SUMMARY:

The article examines trends in post-Soviet Kazakh historiography which have been developed according to the needs of the current Kazakh state. In the post-Soviet sphere, the Kazakh government has felt the need to present itself as the legitimate inheritor of the relatively well-developed Eurasian civilization which was concentrated in the hands of the Khans in the 15th – 17th centuries. Incorporated in this new view is a discussion of the period of the inclusion into the Russian Empire which contradicts the thesis formed in the 1950’s which characterizes this inclusion as voluntary. Post Soviet Kazakhstan scholars use the term “colonization” which is viewed as the mechanism of destruction of traditional forms of government, culture, and traditional nomadic society. The high point of modern Kazakh historiography is manifested in the attention paid to popular movements in steppe territories in the 19th century. The author believes that the attention now given to the national history of the Republic of Kazakhstan is based on the need to refute great-Russian imperial historiography and Soviet internationalism in a push to revive an independent nation.