Who Are the Kazakhs?
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people numbering approximately 18 million—13.5 million in Kazakhstan (where they form 70% majority), 1.6 million in China (Xinjiang and neighboring regions), 1 million in Uzbekistan, and smaller communities in Russia, Mongolia, and worldwide. They speak Kazakh, a Kipchak Turkic language written in Cyrillic (transitioning to Latin in Kazakhstan). Kazakhs emerged as distinct people in the 15th century from the Mongol Empire's dissolution, developing nomadic horse culture across the vast Central Asian steppe. Independent since 1991, Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country and Central Asia's dominant economy.
Steppe Nomads
Kazakh identity crystallized in 1465 when tribes broke from the Uzbek Khanate, forming the Kazakh Khanate. The name "Kazakh" may mean "free wanderer" or "rebel." Traditional Kazakhs were pastoral nomads, moving seasonally with horses, sheep, and camels across Earth's largest steppe. Society organized into three jüz (hordes)—Great, Middle, Little—subdivided into clans tracing ancestry to common founders. The yurt (kiiz üy) provided portable home; horse culture was central (mare's milk fermented into kumis, horse meat in cuisine). Eagle hunting—using trained golden eagles to hunt—became iconic Kazakh tradition, continuing today.
Russian and Soviet Rule
Russian expansion into the steppe (18th-19th centuries) gradually incorporated Kazakh lands. Tsarist rule brought Slavic settlement, land seizures, and 1916 revolt's brutal suppression. Soviet period (1920-1991) transformed Kazakh society catastrophically. Collectivization's forced sedentarization (1930s) destroyed nomadic way of life; the resulting famine killed 1.5 million Kazakhs—40% of the population—proportionally the Soviet era's worst demographic disaster. Nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk irradiated the population. Russian immigration made Kazakhs minorities in their homeland by 1989 (40%). Yet Soviet rule also brought literacy, urbanization, and national institutions.
Independent Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan gained independence (1991) under Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled until 2019. Oil and mineral wealth funded development, making Kazakhstan Central Asia's economic leader. The capital moved to Astana (now Nur-Sultan), built as showcase city. Kazakhs became demographic majority again through emigration of Slavs and return of diaspora Kazakhs (oralmans). The state promotes Kazakh language and identity while maintaining multi-ethnic stability. Script transition from Cyrillic to Latin symbolizes distancing from Russian sphere. Authoritarian governance persists despite recent reforms.
Contemporary Kazakhs
Modern Kazakhs navigate between recovering traditional identity and modernization. Nomadic heritage survives in celebrations, cuisine, music (dombra instrument), and eagle hunting—now tourist attraction and national symbol. Islam (moderate, Hanafi Sunni) shapes identity without dominating public life. China's Kazakhs face cultural pressures; some were detained in Xinjiang camps. Kazakhstan balances relations between Russia, China, and the West while asserting national identity. How Kazakhs preserve distinctive culture while developing modern state—and whether authoritarian governance can evolve—shapes this steppe people's future in their vast homeland.
References
- Olcott, M. B. (1995). The Kazakhs
- Schatz, E. (2004). Modern Clan Politics: The Power of "Blood" in Kazakhstan and Beyond
- Cameron, S. (2018). The Hungry Steppe: Famine, Violence, and the Making of Soviet Kazakhstan