Abstract

During the late Soviet period, Kazakhstan experienced significant outmigration from rural areas. Between 1970 and 1989, the rural population increased from 6.47 to 7.06 million people. But it happened due to the high birth rate, the net migration outflow from rural areas between 1966 and 1988 was 2.55 million people. In 1970-1980, the migration outflow of the rural population in Kazakhstan per 1,000 persons was among the highest in the Soviet Union: approximately 1.5 times higher than the average for the Union republics, though 3-4 times lower than in other Central Asian republics. I argue that this trend resulted from several factors: reduced investment in agriculture after the initial development of the Virgin Lands, the growth of urbanization and the increasing demand for labor in cities, favorable migration opportunities to the RSFSR, mostly to Siberia and the Far North in RSFSR and the lower standard of living in rural areas compared to urban settlements. Ethnic composition also played a significant role. Due to the intensive development of the Virgin Lands, the Slavic population (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians) constituted 41 percent of the rural population according to the 1959 census. Between 1970 and 1989, the Slavic population declined by approximately 450,000 people despite their positive natural growth. Many people returned to their home republics after the Virgin Lands campaign or moved to cities within predominantly the Kazakh SSR, RSFSR, and less often UkrSSR and BSSR, as they adapted more easily to Russian-speaking urban environments. At the same time, the Kazakh population also left rural areas at higher rates than the titular ethnic groups in other Central Asian republics. This study is based on published Soviet statistical materials as well as archival documents from the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian State Archive of Economics.