Abstract. In the article, the influence of the post-Soviet ethno-demographic dynamics upon prospects of the cultural integration of ethnic groups in Kazakhstan is examined. The emphasis in the work is put on the analysis of the post-Soviet ethnodemographic dynamics which has led to the absolute and relative numeric prevalence of the Kazakhs in the population of Kazakhstan upon prospects of the cultural integration of ethnic groups on the basis of the Kazakh language and culture. It is proved that, despite the popular opinion, the demographic domination of the Kazakhs in the cities does not lead to the cultural integration of ethnic groups on the basis of the Kazakh language and culture.
The demographic approach, aimed at the study of socio-political processes under the influence of the demographic proportions of a multi-ethnic society, is widespread in the social cognition. The demographic changes that occurred after the collapse of the USSR in a number of post-Soviet states contributed to the widespread use of this approach in post-Soviet researches. These researches are related to the investigation of the dominance of the titular nation, in particular, the dominance of a language of the titular nation in the social space of post-Soviet societies under the influence of various factors, where the demographic factor takes a central position. Among the post-Soviet states that have experienced the significant demographic changes over the years of independence, Kazakhstan is well marked. Here, in the post-Soviet period, the titular nation became a significant majority of the multi-ethnic population both in the country as a whole and in most of its regions, as well as cities. In this regard, the question arises concerning the impact of post-Soviet ethno-demographic dynamics on the cultural integration of ethnic groups in Kazakhstan. In other words, may there be a direct correlation between the growth of the titular nation among the population of Kazakhstan and the confirmation of the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on Kazakh language and culture? A similar correlation takes place in many post-Soviet states, primarily in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Such a correlation is one of the main goals of the post-Soviet model of national building and Kazakhstan seeks to achieve it in its national policy. In Kazakhstan itself, there are ongoing discussions on how the post-Soviet ethnodemographic dynamics affects the cultural integration of the multi-ethnic society. Our article is included in this discussion and offers its own view on the issue of impact of post-Soviet ethno-demographic dynamics on the cultural integration of ethnic groups in Kazakhstan.
The main research method in this article is a demographic approach that focuses on the study of the cultural integration of ethnic groups in multi-ethnic Kazakhstan under the influence of changes in ethno-demographic proportions in the post-Soviet period. A major role in this work is played by the theory of national building in its projection onto the post-Soviet realities. Based on the proximity of concepts of national building and national integration, the article focuses on the cultural integration of ethnic groups in Kazakhstan.
On the concept of cultural integration of ethnic groups
The cultural integration of ethnic groups means a way of existence of the multiethnic society where one of languages and associated culture are common to all ethnic groups, which allows ethnic groups to coexist, understand each other and interact on this base.
In the culturally integrated multi-ethnic society, the existence of a language which is common for all ethnic groups, as well as the associated culture, means a special position of that ethnic group the language of which is used by all other ethnic groups in this society. This position can be characterized as dominant. Consequently, other ethnic groups of society, forced or voluntarily accepting the language and culture of one of the ethnic groups, are in a subordinate position in the cultural and linguistic sphere with regard to this ethnic group. In other words, the cultural integration of society implies the relationship of domination and subordination between ethnic groups and other social groups. These definition and description of the cultural integration of ethnic groups assumes the special significance of the language and language relations in which ethnic groups enter in the process of cultural integration of the multiethnic society. The language is a cultural- symbolic code uniting people in social communities.
Without the cultural integration of the multi-ethnic society on the basis of one language and culture, it is impossible to build a single nation from this society. Moreover, the nation is understood to be the unity of political and cultural communities within a certain territory. Ernest Gellner, one of the classics of the theory of nation and nationalism, defines the nation as a community arising on the ground of “culture and on the basis of its coincidence with political units. Under these conditions, people want to be politically united with all those, and only with those who belong to the same culture. Accordingly, states strive to combine their borders with the borders of their cultures and to protect and introduce their cultures within the limits of their powers” [1, p. 126-127].
Main forms of the cultural integration of ethnic groups in Kazakhstan
Today, in Kazakhstan, there are two cultural integrations of ethnic groups. One of them is an integration based on the Russian language and Russian-Soviet culture, the other one is the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Kazakh language and culture. A comparison of these two integrations shows that the cultural integration based on the Russian language is the main one, since it covers all ethnic groups and the main social spheres of Kazakhstan’s society. The cultural integration based on the Kazakh language and culture has the secondary importance possessing a more limited social base in the person of the Kazakh ethnic group and a part of the Turkic-speaking ethnic groups of Kazakhstan. The use of the Kazakh language in various areas of society also demonstrates less coverage and penetration in comparison with the Russian language.
The cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Russian language and Russian- Soviet culture developed in Kazakhstan in the Soviet period, becoming the result of the policy of internationalism of the communist regime. The ideologized character of the national policy of the regime had an aim of the formation of the Soviet people as “a new historical community of people.” The achievement of this goal was carried out through politics, the main motto of which was “The prosperity and rapprochement of soviet nations”. Obviously, the “rapprochement” of nations was carried out on the basis of the Russian language and Soviet culture. This policy led to the Russification of many Soviet nations, in what connection the Kazakhs were among the most Russified nations.
The cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Kazakh language and culture is already a post-Soviet phenomenon. Culturally, the basis of the nation being formed in post-Soviet states is now declared not the Russian language and Russian-Soviet culture, but the language and culture of the titular nation, which are given the decisive importance within the frameworks of the post-Soviet model of national building.
This is determined by the fact that the ethno-cultural understanding of the nation still prevails in the public consciousness of these states, as in the Soviet period. The nation is primarily understood as a titular nation with its language [Scientific Journal. 2019/2 (88) 83. Modern socio-political and economic processes] and culture which should be known and used in the interethnic communication by non-titular ethnic groups. The idea of a civil nation as the multi-ethnic society on the basis of citizenship common to all ethnic groups does not find the wide understanding of the post-Soviet society. Even the corresponding terminology has not been developed in the public mind for this idea. Such a community is called “people”, particularly, in Kazakhstan it is called “Kazakh people”. However, the importance of “people” in this sense is fully recognized by the society and, first of all, by the authorities, because the support of “people” means the support of interethnic stability and security of the post-Soviet society.
For Kazakhstan, due to various historical, political and social reasons, the support of interethnic stability and security of the society has the fundamental importance. The policy of the authorities to support the interethnic stability and social security was called “the Kazakhstan model of interethnic harmony and peace”. In 2004, pointing to the large role of the Russian language in the formation of the civil nation in Kazakhstan, the first President of the country, Nursultan Nazarbayev, emphasized that it was the Russian language that united our people [2].
Nevertheless, despite the noticeable progress in the spread of the Kazakh language in the multi-ethnic society, the Russian language occupies a dominant position in the cultural integration of ethnic groups in Kazakhstan. The authorities primarily support the state language in Kazakhstan, not forgetting about the support of the Russian language and other languages in the country. This is one of the main points of language policy in Kazakhstan. In 2017, Yelbasy pointed out the great role of the Russian language in the development of the Kazakh people. We “will not forget the Russian language and culture. This is impossible for the Kazakhs. The expansion of our views to the world is implemented through the Russian language.
Through the Russian language we learned the world culture, world progress, world technologies. Therefore, it will always stay with us. Russia is our great neighbor, a neighbor given by the God, and we will always be there, we will always cooperate, we will be partners”[3].
In other post-Soviet countries, particularly, in the states of Central Asia and Transcaucasia, the Russian language, having lost the political support of authorities under the new conditions, is gradually leaving the social and cultural arena. Such a state policy to promote the language of the titular nation does not work fully in Kazakhstan. Here, the main role in the cultural integration of ethnic groups is still played by the Russian language, while the integrating role of the Kazakh language looks more limited, not going beyond the Kazakh ethnic group and a small part of Turkic ethnic groups.
Hence it is possible to conclude that, unlike most other post-Soviet countries, the state support of the titular nation’s language is not [84 Scientific Journal. 2019/2 (88) Modern socio-political and economic processes] a decisive factor in the adoption of this language as the basis for the cultural integration of ethnic groups. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze other factors that could convincingly reveal the continuing integration potential of the Russian language and the limited possibilities of the Kazakh language in the cultural integration of ethnic groups. Among these factors, the attention should be paid to social factors that influence the relationship and interaction of ethnic groups in the society, including the interethnic relations concerning the issue of language use in the aspect of domination and submission.
Demographic factor and dominance of the Russian language in the Soviet period
Among the factors of the cultural integration of ethnic groups, the experts often turn to the demography seeing an explanation of the current situation in the cultural and linguistic sphere of Kazakhstan. In the Soviet period, the relationship between the number of the main ethnic groups of Kazakhstan and the dominance of the Russian language looked more obvious. It is well known that the demographic changes in Kazakhstan during the Soviet period are associated with the industrialization, development of virgin lands, deployment of military units and training grounds and other processes which contributed to a sharp increase in the number of Russians and other Slavic nations mobilized by the communist regime to carry out these programs. This led to a sharp increase in the number of Russians in Kazakhstan from 1275,7 thousand people (20.6% of the population) in 1926 to 5521,9 thousand people (42.4% of the population) in 1970, i.e. this is more than 4 times in more than forty years [4], [5].
The victims of Kazakhs caused by the revolutionary upheavals and civil war, collectivization campaign, violent sedentarization from 1917 to 1930, repressions of the Stalin regime, and large losses of Kazakhs during the Second World War, led to a significant reduction in their number from 3627,6 thousand people in 1926 (58.5% of the population) up to 2327,7 thousand people in 1939 (37.8% of the population). It should be added that during the Second World War, the Stalin regime deported to Kazakhstan more than 1 million people of various nationalities accused of cooperating with the occupiers. This led to a further decrease in the share of Kazakhs in the total population of Kazakhstan. As a result, although the total number of Kazakhs increased by half a million people over the twenty years, from 1939 to 1959, their share in the total population of Kazakhstan decreased from 37.8% to 30.0% during this period as a result of these demographic changes [ 4], [5].
Since the 1960s, the trends in ethnic proportions of the population of Kazakhstan change to reversed, showing an increase in the share of Kazakhs and a decrease in the share of Russians. For three decades, according to [Scientific Journal. 2019/2 (88) 85. Modern socio-political and economic processes] the enumeration for 1989, these trends led to a slight absolute and relative overbalance of Kazakhs over Russians: 6534,6 thousand Kazakhs (39.7% of the population) and 6227, 5 thousand Russians (37.8% of the population) [5].
However, the demographic structure of the Kazakh and Russian population in Soviet times was significantly different, since the rural population dominated among the Kazakhs and the urban population prevailed among the Russians. Kazakhs, as in pre-revolutionary times, were mainly engaged in the animal husbandry, namely in sheep, camel and horse breeding. Russians in the cities were predominantly engaged in the industrial production. Kazakhs were little employed in the industrial sector, so in the cities they made up a minority of the population. Thus, in the regional center of eastern Kazakhstan, Ust-Kamenogorsk, according to enumeration for 1970, Kazakhs made up only 5.6%, and Russians 86.5% of the city’s population [6, p. 7172]. A similar picture with slight variations was observed in Soviet times and in other large cities of Kazakhstan. Regionally, in northern, eastern and central Kazakhstan, the predominance of Russians over Kazakhs was also observed in the rural population. At the same time, in the southern and western regions of the republic, the dominance of Kazakhs over Russians was noticeable.
The demographic dominance of Russians led to the significant Russification of Kazakhs and other non-Russian nations in the Soviet period. The Russification began in Kazakhstan in the 1930s with the beginning of industrialization in the republic. During these years, the communist regime’s escape from a Soviet localization policy aimed at supporting the languages and cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Soviet republics also contributed to the Russification. Later in the 1940s and subsequent years, the Russification of Kazakhs and other nations of Kazakhstan intensified, eventually becoming the norm of urban life. With the growth of urbanization of the Kazakhs in the 1970-1980s, the level of their language Russification also increased.
Brian Silver studied the Russification of Soviet nations in the 1960s and 70s. He noted the increasing level of their Russification so that there was complete assimilation up to a change of nationality in the passport among some nations. In Silver’s classification, the nations of Central Asia, or, as they said then, Central Asia and Kazakhstan, were not among the Russified Soviet nations [7, p. 79]. In our opinion, such Silver’s assessment was due to the fact that the nations of these regions lived mainly in rural areas, where the Russian language covered a much smaller population in comparison with cities.
However, the Silver’s assessment of Central Asian nations of the Soviet period as non-Russified was less related to the Kazakhs than to other indigenous people in this region. In Kazakhstan, the level of industrialization was higher; therefore, the share of urban residents always exceeded the share of rural people [86 Scientific Journal 2019/2 (88) Modern socio-political and economic processes] and the cities themselves were larger than in Central Asia. The level of urbanization among Kazakhs was higher than among other Central Asian nations. In addition, the growth rates of urban residents among Kazakhs in the 1970s and 80s were higher than in other republics of the region. During this period, the level of Russification of the Kazakhs became higher with the growth of urbanization, since the Kazakhs became more immersed in the Russian world with the move to the cities. On the contrary, in the Central Asian republics, during this period, the Russian population began to decline as a result of its departure from these republics, the share of Russians in the total population here decreased from year to year.
During the Soviet period, in Kazakhstan, a direct correlation was observed between the demographic proportions of ethnic groups and the distribution of languages. We are talking, of course, about the cities and the north-eastern regions of the republic. The numerical dominance of Russians in cities corresponded to the dominance of the Russian language here among all nationalities. This meant the dominance of the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Russian language and Russian- Soviet culture in cities which determined the socio-cultural identity of Kazakhstan as a modern industrial society.
features of the connection of postSoviet demography and cultural integration of ethnic groups in Kazakhstan
In the post-Soviet period, Kazakhstan has a fundamentally different demographic situation compared to the Soviet period. This situation is associated with fairly rapid and noticeable changes in the demographic proportions of Kazakhs and Russians, so it is quite reasonable to talk about post-Soviet ethno-demographic dynamics. Three main features may be distinguished:
- Growth of the absolute and relative number of Kazakhs in the population of Kazakhstan;
- Reduction of the absolute and relative number of Russians in the population of Kazakhstan;
- Internal migration of Kazakhs from rural areas to cities.
All three features, to one degree or another, are related to migrations, this gives the dynamic tone to demographic changes in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. Although the high birth rate plays the main role in the absolute and relative increase in the number of Kazakhs, nevertheless, the policy of encouraging the return of ethnic Kazakhs to their historical homeland contributed to an additional increase in the number of Kazakhs in the country by approximately one million people.
The second feature of ethno-demographic changes in post-Soviet Kazakhstan is also associated with the migration, more precisely, with the emigration of Russians from the country. It acquired a special scope in the 1990s, as a result of which [Scientific Journal. 2019/2 (88) 87 Modern socio-political and economic processes] the number of the Russians decreased from 6227,5 thousand people in 1989 (37.8% of the population) up to 4479,6 million people (29.9% of the population) in 1999 [8, p. 6-8]. The low birth rate among Russians also plays a role in this process, it is connected with their high average age and the fact that the vast majority live in cities. As a result of these and other factors, the number of Russians in Kazakhstan decreased by 2009 to 3793,8 thousand people, which amounted to 23.7% of the country’s population [9, p. 4-6].
Finally, the third feature of the postSoviet demography is also related to the internal migration of Kazakhs from the rural areas to the cities of Kazakhstan. In 2004, the share of Kazakhs in the urban population of Kazakhstan amounted to 48.5%, and Russians - 37%. If we compare these figures with the data of the last Soviet enumeration for 1989, we will see an increase in the share of Kazakhs in the urban population of Kazakhstan by 2004 at 20% from the level of 28.7% in 1989. The share of Russians for the same period decreased in the cities of Kazakhstan by 14.3% [10, p. 5-7].
Particularly impressive is the increase of the number of Kazakhs in those cities where it was very low in the Soviet period. These cities included the regional center of East Kazakhstan, Ust-Kamenogorsk. Due to the low initial base, the number of Kazakhs increased here almost four times over the 25 years from 1989 to 2014, from 34097 people up to 124910 people. This means that the share of Kazakhs in the population of the city increased from 10.6% in 1989 to 38.3% in 2014 [6, p. 72].
Ust-Kamenogorsk in Soviet times was considered one of the most “Russian” cities in Kazakhstan. Throughout the twentieth century, Russians always exceeded 80% of the population there. Even on the decline of the Soviet system, Russians made up 81.5% of the city’s population in Ust- Kamenogorsk, while there were 10.6% Kazakhs, that is almost 8-fold increase in the number of Russians over the number of Kazakhs. However, by 2014, the picture had noticeably changed as a result of the emigration of Kazakhs from rural areas of eastern Kazakhstan to cities. This led to an increase in the share of Kazakhs in the regional center to 38% in 2014, and the share of Russians by that time had decreased to 58%. Although the number of Russians is still higher than the number of Kazakhs, now the excess is only one and half. At the same time, the trend of demographic change may in prospect lead to an equal number of Kazakhs and Russians in Ust-Kamenogorsk. In a more distant prospect, in the regional center of eastern Kazakhstan, Kazakhs may prevail over Russians, as is the case in many other cities of the country.
The post-Soviet ethno-demographic dynamics led to a meeting of “two worlds”, Kazakh and Russian, in Ust-Kamenogorsk, as it was called by Kazakh demographer and historian Alexander Alekseyenko [6]. The same “meeting” is taking place today not only in Ust-Kamenogorsk, but also in most other cities of the country, large and small. In the southern and [88 Scientific Journal. 2019/2 (88) Modern socio-political and economic processes] and the western parts of Kazakhstan, in cities, the Kazakh population dominates the Russian, that is, the Kazakhs have become the demographic majority, and the Russians, respectively, the demographic minority.
Based on this, many experts predicted that the cities in this part of Kazakhstan, particularly, the largest city in the country - Almaty, would become Kazakh-speaking. The basis of their predictions was the correlation between the ethno-demographic factor of the size of the ethnic majority in the community and the language that dominated there. The reality of modern Kazakhstan, however, does not match these predictions. Without any doubts, it is possible to state that Almaty, like other large cities of Kazakhstan, remains generally Russianspeaking. Despite the fact that the majority or a larger, approaching to a half, part of the population in the cities of Kazakhstan today are Kazakhs, the Russian language still dominates the urban social space. As in Soviet times, when Kazakhs were a minority in cities, the Russian language is also widely used in interethnic communication, enterprises and organizations, public transport, administrative communication, graphic and information space of cities. William Fierman notes, in most cities of post-Soviet Kazakhstan, the Russian language continues to overshadow the Kazakh language despite a significant increase in the Kazakh population [11, p. 92].
We believe that the most important condition in the matter of language transformation in Kazakhstan is that the Kazakhs themselves speak the Kazakh language. This, however, is not currently observed in the Kazakh ethnic community taken as a whole that is in its urban and rural parts. Almost all Kazakhs of the second and third generation know the Kazakh language in an amount sufficient to explain and communicate in the social space. Many of them graduated from Kazakh schools, however, prefer to communicate in Russian.
Today, Kazakhs may be considered as the largest Russian-speaking non-Slavic nation in the world. This suggests that the cultural and linguistic Russification of the Kazakhs is reproduced in the post-Soviet conditions. This, in our opinion, is the decisive reason for the dominance of the cultural integration of ethnic groups in Russian. In other postSoviet states, where the titular nations were much less Russified in Soviet times, their language today dominates in society and, accordingly, the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the language and culture of the titular nation dominates and this is the norm.
The proclamation of the Kazakh language as the state language of Kazakhstan is nothing more than a desire to comply with this norm.
To be fair, however, it should be noted that the titular nations of the post-Soviet states of Central Asia and the Caucasus which are considered as a model of national building for Kazakhstan, have not experienced such a widespread impact of the Russian language and culture over the long time that Kazakhs passed through. The Kazakhs underwent particularly strong Russification during the Soviet period of their history. Not least of all, this was connected to the demographic disasters that Kazakhs experienced in the Soviet period.
W. Fierman, comparing the experience of linguistic transformation in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, points to the difference in the existing situations in both countries. In his opinion, the reason for this is the inertia of socio-cultural factors that has persisted in Kazakhstan since the Soviet period [11, p. 98]. Among these factors, the leading place is taken by the Russification of the indigenous population, Kazakhs, and other nationalities of the country.
It should be noted that among the postSoviet states, Kazakhstan is not the only country with a high level of Russification of its population. These states include Belarus, Ukraine and, to a certain extent, Kyrgyzstan. In Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, the government pursues a policy of supporting and promoting the language of the titular nation, as well as de-Russification of the language sphere. This is the policy of post-Soviet national building which is based on the language of the titular nation. Kazakhstan adheres to the same policy in national building. Belarus stands apart in this regard: there are two state languages - the titular and the Russian, and the policy of supporting the titular language is very weak and there is absolutely no de-Russification of the language sphere.
Aneta Pavlenko, a researcher of the language situation in the post-Soviet space, identifies four factors that complicate the turn from Russification and therefore complicate the language policy in many post-Soviet states. These factors are: 1) a large proportion of the population of these states that speak only Russian; 2) the Russification of the titular population; 3) the multi-ethnic population using Russian as a language of interethnic communication; 4) the functional limitations of some title languages [12, p. 10].
In our opinion, the linguistic situation in Kazakhstan corresponds to these four factors. Firstly, Kazakhstan has a very large proportion of the population for whom Russian is the only language, and they do not know another language. In addition to the Russians themselves, such population may include Ukrainians, Belarusians, Germans, Koreans, and a number of other nationalities. Together, they make up a significant part of the population of Kazakhstan. Secondly, the Kazakhs, as we indicated, are distinguished by a high level of Russification. This allows them to be ranked among the largest Russification [90 Scientific Journal. 2019/2 (88) Modern socio-political and economic processes] nation of non-Slavic origin. Thirdly, for these two reasons, the Russian language is, in its real position, the language of interethnic communication in a multi-ethnic Kazakhstani society. Finally, fourthly, the Kazakh language is used very little and therefore functionally limited in the fields of technology, business and many other spheres, although its linguistic potential is quite ready for the use in these and other areas.
Aneta Pavlenko, a researcher of the language situation in the post-Soviet space, identifies four factors that complicate the turn from Russification and therefore complicate the language policy in many post-Soviet states. These factors are: 1) a large proportion of the population of these states that speak only Russian; 2) Russification of the titular population; 3) a multiethnic population using Russian as a language of interethnic communication; 4) the functional limitations of some title languages [12, p. 10].
In our opinion, the linguistic situation in Kazakhstan corresponds to these four factors. Firstly, Kazakhstan has a very large proportion of the population for whom Russian is the only language, and it does not know another language. In addition to the Russians themselves, such may include Ukrainians, Belarusians, Germans, Koreans, and a number of other nationalities. Together, they make up a significant part of the population of Kazakhstan. Secondly, the Kazakhs, as we indicated, are distinguished by a high level of Russification. This allows them to be ranked among the largest Russification-90 Scientific Journal. 2019/2 (88) Modern socio-political and economic processes of a nation of non-Slavic origin. Thirdly, for these two reasons, the Russian language is, in its real situation, the language of interethnic communication in a multi-ethnic Kazakhstani society. Finally, fourthly, the Kazakh language is used very little and is therefore functionally limited in the fields of technology, business and many others, although its linguistic potential is quite ready for use in these and other areas.
In our opinion, the explanatory potential of the demographic factor should not be overestimated in the analysis of the situation in the cultural and linguistic sphere of Kazakhstan, in its dynamics from the Soviet period to the present. In the post-Soviet period, the relationship between the number of main ethnic groups and the distribution of Russian and Kazakh languages is not so obvious. Therefore, the demographic factor does not have universal significance in explaining the cultural and linguistic situation in Kazakhstan. At the same time, it should not be neglected, since to a certain extent together with other factors it is able to explain the changes that take place and, on their basis, to understand the trends of cultural integration of ethnic groups in the country, in the low and long term perspective.
Based on the results of the analysis carried out in the article, it is possible to make the following main conclusions:
- The policy of supporting and promoting the state language in various social spheres does not provide, as practice shows, the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Kazakh language and culture. In modern Kazakhstan, the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Russian language which has been established since Soviet times is preserved.
- Although the ethno-demographic dynamics, established over the years of independence, corresponds to the logic of national processes in the post-Soviet space, however, it does not directly affect the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Kazakh language and culture. Unlike the number of other post-Soviet states, in modern Kazakhstan there is no direct correlation between the demographic dominance of the titular nation and the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the titular language and culture.
- One of the main reasons for the lack of direct correlation between the postSoviet ethno-demographic dynamics and the cultural integration of ethnic groups based on the Kazakh language is the inertia of socio-cultural factors that has persisted since the Soviet period, among which the main role is played by the Russification of ethnic groups, including Kazakhs.
THe PResenTATIOn Of THe BOOK «АМЕРИКАНЫ ТАНУ:
ҚАЗАҚСТАННАН КӨЗҚАРАС» WAs HeLD In KAZIss
In September 15, 2020 at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a presentation of the book «Американы тану: Қазақстаннан көзқарас». was held.
The author of the book, Erkin Tukumov, is an international relations specialist, diplomat, and a Bolashak scholar and a master’s degree in public administration in the United States. In 1997-2005, he worked at the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, headed the department of foreign policy research.
The monograph by E. Tukumov «Американы тану: Қазақстаннан көзқарас», which analyzes the factors that contributed to the development of a superpower and examines the problems faced by modern American society, was published by KazISS in 2017. It devotes considerable attention to US foreign policy, mechanisms for making foreign policy decisions, as well as bilateral relations between Washington and Nur-Sultan.
The presentation was held offline and in online formats, it was attended by representatives of state bodies - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, diplomatic missions of the Republic of Kazakhstan abroad, scientific experts of scientific and analytical structures of Kazakhstan and Russia, heads and professors of departments involved in training specialists international affairs of leading Kazakhstani universities.
In her opening remarks, the Director of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zarema Shaukenova thanked all the participants of the event and especially emphasized: “Translation of current publications into the state language is an important direction of the scientific and methodological activities of the KazISS. This initiative is associated with a striking example of a large
QUARTERLY ANALYTICAL REVIEW
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project of the Rukhani Zhagyru Program - “100 new textbooks in the Kazakh language”. The first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Elbasy N. Nazarbayev said in his programmatic article: “It is necessary to take everything that is most modern and have translations into the state Kazakh language. And this is the task of the state. “
“Great interest on the part of the readers to the monograph“ Discovering America: A View from Kazakhstan ”, their reviews and responses determined the priority in its choice for translation and publication in the state language so that this work becomes available, first of all, to a new generation of young Kazakhstanis studying international relations, political science in the leading universities of our country ”- added Z. Shaukenova.
The speech of the author of the book Erkin Tukumov sounded in the format of a video message. Reviewer Marat Atnashev, CTF Asset Management Director of the Alfa Group Consortium, ex-rector of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO voiced his opinion on the relevance and importance of the monograph and publication in the Kazakh language in his video speech. The new edition of the monograph in the state language was supported by the reviewer of the book «Американы тану: Қазақстаннан көзқарас» Assistant to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, well-known Kazakhstani political scientist Yerlan Karin.
Prominent public and political figures, diplomats - Deputy Chairman of the Senate Council under the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Byrganym Aitimova and head of the Center for International Programs of the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation- Kairat Abuseitov, with their knowledge and personal experience in the United States, created a unique atmosphere of professional exchange of views. It was noted that, this days, the work on the United States, which would fully reveal many elements of the political life of that country, is not often found within the Kazakh scientific community. In this connection, the book «Discovering America: a look from Kazakhstan» is relevant today because it gives an opportunity to look in detail at the existing challenges and problems of American society. They expressed their support for the efforts of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to publish scientific, popular scientific works in the Kazakh language, and specifically the work of Erkin Tukumov.
Sultan Akimbekov, director of the Institute of Asian Studies, noted that the book would be useful to Kazakh and foreign readers in that it was written in simple and accessible language, including important milestones in the establishment of American statehood. The expert also agreed on the insufficiency of scientific publications about the United States in Kazakhstan’s scientific environment, especially from the point of view of Kazakh realities.
Murat Laumulin, Chief Scientist of KISI under the President of RK, praised the work of Yerkin Tukumov and expressed the hope that this work would not be the last in his service.
The book «Американы тану: Қазақстаннан көзқарас» was also evaluated by the Professor of International Relations and World Economy KazNU Al-Farabi Kuralai
Baizakova. Focusing on the contents of the book, she highlighted a chapter on Washington’s foreign policy, which provided a detailed analysis of US interests in the global world, as well as the policies being pursued with regard to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Nurlan Seydin, acting Director of «Ғылым ордасы» noted that KazISS had started publishing books in the state language since 2006 and this work continues to this day.
Dana Akhmedyanova, the Head of the Department of International Relations of the ENU L.N.Gumileva and invited professor Andrei Shenin (Russia) spoke about the demand and usefulness of the book «Открывая Америку: взгляд из Казахстана» in the teaching process in the universities.
An interesting discussion took place, with a discussion on a number of issues, in which Timur Shaimergenov, Chairman of the International Information Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Talgat Zhumagulov, Counselor-Envoy of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Norway, Director of the Institute of Asian Studies Sultan Akimbekov, Director of the Institute of Diplomacy of the ASU under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Marian Abisheva , Executive Director of the Public Fund “Ulttyk Audarma Burosy” Rauan Kenzhekhanuly, Advisor to the Director of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Dastan Eleukenov, Chief Researcher of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Laumulin, acting General Director of “Gylym Ordasy” Nurlan Seydin,Head of the Department of Political Science of Al-Farabi KazNU Gulnara Nasimova, Professor of the Department of International Relations and World Economy of KazNU named after al-Farabi Kuralay Bayzakova, Head of the Department of International Relations, ENU named after LN Gumilyev Dana Akhmedyanova, Department of Regional Studies Aigerim Ospanova, invited professors of the Faculty of International Relations of ENU named after L.N. Gumilyev Kamen Velichkov (Bulgaria), Andrey Shenin (Russia).
The presentation ended with the traditional cutting of the ribbon, which was cut by Byrganym Aitimova and Kairat Abuseitov.
The participants are sure that the book «Американы тану: Қазақстаннан көзқарас». will find its attentive reader, it will be sent to the libraries of Kazakhstan, and now it will be available on the website of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan: http://www.kisi.kz/images/izdanie/Tukumov/tukumov.pdf
- First published as a report at Centre for Eastern European and International Studies (Zentrum für Osteuropa- und internationale Studien (ZOiS). URL: https://www.zois-berlin.de/publikationen/zois-report/zois-report-42020/ ↑
- in collaboration with Taissiya Sutormina, Research Assistant, ZOiS, who performed a quantitative analysis of the sociological research
- The abbreviation “EKO” (Etno-kul’turnye Ob”edineniya, i.e. ethno-cultural associations) is used throughout this paper. Initially, however, the associations were termed “Natsional’no-kul’turnye tsentry” (national culture centres). ↑
- https://stat.gov.kz/region/268020. ↑
- Most data on the ethnic composition of the population are estimates at best as the last census in Kazakhstan took place in 2009 and the next one has been postponed from 2019 until October 2021 ↑
- https://stat.gov.kz/region/268020/news/ESTAT349329; Kasachstan 2020. Daten-Fakten-Hintergründe, Botschaft der RK in Deutschland, Berlin 2020, pp. 243 – 245. Official statistics in Kazakhstan do not provide information on real incomes. Wages and living costs are relatively high in Almaty, as is the official unemployment rate (5.1 % in the fourth quarter of 2019). Even so, the standard of living in Almaty is presumably much higher than the national average. ↑
- https://stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT306580. ↑
- Recently, on 7.2.2020, violent clashes between Kazakhs and Dungans in Zhambyl Province in southern Kazakhstan are reported to have left 11 dead and more than 40 injured. ↑
- The inclusion of an “ethnicity” section dates back to the Soviet era. Children from mixed marriages can choose their preferred ethnicity at the age of 18. ↑
- As stated by several Kazakh experts to the author. ↑
- The word “Nauryz” is of Persian origin and means “new day”. It is celebrated by Iranian and Turkic-speaking communities on the day of the vernal equinox to mark the beginning of spring. Hilda C. Eitzen, Nawriz in Kazakstan: scenarios of managing diversity, Ingvar Svanberg (ed.), Contemporary Kazaks: Cultural and Social Perspectives, Richmond 1999, pp. 73 – 102. ↑
- Formally, Kazakh ethnic associations may also join the ANK; however, no such groupings exist. At present, some prominent Kazakh individuals are members of the ANK. ↑
- This is also pointed out by Kazakhstani experts in private conversations. ↑
- First published as Kadyrzhanov P. O vliyanii postsovetskoj etnodemograficheskoj dinamiki na kul’turnuyuintegraciyu etnosov v Kazahstane / Kazahstan-Spektr, №2, 2019 - pp. 79-91 ↑