FORMATION AND ADAPTATION OF THE ESTONIAN DIASPORA IN KAZAKHSTAN AT THE END OF THE 20th – BEGINNING OF THE 21st CENTURY
Szmyt Z. Jiyenaliyev Y. Imangalieva G.
25 September 2025Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University
East European Historical Bulletin
2025#2025Issue 3646 - 62 pp.
The article covers the stages of resettlement and adaptation of the Estonians in Kazakhstan at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. The relevance of the study is determined by the formation of the Estonian diaspora of Kazakhstan, which has become a stable component of the demographic, socio-economic, political and cultural life of the Republic and has been as an example of successful readaptation of an ethnic group in a foreign cultural environment. The purpose of the study is to reveal the contribution of the Estonians to the development of Kazakhstan, to consider in detail the stages of resettlement, the number and features of adaptation of the Estonians in Kazakhstan. Scientific novelty: For the first time, the article examines the stages of resettlement and adaptation of the Estonians in Kazakhstan in the pre-revolutionary era, in the era of deportation during World War II and in the post-war years, in the period since the establishment of independent Kazakhstan. Along with the stages of resettlement and the number of migrants, the types of adaptation are described in detail: economic, social, cultural. The process of creating settlements is discussed as a necessary condition for collective adaptation to the natural and climatic conditions of Kazakhstan. Household adaptation, which included the construction of dwellings adapted to the natural and climatic conditions of Kazakhstan, is described in detail. The process of adaptation of farming to local climatic conditions using three-field and fallow systems and the gradual dominance of cattle breeding, which for centuries was the guarantor of the survival of the local Kazakh population, has been analyzed. The sociocultural relationships of immigrants with representatives of other ethnic groups have been highlighted. Research Methodology. General scientific and historical methods have been used in the preparation of this publication. The study is based on a micro-historical approach, which makes it possible to study in more detail the types of adaptation (climatic, economic, social, cultural) of the Estonians in Kazakhstan by reducing the scale of analysis. An interdisciplinary approach has been applied, borrowing methods from sociology and political science. In particular, content analysis has been applied to periodicals as the main group of sources. The research is also based on the paradigm of ethno-symbolism, which makes it possible to identify the features of the Kazakh-Estonian relations. The development of the topic has been carried out using the general scientific principles of historicism and objectivity, which made it possible to consider the phenomena under study on the basis of objective patterns, in their internal interrelation and interaction with specific historical conditions. The methodological tools are the biographical method, through the use of which the facts of the biographies of famous Estonians of Kazakhstan have been studied, the activity approach made it possible to trace the life positions of the studied figures. At the same time, the following methods have been used: comparative historical, axiological, chronological, analysis and synthesis, etc., which made it possible to generalize, take into account the historical context of events, and avoid political stereotypes and prejudices. Conclusions. The Estonian diaspora in Kazakhstan in the process of its formation in the late 19th – early 21st centuries turned into a stable component of the demographic, socio-economic, political and cultural life of the Republic, showing an example of successful adaptation of an ethnic group in a foreign cultural environment. The materials are of practical value, since the application of this experience will undoubtedly become the basis for practical application in the field of creating an atmosphere of interethnic harmony.
adaptation , deportation , Estonians , Kazakhstan , migration , Steppe region
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Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicz, 1 Henryk Wieniawski Street, Poznań, 61-712, Poland
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 2 Satpaev Street, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
School – Lyceum No. 7 named after N. Marabaev, 46 Abylai Khan Avenue 46, Aktau, postal code 130000, Kazakhstan
Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicz
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
School – Lyceum No. 7 named after N. Marabaev
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