighteenth Century to the 1860s

Abstract

The article reviews the polyethnic population structure of northeast and western Kazakhstan in the eighteenth century to the 1860s. Some key factors influenced the formation processes of the population: Dzhungar and Bashkir attacks on Kazakh camping grounds; joining of Junior, Middle and Senior zhuz [ranked tribal groups] into the Russian Empire; colonial policy of the Russian Empire in Kazakhstan; and Russia’s emigre policy to Kazakhstan in the second half of the nineteenth–early twentieth centuries. Major relevant aspects of population formation are analyzed from the perspective of state interests concerning territorial integrity, security and enhanced stability. Objective information on ethnodemographic processes can help promote formation of self-identification for people as citizens of the state.