Mukhit-Ardager Sydyknazarov Karzhaubayuly
Director of the Institute of Contemporary Studies, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University,
Astana
Laureate of the Akhmet Baitursynuly State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Field of Science,
Goodwill Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Member of the Academic Council of the Asian Scientific Congress in Europe (Toruń, Poland).
Member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan since 2022.
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Doctor of Political Science, Professor
Awards and Achievements:
Grand Medal of the Senate of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland for contributions to science and the development of Polish-Kazakh scientific cooperation, 2016.
“For Merits in the Development of Science”, State Badge of Honour, 2022.
Honorary Professor of Sh. Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, 2023.
“For Outstanding Contributions to Geographical Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, Gold Medal of the Congress of the Turkic World, 2024.
“Ult Ustazy Akhmet Baitursynulynyn 150 zhyldygy” (150th Anniversary of Akhmet Baitursynuly, Teacher of the Nation), Medal, 2022.
“Qazaqstan Khalqy Assambleyasy ‘Algys’ tosbelgisi. Khalyq birligin nygaituga qosqan ulesi ushin” (Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan “Algys” Badge for Contribution to Strengthening National Unity), State Award, 2023.
Commemorative Medal “Qazaqstan Respublikasynyn temir zholynyn 120 zhyldygyna” (120th Anniversary of the Railways of the Republic of Kazakhstan), awarded for research on the cartography of railway development in Kazakhstan and across the Eurasian region, 2024.
“Goodwill Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, appointed as one of the first seven Goodwill Ambassadors in the history of Kazakhstan by order of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2024.
Medal of the Association of Germans of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Qazaqstan Respublikasy Nemisteri Birlestiginin Gerold Belgerdin 90 zhyldygy” (90th Anniversary of Herold Belger), 2024.
“Qazaqstan Respublikasynyn Madeniet salasynyn uzdigi” (Excellence in Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan), State Award, 2025.
“30th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, State Award, 2025.
Honorary Professor of the West Kazakhstan Innovation and Technology University, 2025.
The culmination of 20 years of original research on “Uninterrupted History of Nationhood in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh State on European and American Maps of the XVI–XIX Centuries” was the conferral of the Akhmet Baitursynuly State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Field of Science. The award and its badge were presented by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on 24 October 2025.
Earlier, on 6 March 2023, Professor M.-A. Sydyknazarov was invited for the first time to meet with the President of Kazakhstan to present the progress and scholarly achievements of his research. During the meeting, the President was also introduced to the first atlas of historical maps of the Kazakh State, published in Brussels, Belgium, as well as to original historical maps of Kazakhstan.
Over 4,000 European and American maps of the Kazakh State dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries have, for the first time, been identified in archives worldwide, catalogued and studied.
The depiction of the Kazakh State on European and American maps over a period of 600 years has been documented, a finding of considerable significance for historical scholarship, diplomacy and education.
For the first time in the history of Kazakhstan, two atlas books (2021 and 2024, Brussels, Belgium) featuring historical maps of the Kazakh State from the 15th–19th centuries were published and introduced into Kazakhstani and international academic, cultural and information circulation as artefacts attesting to the continuity of Kazakh statehood.
Twenty-five previously unknown cities of the Kazakh State dating from the 15th–19th centuries were discovered and localised. The analysis made it possible to identify at least 25 Kazakh cities within the present-day territory of Kazakhstan and neighbouring countries that had previously been unknown or undocumented in archaeological research. These include settlements in western, northern and south-eastern Kazakhstan, such as Shaibanshik, Kosmai, Solkanat, Masauiz, Risan, Naiyam, Rauory, Bortona/Fortona, Barskol, Eilak, Annibi, Naimanorum, Lakmary and Ierom/Zherym, among others.
Based on Professor Mukhit-Ardager Sydyknazarov’s research into historical maps and cartographic evidence, the city of Aktobe is considered the urban successor to the medieval city of Eilak/Yailak/Ilak, which was located approximately 20–30 kilometres from present-day Aktobe.
Through the study of European maps dating from the 15th–19th centuries, Professor Sydyknazarov also identified and localised the extensive Shaysure Bay east of the Caspian Sea coast, in an area that now forms part of the non-inundated lands of the Atyrau Region.
Research into the diplomatic and military cartography of the Kazakh State and its cultural heritage:
For the first time, contemporaneous depictions of the Kazakh khans Janibek and Barak on a Genoese world map dating from 1457 were identified and studied.
Professor Sydyknazarov rediscovered the historical figure of Aru-Sultan and brought her story back into the historical record of Kazakhstan. For the first time, a contemporaneous portrait and documents concerning Aru-Sultan from a royal chronicle held in the archives of the British Library were identified and studied. Aru-Sultan served as the first diplomatic representative of the Kazakh State in England between 1557 and 1576, at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. These discoveries are of considerable importance for restoring Kazakhstan’s historical memory and cultural heritage.
For the first time in Kazakhstan, the foundations were laid for new fields of scholarly research: the cartography and historical geography of the Kazakh State and of Turkic countries from the 9th to the 20th centuries.
Professor M.-A. Sydyknazarov’s research identified the original hydronym used for the Arctic Ocean in the European geographical and cartographic tradition: according to his findings, until the beginning of the 19th century, the Arctic Ocean was designated as the “Turkic Ocean” on European maps dating from the 15th–18th centuries.
Professor Sydyknazarov also identified demographic data on the Kazakh State in European cartographic sources. A French map dating from 1822 records the population of the Kazakh State as 4.5 million.
The historical name (urbanonym) of the city located near present-day Aktobe and previously referred to as “Laeti” was clarified: according to the research, its correct name was “Yaikty/Zhaiykty”, rather than Laeti.
For the first time in Kazakhstan’s history, Professor Sydyknazarov established permanent exhibitions entitled “Galleries of Historical European and American Maps of the Kazakh State of the 15th–19th Centuries” in Kazakhstan, including in Astana, Almaty, Kokshetau, Oral, Aktobe, Turkistan, Karaganda, Shymkent and Oskemen, as well as abroad in Brussels (Belgium), Paris (France), Moscow (Russia), London (United Kingdom), San Francisco and Chicago (United States), and Warsaw (Poland). These exhibitions provide valuable cartographic material for Kazakhstani and international researchers.
Hundreds of cartographic sources relating to other Turkic states and peoples - including, in alphabetical order, Azerbaijanis, Bashkirs, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz, Nogais, Tatars, Turkmens, Turks and Uzbeks - previously unknown to Kazakhstani and international researchers, have been introduced into scholarly circulation, substantially broadening the understanding of the political history of Central Asia and Central Eurasia.
Three certificates of authorship were obtained: 1) No. 33712 dated 17 March 2023; 2) No. 54265 dated 6 February 2025; 3) No. 54172 dated 4 February 2025.
The first Kazakh scholar to be invited to deliver a research presentation at a meeting of the Academic Council of the French Academy of Sciences (September 2023).
On the basis of his research findings, Professor Sydyknazarov was invited to deliver a research presentation at the Polish Academy of Sciences (November 2024).
Employment History:
2012- Present - Director, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Modern Studies, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU); Professor at L.N. Gumilyov ENU.
2009 - 2012 - PhD Student, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU); Specialization: Political Science.
2004 - 2009 - Director of the Department of Science and International Relations, Taraz State Pedagogical Institute (TarSPI); Advisor to the Rector, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU).
1998 -2004 - Research Fellow, Senior Researcher, Chief Researcher, Head of Department.
Education:
2018 – Internship at the United Nations Security Council, New York, USA.
2012 – Honors Degree: PhD Program, Faculty of Political Science and Faculty of International Relations, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU), Astana.
2011 – Honors Degree: Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Warsaw.
2011 – Research Program, Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) (Ranked among the world's top 30 think tanks), Warsaw.
2010 – Honors Degree: Institute of Continuing Education, L.N. Gumilyov ENU; Major: International Law, Astana.
2009 – Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.
2010 – Internship at the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland.
2008 – Internship at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland.
2008 – Honors Degree: Faculty of Law and Administration, Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań, Poland); awarded based on research defense under the Fulbright Foundation grant.
2002 – Honors Degree: Postgraduate Studies (Candidate of Sciences), early dissertation defense at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU).
1997 – Honors Degree: Faculty of Philology, M.Kh. Dulaty Taraz State University.
Selected Publications & Research:
Over 180 scientific publications, 10 Monographs.
