Abstract

This paper examines the Kazakh steppe as a zone of mobility between the Russian Empire and Central Asian states, especially Khoqand, from the onset of indirect Russian rule in the 1820s to the conquest of Tashkent in 1865. The steppe appeared to offer legally restricted individuals, such as deserters, escaped convicts, runaway serfs, and enslaved people, a rare chance to evade state control and renegotiate their circumstances. Although both Russia and Khoqand sought to limit movement within their ascriptive societies, neither could effectively police the vast, sparsely populated steppe, enabling those with local knowledge to shift between jurisdictions. Kazakhs themselves proved most adept at exploiting weak state control and ambiguous borders to negotiate improvements in their political and juridical standing. Mobility increased after Russia’s 1853 conquest of Ak Masjid, which brought imperial and oasis-state frontiers closer together. Yet runaways often fled both sides, indicating the limited prospects in either settled society. At the same time, designations of “slave” and “escapee” were elusive, as some escapees claimed to be victims of kidnapping while many former slaves preferred to remain within Kazakh households even after being granted their freedom.