ETHNIC COMPOSITION AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE POPULATION OF EAST KAZAKHSTAN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Аңдатпа

Abstract. This article provides a comprehensive historical and demographic analysis of the social and economic transformation of East Kazakhstan during the nineteenth century. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, the study examines the evolution of the region’s ethnic composition, focusing on the complex dynamics of population growth and large-scale migration processes. A significant portion of the research is dedicated to the socio-cultural and economic contributions of the Tatar, German, and Polish diasporas, evaluating their pivotal role in institutionalizing trade networks, urban culture, and scientific exploration within the region.

The paper critically investigates the strategic impact of the Russian Empire’s resettlement policy on the shifting demographic landscape of the Irtysh basin and the Altai foothills. Based on rigorous analysis of primary statistical sources and census data, the study reconstructs the social stratification and religious diversity of the population. Furthermore, it explores the structural changes in the traditional Kazakh nomadic economy, highlighting the gradual transition from extensive pastoralism to market-oriented livestock breeding and sedentary agriculture under the influence of settler-migrant interactions. The research concludes that by the late nineteenth century, East Kazakhstan had emerged as a unique multiethnic and frontier social space, where inter-ethnic integration and economic modernization laid the groundwork for the region’s long-term developmental trajectory.