At the Crossroads of Tradition and Empire: Kazakh Veterinary Feldshers in the Service of the Steppe Region (19th – early 20th centuries)
Dalayeva T.T.
1 March 2026Cherkas Global University Press
Bylye Gody
2026#21Issue 1142 - 151 pp.
This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the place and role of Kazakh veterinary feldshers within the sociocultural space of the Steppe Region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The study focuses on their unique position at the intersection of traditional Kazakh knowledge of animal husbandry and imperial Russian veterinary medicine. The relevance of the topic lies in the need to examine this professional group as a “bridge between cultures”, functioning both as an instrument of the colonial administration and as bearers of local identity. Special attention is paid to the reconstruction of the official activities and biographical details of individual veterinary feldshers who managed to secure a certain position within the local service system. The study is based on documents from the Central State Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Historical Archive of Omsk Oblast, as well as memoirs of descendants and local history materials. As a result of archival research, it was possible to establish that the total number of Kazakhs who were students and graduates of the Veterinary Feldsher School of the Siberian Cossack Host (1879–1894) and the Omsk Veterinary Feldsher School (1905–1917) amounted to 64 individuals. The key conclusion is that the activities of Kazakh veterinary feldshers, who had received imperial education, were oriented toward the implementation of colonial administrative functions. In particular, they effectively acted as intermediaries in the enforcement of measures aimed at transforming traditional Kazakh pastoralism, including the introduction of quarantine regulations, vaccination campaigns, and restrictions on nomadic mobility. Essentially, an analysis of historical sources and studies demonstrates that, as a result of the development of capitalist relations in the Steppe region, livestock acquired the character of a commodity. Furthermore, the restriction of nomadic territories and the spread of new livestock-breeding practices among Kazakhs by the beginning of the 20th century – such as stall-feeding and haymaking – led to the decline of traditional pastoralism. This process, in turn, contributed to a decrease in the social status of Kazakh veterinary feldshers, who, despite their formal education, were unable to exert significant social influence within Kazakh society.
19th – early 20th centuries , colonial policy , Kazakh veterinary feldshers , pastoralism , the Russian Empire , the Steppe region , traditions , veterinary education
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Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Kazakhstan
Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026