A scientific seminar titled “Current Issues of Historical Demography”

A scientific seminar titled “Current Issues of Historical Demography” was held at the Faculty of History of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, organized by the staff of the Department of the History of Kazakhstan (March 5, 2026)

The scientific seminar was attended by the faculty and professors of the Department of the History of Kazakhstan: K.O. Seyitkazina - Head of the Department of the History of Kazakhstan, Candidate of Historical Sciences; G. T. Musabalina – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor; A.S. Musagalieva – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor; Z.O. Dukenbayeva - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor; M.A. Alpyspbes - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor; K.A. Yensenov - Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor; M.F. Abdrazakov - Senior Lecturer at the Department of the History of Kazakhstan; as well as undergraduate and graduate students of the Faculty of History.

At this scientific seminar, Kanat Ensenov, Associate Professor of the Department of the History of Kazakhstan and Candidate of Historical Sciences, delivered a special report on “Current Issues of Historical Demography.” In his presentation, he focused primarily on two key issues. First, he discussed the impact of the famine of 1931–1933, which arose as a result of collectivization and confiscation policies carried out in 1928–1929 during the Soviet period, on the demographic structure of the population of Kazakhstan. For example, between the 1926 and 1939 censuses, nearly half of Kazakhstan’s population was lost due to this demographic catastrophe. The discussion was based on the research of historians who relied on statistical and archival data. The historian and scholar Kanat Ensenov noted that in 2008 he, together with his mentor, Academician M.Kh. Asylbekov, made a special trip to Moscow, where 2,142 pages of materials from the 1937–1939 censuses were brought to Kazakhstan, resulting in the publication of the work titled “The All-Union Census of 1939.” He further mentioned that, based on his own research, in 2018 he published a study entitled “Migration and Demographic Situation in Kazakhstan,” which examined migration caused by the famine, evacuations, deportations, specially resettled groups, participants in the Virgin Lands campaign, and those who migrated to Kazakhstan from the People’s Republic of China. The second issue discussed at the seminar was “Ethnodemographic Development of the Population of Independent Kazakhstan (1989–2021).” During this period, it was noted that at the time of Kazakhstan’s independence, the local Kazakh population accounted for only 42%, reflecting a complex demographic situation. As evidence, comparative analyses of the population censuses of Kazakhstan conducted in 1989, 1999, 2009, and 2021 were presented, highlighting changes in the ethnic composition and population numbers. It was also noted that research on the social and demographic development of the population of Kazakhstan has been carried out in the country under the initiative of Academician M.Kh. Asylbekov of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with a number of studies conducted across regions and provinces. However, it was emphasized that there are still “blank” periods in history that require further investigation. In conclusion, it was stated that in the future, issues of historical demography in the Republic of Kazakhstan still need to be studied in greater depth. For this, scholars should continue their research and actively work with statistical materials and archival sources. Furthermore, students, master’s, and doctoral candidates should be assigned relevant thesis and dissertation topics. This, it is believed, will ensure the continued development of research in this field.