Abstract:

At the end of the 19th century, Russian farmers gradually entered the steppes of Kazakhstan, and the resulting land issues gradually became the focus of Kazakh newspapers from the 1880s onward. As Russian immigrants successfully reclaimed pastoral areas into farmland, they greatly reduced the space available for Kazakh communities. In response, Kazakhs began to engage in agriculture to supplement their pastoral practices. Intellectuals also had heated discussions about the future of Kazakhstan: Is settled life an inevitable outcome for Kazakhs? If there is not enough land per capita in the future, the future of animal husbandry is in jeopardy.

Kazakh intellectuals did not simply "reject" Russian immigrants. Settlement was considered a sign of modernization, and many intellectuals expected Kazakhs to move toward a combination of agriculture and animal husbandry. However, these intellectuals also criticized numerous unfair policies that placed Kazakh communities in a subordinate position, thereby disadvantaging Kazakh farmers and herders.

This study emphasizes the perspective from below, using existing Kazakh written materials to elucidate the views of Kazakh intellectuals on Russian immigration and the expansion of agricultural areas. This research breaks away from the dichotomy between agriculture and animal husbandry. In fact, this type of agriculture is only perceived as belonging to "Russians," resulting in many systemic inequalities.These materials also aid in better understanding Kazakh intellectuals at the end of the 19th century. As middlemen, they hoped for cooperation with the empire to achieve local modernization, while simultaneously acting as advocates for Kazakh culture and opposing unfair practices. Additionally, this examination of Kazakh grasslands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries will serve as a basis for understanding the famines occurring on the steppes and the subsequent conflicts between agriculture and animal husbandry.