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Abstract

This paper examines how state-led nation-building policies in independent Kazakhstan have influenced the transformation of the urban environment of Taraz. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan initiated a process of constructing a new national identity and reinterpreting historical and cultural narratives. These political and ideological changes were reflected not only in cultural and political institutions but also in the spatial organization of cities.

Urban development in many non-capital and regional centers, including one of the oldest cities of Kazakhstan — Taraz — is complicated by their provincial status and often exists in a state of a particular “epistemic oblivion.” The central problem of this research concerns the phenomenon of development itself: from Central Asian cities to provincial centers of a postcolonial state. Due to the policies of an ethnonational state, attention to the history, urban planning development, and cultural fabric of the city often remains fragmented, which makes it difficult to understand the broader context and the evolution of the urban environment. As a result, local architecture and the urban framework of the city remain insufficiently visible in both academic and public discourse.

The study focuses on the transformation of Taraz and analyzes how changes in urban planning policies, the construction of new monuments, the redesign of public spaces, and the reinterpretation of historical heritage have shaped the visual and symbolic landscape of the city. The analysis demonstrates that urban space becomes an important medium through which state ideology and national identity are materialized.

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Abstract

This study investigates the urban transformation of Merv (known as Marw al-Shahijan) during the Great Seljuk period (11-12th centuries CE), when it served as the imperial capital in Khurasan. While previous scholarship has emphasized the Seljuk tendency of ruling from outside, maintaining a strategic separation from established Persianate urban centers, this study argues that Merv exemplifies a more sophisticated manifestation of nomadic statecraft. The Seljuks did not merely reside on the outskirts of Merv, but actively reconfigured the landscape to integrate the nomadic mobility with the requirements of an oasis capital.

The study identifies a three-stage evolution: first, the utilization of the ancient city (Gyaur Kala) as a nomadic stronghold and resource hub; second, the construction of the Sultan Kala walls and the consolidation of hydraulic control over the Murghab river’s canal networks; and third, the monumentalization of the city center, culminating in the construction of Sultan Sanjar’s mausoleum. In this process, Merv featured dual centers of power. The Shahriyar Ark functioned as the Sultan’s residence and administrative nucleus. Its location in the northeast corner of the Sultan Kala served a dual purpose: providing a secure and isolated space for the nomadic elites while maintaining immediate access to the northern steppe. In the late period, the construction of Sanjar’s mausoleum at the city’s geometric center became a symbolic focal point, translating nomadic authority into the permanent architectural language of the Perso-Islamic world.

By integrating archaeological evidence with historical texts, this study demonstrates that Merv’s spatial organization was both concentric and radial, as it structured social hierarchies through space, while projecting power through the water system. The Seljuks’ experimental urbanism served as a crucial precursor to the later mausoleum cities of the Mongol era, such as Sultaniyya and Almaliq. Thus, the study of Seljuk Merv offers a key example of the nomadic empire’s approach to urban governance.

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The paper describes the peculiarities of the relocation of the old capital (Almaty) to the new one (Astana) as one of the important events of independent Kazakhstan. This event attracted, attracts, and will attract many publications from different points of view. Since that time, issues of growth of population in both cities based on migration (Mechanic movement) and birth (Natural movement) have been discussed in most cases. The paper reveals migration and birth of population in two cities due to political, economic, geographic, social, demographic, and ethnic factors. The theoretical and practical reflection of the Gravity model of the migration of population in two cities is analysed and presented.

The novelty of the work lies in the comparative analysis of the main causes or factors that influenced migration and birth processes in these two so-called northern and southern capitals of the country during one generation from 2001 to 2024.

The main tool of research and analysis is econometric Panel data analysis.

Finally, the paper concludes that an important factor of population growth in Astana reflected the gravity theory of migration of population from neighbouring regions like the Karaganda region. An important factor of population growth in Almaty was the mechanical and natural growth of the population. During the transitional time, the high immigration to Almaty was linked with a relatively high index of attractiveness of social infrastructure or the presence of a more numerous and developed educational infrastructure (schools, universities, colleges0 and healthcare systems (medical institutions, hospitals)

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Abstract

This presentation examines the adaptation of internal migrants in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is based on the findings of qualitative sociological research conducted in 2025 within an urban area favored by migrants due to relatively affordable housing and proximity to major markets (specifically the Nauryzbay district and several suburban villages). A total of 45 interviews were conducted with individuals of diverse ages, genders, and backgrounds, primarily focusing on first-generation migrants. The research indicates that upward mobility for both migrants and their children is a primary objective for migration, which participants perceive as attainable. Instances of discrimination, where they exist, are mainly confined to interpersonal interactions regarding everyday issues (e.g., conflicts between ‘locals’ and ‘newcomers’) and do not constitute a significant barrier to migrants’ advancement within the city. However, the weakening of migrant support networks identified during the study may significantly impede recovery from initial migration shock and create unfavorable conditions for the socialization of children and adolescents from migrant families. Thus, the 'second-generation problem'—frequently identified in the literature regarding Western external migration—may replicate itself within this context, even if its manifestations are less acute.