Research Visit to Moscow: New Archival Materials on the History of the Kazakh Nomadic Population

From 20 to 30 June 2026, G.T. Kazhenova conducted research in Moscow as part of project AP26103039, “The Kazakh Nomadic Population of the Steppe Region during the Civil Conflict of 1918–1921: Survival Strategies.”

The purpose of the visit was to identify, examine, and obtain copies of archival and library materials relating to the circumstances of the Kazakh nomadic population during the Russian Civil War and the establishment of the Soviet system of governance.

The main research was carried out at the State Archive of the Russian Federation. A total of 29 files from five archival fonds were examined: Fonds R-132 – Council of Ministers of the Russian Government; Fonds R-176 – Office of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Government; Fonds R-1235 – All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets; Fonds R-4517 – Akmolinsk Uyezd Zemstvo Administration; Fonds R-7275 – Main Committee for Universal Labour Duty under the Council of Labour and Defence of the RSFSR.

The identified documents contain information on the activities of local administrative bodies, the circumstances of the population of the Akmolinsk Region, elections to zemstvo institutions, requisitions, mobilisation campaigns, and labour and food obligations.

Of particular scholarly value are the materials relating to the Akmolinsk, Atbasar, and Kokchetav uyezds, as well as the Ainabulak Volost. These sources provide insight into the participation of the Kazakh population in local self-government, collective decision-making practices, and interactions between rural communities and zemstvo and Soviet authorities.

Documents concerning the requisition of horses, the political situation in Siberia, the retreat of Admiral Kolchak’s army, and the mobilisation of the population for logging and other forms of compulsory labour were also examined. These materials make it possible to assess the impact of military and administrative measures on the economic circumstances of the nomadic population.

At the Russian State Library, dissertations and scholarly works on the history of local self-government, social policy, and the socio-economic crisis in Siberia during the Russian Civil War were reviewed.

The research visit substantially expanded the project’s source base and marked an important stage in the study of the survival strategies adopted by the Kazakh nomadic population of the Steppe Region amid the civil conflict of 1918–1921.