Complementary Policy of the Russian Empire in the Kazakh Steppe in Ethno-Cultural and Confessional Spheres (XVIII – 60s of XIX centuries)


Комплементарная конфессиональная и этнокультурная политика Российской империи в Казахской степи в XVIII – 60-е гг. XIX вв.
Nurgaliyeva A. Tasmagambetov A. Baibulsinova A.
1 December 2022Cherkas Global University Press

Bylye Gody
2022#17Issue 41643 - 1653 pp.

As a methodological basis, this article relies on the concept of a new imperial history. It analyzes the features of the ethno-confessional policy of the Russian government at the first stage of the “nominal annexation” of the steppe territory, when Islam was seen as a tool to appease the Kazakhs. It was not unambiguously unifying in nature, did not aim to radically change the Kazakh environment by forcibly imposing “progressive” cultural and historical traditions, ignoring the existing ones and breaking the established foundations. At this stage, the Russian government not only allowed, but even ensured the propaganda of Islam in its Russian version, seeing it as an important means of administrative control. This policy can be called complementary, because the authorities were forced to reckon with the religious traditions of the subject population, and maintained tolerance and religious pluralism. The presence in the steppe of a combination of Russian legal norms and legal customs of Kazakh nomads is noted. It is shown that archival documents, together with the publications of contemporaries, help to form a complete picture on the issue of the features of the state-confessional and ethno-cultural policy. Copyright

civilizing mission , complementary policy , Islam , Kyrgyz steppe , Russian Empire , Tatars , “nominal accession”

Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи

West Kazakhstan University, Uralsk, Kazakhstan

West Kazakhstan University

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026