The Problem of Sedentarization of the Kazakhs of Central Kazakhstan in the 1930s

Abstract

The article discusses the characteristics and consequences of the policy of forced sedentarization carried out in Central Kazakhstan in the 1930s. The process of sedentarization was accompanied by political and economic campaigns, such as confiscation of wealth, collectivisation and processing of agricultural products, which led to fundamental changes in the economic life of the Kazakh population. The Soviet authorities regarded the resettlement of the Kazakh nomadic people as an integral part of economic transformation and  ideological formation. However, this process was largely carried out by administrative order, without taking into account the natural and geographical conditions and the way of life of the local population. The authors examine the views and conclusions identified in scientific research on the scale and methods of implementation of the process of transition to colonisation, its socio-economic consequences. In addition, the article uses archival documents, to describe the implementation of  sedentarization in the central region of Kazakhstan on the basis of data. The authors focus on the shortcomings in the implementation of the resettlement, such as the incorrect selection of resettlement sites, lack of water sources, insufficient arable land and hay meadows, lack of infrastructure and building materials, lack of educational work among the population, etc. The study also looks at the relationship between this policy and Soviet industrialisation. It shows that the task was to create oasis-style agricultural bases to provide food for the developing centres of non-ferrous metallurgy in the region. In addition, the article examines and explains the consequences of Soviet modernisation in the Kazakh steppe, such as forced sedentarization, on the basis of archival documents.