Sultanov B.K. Kazakhstan Today

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

40 41

This started another ﬁ ght for power and the Kazakh Khanate was

split, as a result of which the Little and Middle Zhuzes adopted Rus-

sian citizenship. From that time on Kazakhstan’s history was linked

to that of the Russian Empire.

1.3. Kazakhstan in the Russian Empire

Kazakhstan’s accession into the Russian Empire was conducted in

several phases, starting in the ﬁ rst half of the 18

century and lasting

until the 1860s. The preconditions for Kazakhstan joining the Rus-

sian Empire were the strengthening of the latter after it incorporated

the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates and geopolitical considerations

of Kazakh khans.

Rapidly developing Russia was also interested in relations with

Kazakhstan in order to ensure security on traditional trade routes

through the Kazakh Khanate to Central Asia and build a buffer zone

on the southern borders of the empire. In the 16

century Russia

was already close to Kazakh tribal lands. Russian towns had already

emerged in the border areas – Tyumen, Tobolsk and Tomsk. Trade

was on the rise, and the Russian Empire’s inﬂ uence grew in Kazakh

lands.

The Little Zhuz joining Russia was a historically forced step

because by the middle of the 18

century, after China destroyed

Dzungaria, there was the danger of the victor’s expansion.

In 1730 the Little Zhuz khan, Abulkhair, proposed that the Rus-

sian government set up a military union. This was turned down

and instead it was suggested that his khanate become a Russian

protectorate. On 19 February 1731, Empress Anna Ioannovna signed

a decree regarding the Little Zhuz voluntarily joining the Russian

Empire. On 10 October 1731, Abulkhair and a majority of tribal

leaders of the Little Zhuz signed a treaty and took an oath on the

inviolability of the treaty.

It is worth noting that even though the Middle Zhuz, then ruled

by Khan Ablai, was to a lesser extent linked to Russia, while the

Great Zhuz was occupied by the Dzungars and the Kokand Khanate,

Abulkhair’s separate treaty became the beginning of the constantly

growing inﬂ uence of Russia on the lives of Kazakhs.

In 1740 the Middle Zhuz also became a Russian protectorate. In

1741-1742, the Dzungars again raided the lands of the Middle and

Little Zhuzes, but the involvement of Russian troops forced them

to withdraw. Khan Ablai himself was captured by the Dzungars but

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

42 43

was released a year later following mediation by Orenburg Governor

Ivan Neplyuyev.

As a result of the weakening of the Kazakh khans’ power and the

remoteness of new regions of Russia, part of the lands of the Middle

Zhuz, which formally became a Russian protectorate, and the lands

of the Great Zhuz fell under the Kokand Khanate.

In 1787, some Kazakh tribes of the Little Zhuz, which were pressed

by the Khiva Khanate, were allowed to cross the Ural River and settle

in trans-Volga regions. This decision was ofﬁ cially ﬁ xed by Emperor

Paul I in 1801, when 7,500 Kazakh households set up the vassal Bukei

(Interior) Horde, headed by Sultan Bukei.

This period was also signiﬁ ed by the emergence of the national

liberation movement of Kazakhs. The movement, led by Srym Datov,

was directly linked to the tsarist government’s attempts to regulate

the internal lives of dependent Kazakh tribes.

After adopting the Russian protectorate the signiﬁ cance of the

khan power declined, and the vertical power pyramid – khan-sul-

tans-tribal leaders – fell into pieces because each tribal leader tried to

independently agree with border and central authorities. As a result,

this increased internal confrontation and open disobedience to the

Russian administration and increased the number of attacks on border

posts, freezing trade with Central Asia in the 1790s.

Only by 1797 had Russia managed to pacify the majority of Kazakh

tribes and the rebellion subsided. Srym Datov had to move to lands

governed by the Khiva Khanate.

In 1818, several tribes of the Great Zhuz announced the adoption

of Russian protectorate. In the following 30 years (sometimes under

pressure, sometimes voluntarily) most tribes of the Great Zhuz became

Russian subjects.

In 1822, Emperor Alexander II signed a number of additional docu-

ments: the Statute on Governing the Zhetysu and Syrdarya Oblasts

and the Statute on Governing Turgai, Ural, Akmola and Semipala-

tinsk Oblasts. Bukei Horde became part of Astrakhan Province. The

Semirechiye Cossack Troops were established from Cossacks moved

from Siberia in the territory of Zhetysu which was regained from the

Kokand Khanate.

The continued incorporation of Kazakhstan into the Russian Em-

pire was not conducted without conﬂ ict. In 1836 a rebellion formed

in the Bukei Horde and lasted until 1838. The main cause of the

rebellion, led by Isatai Taimanov and Makhambet Utemisov, was the

impoverishment of the majority of Kazakhs as a result of shortages

of pastures.

Lands suitable for farming were regularly seized for build-

ing Cossack villages, and they were not distributed evenly. This

provoked spontaneous revolts, supported by tribal leader Isatai

Taimanov and poet Makhambet Utemisov. They urged people to

seize lands of the khan and the Urals Cossack Troops, cross the

Ural River and seize livestock. Several tribes with their leaders

joined the rebellion.

Despite many calls by rebellion leaders to solve the problem in

a lawful manner, the tsarist government decided to send punitive

expeditions of Urals and Astrakhan Cossacks along with regiments

loyal to Khan Dzhangir. In November 1837, the rebels were defeated

at Tas-Tyube. Dispersed groups of rebels managed to break through

to the left bank of the Ural River and regroup.

After a respite, Isatai Taimanov and Makhambet Utemisov man-

aged to attract additional forces and regrouped. This was of concern to

the tsarist government. As a result, an expedition made up of regular

troops, Urals and Orenburg Cossacks were sent to the other side of

the Ural River and the rebels were destroyed on 12 July 1838.

The longest and largest rebellion in the 19

century was the one

led by Khan Kenesary Kasymov between 1837 and 1844 and covered

the entire territory of the Middle Zhuz and parts of the Little and Great

Zhuzes. It was caused by discontent against the rapid colonisation of

lands and the strengthening and expansion of military border lines

and the shrinking life expanses of nomads, who lost the last remnants

of independence.

This discontent helped Khan Kenesary unite a great number of

Kazakh tribes. Military actions started in spring 1838 with the siege

and burning of the Akmola fort and rebels moved towards the Turgai

River. In September 1841, the leaders of the three Kazakh zhuzes

elected Kenesary Kasymov khan and declared the revival of the one

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

44 45

Kazakh Khanate. In August 1841 rebels laid siege Kokand fortresses

in Sozak, Zhana-Kurgan, Ak-Mechet and Zhulek. Some victories over

the Kokand Khanate helped expand Kenesary’s army.

The situation in the steppe stabilised in that period. Aiming to

improve the khanate’s economic situation, Kenesary banned obstacles

to and raids on trade caravans which paid good taxes. Diplomatic

correspondence was established and Russian, Bukhara and Khiva

envoys were received.

As a result, some Russian ofﬁ cials responsible for relations with

Asia, Orenburg Governor-General Perovsky in particular, started

advocating talks and proposing a semi-autonomous unit similar to

the Bukei Horde. Tsar Nicholas I’s response to these projects (“there

will not be two monarchies in one kingdom”) was straightforward

– the conﬂ ict was solved militarily in 1843.

In addition to Cossacks and regular troops, sultans loyal to the

tsarist government launched a campaign against Kenesary. Rebels

were ﬁ rst driven to the lands of the Great Zhuz and Siberian Cossack

troops forced them over the Ili River, then governed from Kokand.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Kenesary ﬂ ed to the lands of

the Kyrgyz in the foothills of Alatau. Entering into conﬂ ict with them,

Kenesary and the remnants of troops loyal to him were destroyed in

a battle on Lake Issyk-Kul.

Meanwhile, the administrative management of Kazakh lands

by the tsarist government continued, and in 1850 Kazakhstan was

divided into four regions with capitals in Uralsk, Turgai, Akmolinsk

and Semipalatinsk.

It should be noted that the governance of vast territories of Central

Asia was complicated because there were shortages of resources for

the establishment of administrations and skilled bureaucrats.

The regions were divided into districts, volosts and villages. A vil-

lage had between 50 and 70 houses and ten to 12 villages were grouped

into one volost, while ten to 15 volosts formed a district. Senior sultans,

whose administrative powers were preserved by the government, were

appointed to strengthen the government’s positions.

Volosts were headed by sultans, who were ranked as Grade 12

ofﬁ cials, and villages were headed by village leaders, whose rights

were similar to village perfects. The bi court system was preserved

with slight changes.

In the late 19

century, peasants from Russian and Ukrainian

provinces were moved to Turkestan. According to the Statute on Gov-

erning the Turkestan Territory, only “Russian subjects of Christian

faith from the rural folk” were allowed to settle. Migrant peasants

were offered over 3 million sq m of land each. This process was sped

up during famines and with the start of the Stolypin reforms. Short-

ages of farmland in the European part of Russia and the possibility

of receiving free land encouraged Russian peasants to move to the

Urals region, Siberia and Turkestan.

The census conducted in 1897 showed that out of 8 million people

living in Turkestan, Russians numbered about 700,000 people. Over

a half of them lived in Semirechiye and Syrdarya Oblasts. By 1916

Russians accounted for a quarter and a tenth of the local population

respectively.

Between 1906 and 1912 over 438,000 households of peasants

moved to Akmola, Turgai, Ural and Semipalatinsk Oblasts. More

than half of the migrants were involved in agriculture, a quarter in

administrative, judicial and military-police structures, and one in ten

was involved in industry.

Migrant peasants started growing their usual crops: winter wheat,

rye, oats, corn, potatoes, clover, ﬂ ax, cabbages, tomatoes and beet-

root, which were very rare in Turkestan. In addition, the local popu-

lation borrowed elements of animal husbandry such as making hay

because nomads grazed their animals in pastures in winter, which

was often accompanied by die-offs. There was some distribution of

labour: the local population was involved in animal husbandry and

grew cotton and watermelons, melons and gourds and crafts, while

Russian settlers supplied bread, vegetables and were involved in

dairy production.

Famines in central regions of Russia prompted new waves of

migration. Tens of thousands moved to Turkestan Territory in 1905-

1906, and in December 1910 the tsarist government allowed the mi-

gration directorate to seize nomads’ lands and give them to migrants.

Migration bureaucrats used this right to seize not only pastures from

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

46 47

Kazakhs but also winter grounds with cultivated land. Land conﬁ sca-

tions heavily damaged the nomadic lifestyle of Kazakhs because under

the disguise of excess land the government seized pastures.

All this combined with other factors led to the greatest rebellion

in Kazakhstan’s history – a national liberation rebellion led by Aman-

geldy Imanov in 1916.

In 1916, the government issued a decree mobilising male popula-

tions of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian regions aged between

19 and 43 “to work to build fortiﬁ ed facilities and do military service

on the frontlines”; according to the decree, 250,000 people from

Turkestan Territory and 230,000 people from Steppe Territory were

called up to the army. Until then the Kazakh population had not been

conscripted to serve in the army.

Discontent accumulated because of land grabs for building villages

for Cossacks and migrants, rapid impoverishment because of horse

and livestock sales for the needs of the ﬁ ghting army combined with

catastrophic rates of inﬂ ation burst the situation.

The rebellion, which covered most of Turkestan, including

Syrdarya, Akmola, Semipalatinsk, Semirechiye, Turgai and Ural

Oblasts with more than 10 million of their multiethnic populations,

was caused by the crushing of a rally in Khodzhent on 4 July 1916.

It was ofﬁ cially reported that about 20 rallies were held in Syrdarya

Oblast in July alone.

The rebellion was more organised in Turgai Oblast where large-

scale military actions covered the entire central Kazakhstan. Rebels

laid siege to the regional capital – Turgai. The tsarist government

was forced to send regular troops to rebel areas and the rebellion was

crushed by spring 1917.

Industrial production in the region started to take roots at the begin-

ning of the 20

century. The mining, gold and coal sectors developed

rapidly. At the turn of the centuries, the construction of railways helped

develop trade both in Kazakhstan and abroad.

The development of capitalist production formed multiethnic

working classes, 60% to 70% of which were Kazakhs.

Within the empire, Kazakhstan and Russia formed a single ad-

ministrative and economic entity. Russian settlers and local Kazakhs

were actively involved in economic and cultural relations that grew

into friendship between the peoples.

As a result, the fates of the Kazakh and Russian peoples were

intertwined. Today it is precisely these two ethnic groups that con-

stitute a reliable foundation for stability in Kazakhstan’s multiethnic

society.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

48 49

1.4. Kazakhstan in the USSR

The next stage in the development of Kazakh statehood started

during 1917, a critical year for the country. By that time Kazakhstan

already had its national cultural elite, who put forward ideas for in-

dependent development.

The Kazakh public, led by Alikhan Bukeikhanov at the beginning

of the 20

century, tried to re-establish the Kazakh statehood in 1917

as the Alash autonomy.

The evolution of opinions held by Bukeikhanov and his comrades

between the beginning of the century and 1917 led to the establishment

of the Alash party in July 1917 and the subsequent national liberation

struggle. Alash became a national democratic political organisation,

mainly made up of representatives of national intelligentsia. Alash’s

main idea was to achieve Kazakhstan’s economic and political inde-

pendence and adopt capitalistic relations in the country.

As a result, as early as 1917, the Kazakh cultural elite clearly

realised the basic differences between their national interests and the

interests and views of the Russian liberals.

Alash members fought for Kazakhstan’s independence using le-

gitimate political methods. The main ideological difference between

the Alash party and Bolsheviks concerned issues surrounding the

class repressive nature of the state.

Alash members had consistent views on issues of democratising

the government system. In their platform they advocated the presi-

dential form of government that was the most advanced at the time

and a democratic nature of elections to ensure the participation of all

people, regardless of their origin, in the election processes and spoke

in favour of personal immunity, freedom of speech, freedom of the

press and freedom of assembly.

After the Soviet government established itself throughout Kazakh-

stan, the leaders of the Alash party had to recognise it as the central

government of all ethnic minorities of Russia. Nevertheless, despite

this, they set a number of demands for the central Soviet government

to ensure the independence of the Alash autonomy to a certain extent.

Their chief demand was to unite all lands of the Kazakh people within

the Alash (Kazakh) autonomy, or restore the territorial integrity that

was destroyed during colonisation.

A signiﬁ cant role in the consolidation of Kazakh lands (governed

by the Kazakh Revolutionary Committee (Kazrevcom) and other

administrative-territorial units) and the future uniting of the Kazakh

republic, was played at an expanded meeting of Kazrevcom on

27 October 1919.

This meeting discussed the issue of convening an All-Kazakh

Congress of Soviets to solve the problem of uniting the Kazakh

people into one Soviet autonomous state that had great political

signiﬁ cance.

In his speech, Akhmet Baitursynov made a number of proposals:

1) the Soviet government should give the Kazakh people the right

to self-government; 2) the residents of some regions which earlier

opposed the Soviet government should be pardoned.

The expanded Kazrevcom meeting decided to convene an All-

Kazakh Conference of Soviets to discuss the problem of uniting the

Kazakh people. This conference was held in Aktobe on 3-11 Janu-

ary 1920 and gathered 250 delegates from Turgai, Ural, Akmola,

Syrdarya, Semirechiye, Fergana and Trans-Caspian Oblasts and Alash

party members.

The conference’s resolution On the Union of Kazakh Oblasts

stressed the need to unite all Kazakh oblasts into the Kazakh Autono-

mous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), which would join the Union

of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Based on this draft, the chairman of the Soviet of People’s Com-

missars (SPC) of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

(RSFSR), Vladimir Lenin, and the chairman of the All-Russian Cen-

tral Executive Committee of Soviets (ACEC), Mikhail Kalinin, signed

a decree On the Establishment of the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) Autonomous

Soviet Socialist Republic.

In accordance with the decree, the following oblasts and districts

became part of the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) Autonomous Soviet Socialist

Republic:

- Semipalatinsk Oblast with Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, Ust-Ka-

menogorsk, Zaisan and Karakaraly Districts;

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

50 51

- Akmola Oblast with Atbasar, Akmola, Kokshetau and Pet-

ropavlovsk Districts and parts of Omsk District;

- Turgai Oblast with Kostanai, Aktobe, Yrgyz and Turgai Dis-

tricts;

- Ural Oblast with Ural, Ilbish, Temir and Guryev (presently

Atyrau) Districts;

- Mangistau District of Trans-Caspian Oblast and Fourth and

Fifth Volosts of Krasnovodsk District of Trans-Caspian Oblast, in-

habited by members of the Adai tribe;

- the Bukei Horde, which was part of Astrakhan Province, and

Sinomor Volost and areas of First and Second Coastal Districts of

Astrakhan Province, inhabited by Kazakhs.

According to ofﬁ cial statistics from 1920, the Kazakh ASSR cov-

ered an area of 1,871,239 sq km and its population was 5,046,000

people. Ethnic Kazakhs accounted for over 46% of the total popula-

tion.

The declaration of the Kazakh ASSR became a major event in

ensuring the territorial integrity of Kazakh Soviet statehood.

At the same time, southern regions, populated by Kazakhs, were

still part of the Turkestan ASSR. Moreover, signiﬁ cant numbers of

Kazakhs were dispersed in the territories of the Khorezm and Bukhara

People’s Republics: Kazakhs accounted for 19.3% of the Turkestan

ASSR, 1.5% of the Bukhara People’s Republic and 3.5% of the

Khorezm People’s Republic.

The national-state demarcation of multiethnic Central Asia was

conducted in 1924 and it focused on the Turkestan ASSR, the Khorezm

and Bukhara People’s Republics. It resulted in the establishment of

the Uzbek SSR and Turkmen SSR; the Tajik ASSR as part of the Uz-

bek SSR; the Kyrgyz ASSR as part of the RSFSR, while the Kazakh

districts of former Semirechiye and Syrdarya Oblasts that were part

of the Turkestan ASSR were transferred to the Kazakh ASSR. The

territory of the Kazakh ASSR increased by 700,000 sq km, and its

population by 1,468,000 people.

The reform of the republic’s administrative division had been

completed by the beginning of 1925; after the capital city of the

Kazakh ASSR was moved from Orenburg to Ak-Mechet (present-

day Kyzylorda), and Orenburg and the districts around it had been

transferred to the RSFSR.

Thus, by 1925 almost all Kazakh lands had been united into one

republic and the task of ensuring its territorial integrity had been

completed.

In 1936, the Kazakh ASSR was transformed into a Soviet republic

and this was enshrined in the Soviet Constitution of 1936. Based on

and in line with the Soviet Constitution, a new constitution was drafted

for the Kazakh SSR. The tenth extraordinary All-Kazakh Congress

of Soviets, held in late March 1937, adopted the Constitution of the

Kazakh SSR, which consisted of 11 chapters.

In accordance with this constitution, the Kazakh SSR was de-

clared a socialist state of workers and peasants. It also declared that

the entire power belonged to workers represented by the Soviets of

Workers’ Deputies. The economic basis of the Kazakh SSR was the

socialist economic system and the socialist form of ownership of

production tools and means. Socialist property had two forms – state

and collective-cooperative. The small private holdings of peasants

and craftsmen were allowed if they were based on personal labour

and excluded the exploitation of someone else’s labour. It was stated

that the economic life of the Kazakh SSR was deﬁ ned and directed

by a state economic plan. The 1936 constitution also declared that

the Kazakh SSR voluntarily united with other Soviet republics into

the USSR – a union state and had the right to freely leave the USSR.

The constitution also deﬁ ned the republic’s administrative-territorial

organisation and speciﬁ ed that the territory of the Kazakh SSR could

not be changed without its consent. It also recognised single Soviet

citizenship and citizenship of the Kazakh SSR. The spheres of pow-

ers of the Kazakh SSR and its supreme bodies of government system

were clearly deﬁ ned.

The supreme body of government of the Kazakh SSR was the

Supreme Soviet which was recognised as the only legislative body.

Deputies of the Supreme Soviet were elected by popular vote for four

years. The Supreme Soviet elected the presidium of the Supreme So-

viet consisting of a chairman, two deputy chairmen, secretary and 15

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

52 53

members. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was given the right

to issue legislative decrees and was delegated other powers. Deputies

of the Supreme Soviet enjoyed parliamentary immunity.

The constitution also deﬁ ned the structure of the central bodies

of government. The supreme executive body of government of the

Kazakh SSR was the Soviet of People’s Commissars which was re-

sponsible for and accountable to the Supreme Soviet and its presidium.

The Soviet of People’s Commissars set up people’s commissariats:

union-republican and republican.

The local bodies of government were the Soviets of Workers’

Deputies which were elected by popular vote for two years. Soviets

elected executive committees which were executive bodies. The

forms of the work of the Soviets, the frequency of their convocation,

the structure of executive committees and spheres of their activities

were also deﬁ ned. The structure of local executive bodies was always

changing, which entailed constitutional amendments.

At the end of 1936, the Kazakh SSR was divided into eight oblasts,

and then later in January 1938, a further three oblasts – Kyzylorda,

Pavlodar and Guryev (Atyrau) – were created; 18 months later, in

October 1939, another three oblasts – Semipalatinsk, Zhambyl and

Akmola – were formed. In March 1944, Kokshetau Oblast was

separated from North Kazakhstan Oblast and Taldykorgan Oblast

was separated from Almaty Oblast. As a result, by 1945 there were

16 regions in the Kazakh SSR.

Taldykorgan Oblast and Akmola Oblast were abolished (in 1959

and 1960 respectively), and then in 1962 three territories were cre-

ated within the Kazakh SSR – West Kazakhstan Territory (which

included Aktobe, Ural (present-day West Kazakhstan Oblast) and

Guryev (Atyrau) Oblasts) with its administrative centre in Aktobe;

South Kazakhstan Territory (which included Kyzylorda, Shymkent

(present-day South Kazakhstan Oblast) and Zhambyl Oblasts) with the

capital in Shymkent; and Tselinny Territory (which included Kostanai,

North Kazakhstan, Kokshetau (whose territory was divided between

the North Kazakhstan and Akmola Oblasts in 1999), Pavlodar and

Tselinograd (which was restored in 1961, present-day Akmola Oblast)

Oblasts) with its centre in Tselinograd (present-day Astana).

West Kazakhstan Oblast was then renamed Ural Oblast, and South

Kazakhstan Oblast was renamed Shymkent Oblast. This was done to

prevent confusion between these regions with the freshly established

territories.

On 20 April 1978 the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR adopted

a new constitution. Its preamble stated that a society of genuinely

free people of labour in which the prosperity and culture of people

had been steadily improving had been created. It was claimed that

the Kazakh SSR was an equal republic of the USSR, which united

all peoples and ethnic groups.

These provisions of the constitution did not reﬂ ect the real state of

Kazakh society in which discontent was brewing over the worsening

living conditions, the Communist Party’s diktat and the absence of

any hope for the republic’s sovereignty. This discontent was openly

manifested in Almaty in December 1986.

The constitution of the Kazakh SSR had 10 chapters and was mod-

elled on the Soviet constitution of 1977. One of its chapters discussed

the national-state and administrative-territorial system of the Kazakh

SSR. In contrast to the constitution of 1937, the new constitution had

a chapter which extended the sovereign rights of the republic to an

extent. For example, one of its articles said that the Kazakh SSR was

involved in solving issues that fell into the jurisdiction of the USSR

in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme

Soviet of the USSR, the Soviet government and other bodies of the

USSR. The Kazakh SSR had the right to establish relations with for-

eign countries, conclude treaties with them and exchange diplomatic

and consular representatives with them and take part in the activities

of international organisations. It is worth noting that the Kazakh

SSR could exercise these legal provisions only under monitoring by

central bodies.

The republic’s government system was described in the consti-

tution’s ﬁ fth chapter which contained provisions about the Supreme

Soviet, its structure, lawmaking activities, the Presidium of the Su-

preme Soviet and their powers. It was stated that the Supreme Soviet

of the Kazakh SSR had powers to solve all issues that the Soviet

constitution delegated to a union republic. This meant that in this

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

54 55

constitution, like in previous constitutions, the principle of division

of powers between branches of power was not enshrined.

Legally the Supreme Soviet was able to solve all issues which fell

under the jurisdiction of the Kazakh SSR. However, this was just a

formal provision because all those issues were preliminarily solved by

the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

(CC CPSU) and only after that were they legally adopted.

The constitution meticulously regulated the status of the Council

of Ministers – the government – as the supreme executive body of

government. The Council of Ministers united and directed the work

of union republican and republican ministries and state committees.

In 1986 there was an event that was a harbinger of Kazakhstan’s

independence. On 16 December 1986, the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of Kazakhstan held its ﬁ fth plenum and discussed

the sole organisational issue – the replacement of the political ﬁ gure

who had governed the republic for no less than a quarter of a century:

First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of

Kazakhstan, Dinmukhamed Kunayev.

Gennady Kolbin, who had previously been ﬁ rst secretary of the

Ulyanovsk Oblast Committee of the Communist Party and had won

Mikhail Gorbachev’s approval for actively pursuing an anti-alcohol

campaign in Russia’s Ulyanovsk Oblast, became the new head of

Kazakhstan. No adviser of Gorbachev in the Kremlin, neither he

himself, had analysed the situation at the time and could not predict

people’s reaction to an unknown gaining power. Kremlin functionaries

continued to regard Kazakhstan as their patrimony. Even the Central

Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan was not informed

about the new appointment.

On 16 December ﬁ rst a small group of working and student youth

staged a protest action in Almaty against the Communist Party’s deci-

sion. The rally was peaceful and was of a political nature, but it did

not call for the overthrow of the constitutional system nor attack any

other ethnic group. On the second day when the number of protesters

reached several thousand, mainly students, Moscow ordered the Bliz-

zard-86 operation, aimed at dispersing protesters using army units,

special-task troops, police and the KGB.

The December 1986 events, which shocked the entire world,

proved that a new generation whose national consciousness was above

all deﬁ ned by the honour of its people had emerged in the Kazakh

lands. It was the ﬁ rst time in 70 years the younger generation had

delivered a worthy rebuff to all the hardships experienced by Kazakh-

stan because of the administrative-command and often simply violent

policy of the central government in Moscow. This was the beginning

of the movement towards democracy as part of perestroika across the

entire Soviet Union.

Perestroika gave rise to some democratisation of society. For ex-

ample, the election legislation was amended in 1989. With the aim of

ensuring the representation of public organisations it was decided to

allow them to elect a quarter of all members of the Supreme Soviet.

Public organisations elected members of the Supreme Soviet at their

congresses and republican conferences.

Another novelty was that members of the Supreme Soviet were

relieved of their jobs for the duration of their parliamentary mandate.

This was the ﬁ rst, small step towards parliamentarianism.

From 1987, production fell in the USSR, and, as a consequence,

in Kazakhstan too. At the same time, the party-government system

became increasingly paralysed. In 1989 the 15

congress of the Com-

munist Party of Kazakhstan relieved Gennady Kolbin of his post of

ﬁ rst secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of

Kazakhstan and replaced him with Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Nursultan Nazarbayev began to implement his own programme.

The priority objectives for the new head of Kazakhstan were: ﬁ rstly,

strengthening social stability, civil and interethnic accord; secondly,

drafting and conducting a programme of economic reforms; thirdly,

carefully deﬁ ning and dividing powers between republican and central

government bodies.

In accordance with the Kazakh SSR Law On the Adoption of the

Post of the President of the Kazakh SSR and Making Amendments

and Addenda to the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR of 24 April 1990,

the 1978 constitution acquired a new chapter – “President of the

Kazakh SSR” which stipulated provisions on the status and powers

of president. That same day Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected the

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

56 57

republic’s ﬁ rst president by a decision by the Supreme Soviet of

Kazakhstan.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union and the emergence of an

independent, sovereign state, the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR

stopped corresponding to new political, economic, social and ideo-

logical realities.

In October 1990 the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh

SSR was adopted.

The Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic

of Kazakhstan, adopted on 16 December 1991, blocked the effect of

the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR of 1978 without abolishing it

legally, because the basic provisions for the new independent state

and the corresponding new conceptual ideas and principles required

the adoption of a new constitution.

1.5. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR

and the Constitutional Law On State Independence

of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Against the background of a general political decline in June

1989, a plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of

Kazakhstan nominated Nursultan Nazarbayev for the post of the head

of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. After that by the Supreme

Soviet’s decision he was elected ﬁ rst president of the Kazakh SSR.

Later, at the end of 1991, the popular election of the ﬁ rst president was

held for the ﬁ rst time in Kazakhstan’s history. Nursultan Nazarbayev

became president with the majority of the vote.

In the early 1990s, prior to the adoption of the country’s new

constitution, the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR, adopted in 1978,

was still formally in effect. It is fair to note that this constitution had

many provisions that were democratic in nature, even though it was

adopted in Soviet times. It clearly reﬂ ected the unity of power and the

fact that it belonged to the people. However, this constitution, which

was adopted in politically stagnant times, was adapted to the then

situation: the extremely high levels of concentration of government

functions in the hands of the Communist Party.

From 1990 onwards a number of fundamental amendments

were made to the constitution, taking into account the situation that

emerged. The ﬁ rst legislative act of this sort was the Declaration

Of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR adopted on 25 October

1990.

Thus, in keeping with existing political realities, Kazakhstan

adopted the declaration of state sovereignty in October 1990, which

was later enshrined in the Constitutional Law On State Independence

of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1991. These legislative acts deﬁ ned

the realisation of Kazakhstan’s place and role as an independent

democratic and lawful state, as an equal and fully-ﬂ edged member

of the international community.

The Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR started

the real, practical fulﬁ lment of the country’s state sovereignty. The

Kazakhs, ﬁ rst as part of the RSFSR and then of the USSR, had prac-

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

58 59

tically no state sovereignty and, as a result, were not able to act as a

real entity of international law.

The historical signiﬁ cance of the declaration is, above all, that it

has given real meaning to the country’s state sovereignty and reminded

Kazakhstan of its own statehood with its centuries-old history, culture

and established state and legal traditions, stressing the principle of

the territorial integrity of Kazakhstan and declaring the system of

division of power as the most important principle of the country’s

functioning as a democratic and lawful state.

The declaration ﬁ xed the inviolability and integrity of Kazakhstan’s

territory and deﬁ ned the country as an entity of the international law.

This historical document declared three fundamental norms that have

considerably expanded Kazakhstan’s sovereign rights.

First is the principle of the supremacy of the country’s constitution

and laws on Kazakhstan’s territory and the country’s right to suspend

on its territory the effect of acts violating the country’s sovereign

rights and constitution.

Second is the principle of Kazakhstan’s exclusive ownership of

national wealth in its territory. In addition, it proclaimed the country’s

right to its share in the common union property, including in the dia-

mond, foreign exchange and gold reserves of the USSR.

Third is Kazakhstan’s right to act as an independent entity in

international relations and deﬁ ne its foreign policy to pursue its own

interests.

In essence, the declaration became the ﬁ rst fundamental legislative

act of the young country that began a preparatory stage of the further

development of the country’s state and legal system in order to shape

full state independence.

The second legislative act of this scale was the Constitutional

Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, adopted

on 16 December 1991, which recognised the legal status of the

country as a sovereign state. This day is now marked as national

holiday – the Independence Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan

every year.

On this day the Supreme Soviet, expressing the people’s will,

solemnly declared the country’s state independence and stated that

it exercised full power in its territory, independently deﬁ ning and

pursuing its domestic and foreign policy.

The constitutional law declared Kazakhstan as an independent,

democratic and lawful state, exercising full power on its territory.

The signiﬁ cance of these provisions is proven by the fact that they

have since been ﬁ xed and further developed in the provisions of the

current Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Having developed the key ideas of the declaration of state sover-

eignty, the constitutional law univocally set that the Republic of Ka-

zakhstan would build its relations with all countries on the principles

of international law as required from an independent state. Moreover,

the constitutional law clearly deﬁ ned the future aspects of the coun-

try’s economic, legal, socio-cultural and political development.

The constitutional law also established the state’s policy for the

creation of an independent economic system with its own ﬁ nancial

and credit, tax and customs policy based on a plurality of form of

ownership. The economic system, speciﬁ ed in the constitutional law,

has strengthened through the creation of ﬁ nancial and credit, tax and

customs institutions and the adoption of the country’s national cur-

rency, the tenge, in 1993.

Based on the provisions of the constitutional law, Kazakhstan

very quickly created all the necessary attributes of statehood. It also

endorsed symbols of the state – the national ﬂ ag, the national emblem,

the national anthem and state decorations.

Single citizenship of Kazakhstan was adopted for the ﬁ rst time.

Taking into account this institution, literally days after the declaration

of independence – on 20 December 1991, the country adopted the

Law On Citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In order to protect the country’s independence and territorial in-

tegrity the constitutional law envisaged creating Kazakhstan’s own

power-wielding structures – the armed forces, the Republican Guard,

internal and border troops.

In addition, the constitutional law, conﬁ rming the Kazakh nation’s

right to self-determination, recognised “the united people of Kazakh-

stan” as the only source of government in the country. The united

people are made up by the Kazakh nation along with citizens of the

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood