Ethnic Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia in the Context of Cultural Integration and Political Change: Historical and Demographic Aspects

Abstract

This study seeks to identify key trends in the transformation of the ethno-demographic structure and the mechanisms of ethno-political regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan within the broader context of post Soviet modernisation. Drawing upon data from Kazakhstan’s population censuses (1989–2025), relevant legislative and regulatory acts, and public statements, the research traces the principal stages in the evolution of state ethnic policy and the processes of interethnic integration.

The findings reveal that between 1989 and 2025, the proportion of the Kazakh population increased more than one and a half times, rising from 39.7% to 70.4%, while the share of the largest European minorities—primarily Russians—declined to a historic low of approximately 15%. This demographic shift was facilitated by state programmes for the repatriation of ethnic Kazakhs, initiatives to stimulate natural population growth, and targeted measures designed to ensure socio economic stability in vulnerable regions.

Particular attention is devoted to the role of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, an institution that has evolved from a platform celebrating cultural diversity into a symbol of national unity centred on the Kazakh language and shared civic values. Language courses for returnees, support for bilingual education, and projects aimed at retaining young professionals have played a crucial role in stabilising human resources and mitigating the effects of brain drain.

The results of this study may serve as a foundation for practical recommendations to further refine ethnic policy and migration management. They also provide a valuable basis for comparative analysis of integration models in multinational states across Central Asia, offering insights into the interplay between demographic transformation, ethnic regulation, and national modernisation.

Keywords

Demographic Advantage, Repatriation of Oralmans, Interethnic Harmony, Language Policy, Migration Processes, National Identity, Kazakhstan

Author Biography

Ganiy Karassayev

Ganiy Karassayev is a Doctor of Historical Sciences and Professor in the Department of Source Studies, Historiography and National History at the Institute of State History in Astana. A graduate of the History Faculty of the Abai Kazakh Pedagogical Institute, he has served as a senior research leader at the Institute of State History since 2013. His principal research areas include the history of eastern Kazakhstan and the Altai region, especially long-term economic and cultural interaction, and the foreign policy of independent Kazakhstan. His scholarly output exceeds 300 publications and methodological works, including 12 monographs, and his research has appeared in Kazakhstan and abroad. He has participated in more than 100 conferences and holds memberships and expert roles in historical and scientific organisations.

Kanat Yensenov

Kanat Yensenov is a PhD holder and Associate Professor in the Department of History of Kazakhstan at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana. He completed historical studies at Shakarim State University and Farabi University and received the Candidate of Historical Sciences degree in 2007. His research interests include the history of Kazakhstan, historical demography of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, interethnic relations, historiography, source studies, and historical methodology. He has undertaken archival research in Moscow and Belarus and has worked in major historical research institutes in Kazakhstan. He is the author of more than 100 scientific works, including five monographs, a co-authored textbook, and articles in Scopus-indexed journals. He has also led funded projects on interethnic accord and ethnodemographic development.

Bekmurat Naimanbayev

Bekmurat Naimanbayev is a Full Doctor and Professor in the Department of History of Kazakhstan and Social Disciplines at South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after U. Zhanibekov in Shymkent. His publication profile covers modern and contemporary history, interethnic relations, foreign policy, regional cooperation, and cultural traditions. The listed works address the rehabilitation of deportees to Kazakhstan, the historical model of interethnic accord, relations between Kazakhstan and the European Union, regional dimensions of foreign policy, and cooperation with Central Asian states. His research also considers the origins, life, and traditions of Kazakhs in Central Asia and the role of religious traditions in the development of Turkic culture and their significance for contemporary society.

Kulpash Ilyassova

Kulpash Ilyassova is a PhD holder and Associate Professor in the Department of Oriental Studies at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana. Her listed areas of expertise include political participation and case-study research. The publication record provided demonstrates a broad interest in Kazakhstan’s political, historical, legal, and urban development. Her works address Kazakhstan’s partnership with the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, the historiography of the Alash movement, environmental conditions in East Kazakhstan, and the establishment and evolution of Astana as the national capital. She has also contributed to research on the recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards in Kazakhstan, reflecting an interdisciplinary academic profile.

Dametken Suleimenova

Dametken Suleimenova holds a PhD and is an Associate Professor in the Department of History of Socio-Economic Development of Kazakhstan at the Institute of State History of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana. Her institutional and departmental profile places her academic work within the historical study of Kazakhstan’s socio-economic development. It also reflects engagement with research conducted in a specialised state-history institute, where historical processes are examined through documentary, institutional, economic, and social perspectives. The information supplied identifies her principal professional profile through her academic rank, research institution, and specialisation in socio-economic historical analysis.

References

1. 10.20.2010 Speech by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev at the XVI session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. (2010). https://www.akorda.kz/ru/speeches/internal_political_affairs/in_speeches_and_addresses/vystuplenie-prezidenta-respubliki-kazakhstan-n-a-nazarbaeva-na-xvi-sessii-assamblei-naroda-kazakhstana-20-10-2010g_1340717888
2. Abasilov, A., Kapalbek, B. (2024). Linguistic dynamics and language policy in Kazakhstan: Challenges and future prospects. European Journal of Language Policy, 16(2), 155-176. https://doi.org/10.3828/ejlp.2024.9
3. Abdraimov, E.A., Sadykov, T.S., Kabyltayeva, S.K. (2023). Assembly of the people of Kazakhstan: history and activities at the present stage. Bulletin of the Karaganda University. History and Philosophy Series, 109(1), 7-13. http://doi.org/10.31489/2023HPh1/7-13
4. Abdykulova, G., Mussabalina, G.T., Bukanova, R.G., Kazhenova, G.T. (2019). Research methodology of the city’s history of everyday life. Opcion, 35(20), 49-68. https://produccioncientificaluz.org/index.php/opcion/article/view/24507
5. Aliyeva, S. (2025). Interdisciplinary dialogues: Combining science and art in contemporary cultural production. Interdisciplinary Cultural and Humanities Review, 4(2), 48-57. https://doi.org/10.59214/cultural/1.2025.48
6. Apsamatova, E., Stempkovskaya, E. (2024). Youth identity crisis and the search for the meaning of life. Bulletin of the Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, 16(2), 94-99. https://doi.org/10.58649/1694-8033-2024-2(118)-94-99
7. Assembly of People of Kazakhstan. (2025a). The activities of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan. https://assembly.kz/en/prochee/the-activities-of-the-assembly-of-people-of-kazakhstan/
8. Assembly of People of Kazakhstan. (2025b). Activity. https://assembly.kz/en/ank/obshchaya-informatsiya/deyatelnost/
9. Azhimov, B., Kairbekov, N., Bulan, Z., Imammadi, T. (2026). Researching a new religious phenomenon of the central asia: digital sufism. Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe, 46(1), 90-110. https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2710
10. Bazarbekov, T.R., Sarsembayev, A.B., Zhumzhayeva, N.B. (2024). Kazakhstan’s Management of Migration: Adapting to New Circumstances. Astana: Maqsut Narikbayev University. http://repository.kazguu.kz/bitstream/handle/123456789/2090/Gr%205%20Bazarbekov%20T.%20R.%2c%20Sarsembayev%20A.%20B.%2c%20Zhumzhayeva%20N.%20B..pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
11. Bekzhanova, Z., Makoelle, T.M. (2023). Latinization of the Kazakh alphabet: Implications for education, inclusion, and social cohesion in Kazakhstan. SAGE Open, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221138820
12. Bokayev, B., Torebekova, Z., Davletbayeva, Z. (2020). Preventing brain drain: Kazakhstan’s presidential “Bolashak” scholarship and government regulations of intellectual migration. Public Policy and Administration, 19(3), 25-35. http://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.19.3.27764
13. Boman, B., Mussakhanova, A. (2024). Going in three directions: Parallel trajectories of Kazakhstanization, Westernization, and post Soviet multiculturalism in Kazakhstan’s elementary and secondary education. Globalisation, Societies and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2024.2355203
14. Brait, B., Souza, G.T., Amorim, M., Silva, A.P.F.P., Pistori, M.H.C., Rosa, C.G., Stella, P.R., Storto, L.J. (2025). Bakhtin and Linguistics: A Dialogue Settled in the Beginning of the 20’s/. Bakhtiniana, 20(1), e66039e. https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-4573e66039
15. Bureau of National Statistics. (2025a). Economics. https://stat.gov.kz/en/industries/social-statistics/demography/publications/157662
16. Bureau of National Statistics. (2025b). Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan by individual ethnic groups and age groups (at the beginning of 2025). https://stat.gov.kz/en/industries/social statistics/demography/publications/337150/
17. Census of Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1999. (2025). https://e-history.kz/en/calendar/show/27842
18. Dave, B. (2007). Kazakhstan: Ethnicity, Language and Power. London: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Kazakhstan---Ethnicity-Language-and-Power/Dave/p/book/9780415482981
19. Davletova, G., Dosekeyva, K., Junusbayeva, A., Chatybekova, K., Zhuztayeva, B. (2025). Ethno-demographic and urbanisation processes in Kazakhstan (1970-2020). RIVAR, 12(34), 68-81. http://doi.org/10.35588/6hngqr67
20. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 1014 “On Approval of the Concept for the Development of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan for 2022-2026”. (2022). https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/U2200001014
21. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 383 “On the State Program of Housing Construction in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2008-2010”. (2007). https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/U070000383_
22. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 856 “On the Strategy of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and the Regulation on the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan”. (2002). https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/U020000856_
23. Doszhan, R. (2023). Multi-vector cultural connection in the conditions of modern globalisation. Interdisciplinary Cultural and Humanities Review, 2(1), 27-32. https://doi.org/10.59214/2786-7110-2023-2-1-27-32
24. Eschment, B., De Cordier, B. (2021). Introduction: Ethnic, civic, or both? The ethnicities of Kazakhstan in search of an identity and homeland. Central Asian Affairs, 8(4), 315-318. https://doi.org/10.30965/22142290-12340010
25. Hoff, S.L., Barboza, G. (2025). Languages, Language, and Linguists: The Study of the Diversity of Languages According to Saussure and Benveniste. Bakhtiniana, 20(1), e65692e. https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-4573e65692
26. Ilieva, R.K. (2020). Problematics Concerning the Bulgarian Cross-Border Labor Migration. International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, 7(4), 12-14, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V7I4P103
27. Insebayeva, S., Insebayeva, N. (2022). The power of ambiguity: National symbols, nation-building and political legitimacy in Kazakhstan. Europe-Asia Studies, 74(4), 660-682. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2021.1912296
28. Jahelka, T. (2024). The Critical Theologian and Philosopher Karol Nandrásky. Filozofia, 79(1), 81-89. https://doi.org/10.31577/filozofia.2024.79.1.6
29. Kaimoldiyev, A. (2021). Improvement of governmental policy in the field of educational migration: Strategies for applying intellectual potential in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Astana: The Academy of Public Administration Under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. http://repository.apa.kz/handle/123456789/827
30. Kappassova, G., Altybassarova, M., Yelmuratov, G., Rakhimbaeva, M., Polomarchuk, B. (2024). Migration processes in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Regularities, problems, and prospects. Two Homelands, 59, 106-130. https://doi.org/10.3986/2024.1.07
31. Koshbakova, B. (2022). Sociocultural identity of the Kyrgyz in the context of globalization. Bulletin of the Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, 14(1), 137-143. https://balasagynbulletin.com/en/journals/tom-14-1-2022/sotsiokulturnaya-identichnost-kyrgyzov-v-usloviyakh-globalizatsii
32. Kucherbayeva, D., Smagulova, J. (2023). Language revitalization: Challenges for Kazakh in higher education. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 14(2), 166-178. https://doi.org/10.1177/18793665231189326
33. Kuldasheva, Z. (2024). Labor migration in Central Asia: Issues, impacts, and strategic solutions. Slovak Journal of International Relations, 22(2), 162-182. https://doi.org/10.53465/SJIR.1339-2751.2024.2.162-182
34. Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 204 “On Population Migration”. (1997). https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/Z970000204_/links
35. Lazëri, M. 2024. The National Majority as a Local Minority: National Identity, Dominance, and the Minority Experience. Amsterdam: Free University of Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.5463/thesis.813
36. Makhanov, K. (2025a). The ethnic profile of urbanization in Kazakhstan: The intercensal change between 2009 and 2021. https://www.eurasian-research.org/publication/the-ethnic-profile-of-urbanization-in-kazakhstan-the-intercensal-change-between-2009-and-2021/
37. Makhanov, K. (2025b). The trends of language shift in education in Kazakhstan. https://eurasian-research.org/publications/the-trends-of-language-shift-in-education-in-kazakhstan/
38. Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Committee on Statistics. (2025). Kazakhstan during the years of independence. https://stat.gov.kz/upload/medialibrary/804/8eflcs9o9il7u7a76lc3bktetpvl66b7/1.%20Kazakhstan%20during%20the%20years%20of%20independence.pdf
39. Minority Rights Group. (2025). Germans in Kazakhstan. https://minorityrights.org/communities/germans/
40. Narymbaeva, A., Rakhymzhanov, Y., Abdukarimova, Z., Osmanova, G., Satbayeva, A., Alimbetova, A. (2024). Exploring Intellectual and Educational Migration in Kazakhstan: Documentary Analysis. Access to Justice in Eastern Europe, 7(4), 317-346. https://doi.org/10.33327/AJEE-18-7.4-a000128
41. Report of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev at the first session of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (March 24, 1995). (1995). https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=30007149
42. Report of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev at the third session of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (April 29, 1996). (1996). https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=30014233
43. Report of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev at the fourth session of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (June 6, 1997). (1997). https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=30014234
44. Report of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev at the fifth session of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (January 21, 1999). (1999). https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=30014236
45. Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 1126 “On Approval of the Nurly Kosh Program for 2009-2011”. (2008). https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/P080001126_
46. Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 602 “On Approval of the Concept of Migration Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2017-2021 and the Action Plan for the implementation of the Concept of Migration Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2017-2021”. (2017). https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/P1700000602
47. Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No.1869 “On the Implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 10, 1997 No. 3790 “On declaring 1998 the Year of National Unity and National History”. (1997). https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/P970001869_
48. Results of the 2009 national population census. (2010). https://bizmedia.kz/2010-11-15-itogi-naczionalnoj-perepisi-naseleniya-2009-goda-2/#:~:text=%
49. Sadvokassova, A., Burkhanov, A., Sharipova, D. (2025). In search for Kazakhstani identity: Societal perceptions of Kazakhstan’s nation-building. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 31(1), 114-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2024.2422198
50. Schatz, E. (2004). Modern Clan Politics: The Power of “Blood” in Kazakhstan and Beyond. Seattle: University of Washington Press. https://books.google.com.ua/books/about/Modern_Clan_Politics.html?id=vhLg4p4viUIC&redir_esc=y
51. Schiek, S. (2022). The politics of stability in Kazakhstan: Depoliticising participation through consultative ideology? Europe-Asia Studies, 74(2), 266-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2022.2034746
52. Sharimova, M. (2024). Repatriation in Kazakhstan: Relevance of terminology and social adaptation (according to the results of sociological research). Journal of Psychology & Sociology, 88(1), 98-109. https://doi.org/10.26577/jpss.2024.v88.i1.08
53. Smagulova, J., Suleimenova, E. (2023). Toward Post-Russianness? Narrative Adjustment among Kazakhstani Teachers of Russian. In: Russian as a Transnational Language: Resonance, Remembrance, Renewal (pp. 35-62). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003088004
54. Speech by the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev at the XXII session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. (2015). https://www.akorda.kz/ru/speeches/internal_political_affairs/in_speeches_and_addresses/vystuplenie-prezidenta-kazahstana-nnazarbaeva-na-hhii-sessii-assamblei-naroda-kazahstana
55. Speech by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev at the eighth session of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (Astana, October 24, 2001). (2001). https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=30014242
56. Speech by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev at the XII session of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (Astana, October 24, 2006). (2006). https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=30074242
57. Taldybayeva, D., Serikkaliyeva, A., Nadirova, G., Zhailybayev, D. (2021). Young repatriates in Kazakhstan: Problems and solutions. In: International Society for Technology, Education, and Science (pp. 42-55). Antalya: ISTES Organization. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED623789.pdf
58. Terlikbayeva, N., Menlibekova, G. (2021). The dynamics of language shift in Kazakhstan. Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 12-22. https://doi.org/10.32996/jeltal.2021.3.2.2
59. The Head of State held the XXXIII session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan “Unity. Creation. Progress”. (2024). https://www.akorda.kz/ru/glava-gosudarstva-provel-hhhiii-sessiyu-assamblei-naroda-kazahstana-edinstvo-sozidanie-progress-2531558
60. The Head of State took part in the work of the XXXII session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan “Fair Kazakhstan: Unity, Stability, Development”. 2023. https://www.akorda.kz/ru/glava-gosudarstva-prinyal-uchastie-v-rabote-xxxii-sessii-assamblei-naroda-kazahstana-spravedlivyy-kazahstan-edinstvo-stabilnost-razvitie-273488
61. Tsyrfa, I. (2013). The formation of the European identity of Ukraine: Key factors and principles. Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review, 30, 43-63. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=36550
62. Tsyrfa, I., Serbina, N., Daineko, V., Rozhkova, M., Bozhkov, A. (2024). Research on the legal principles of foreign policy identity in international relations. Social and Legal Studios, 7(2), 201-209. https://doi.org/10.32518/sals2.2024.201
63. Umbetbayeva, Z., Suleimenova, S., Ospanova, D., Nurahmetova, G., Aigarinova, G. (2024). National Legislations on Air Quality Protection and Penalties for Atmospheric Air Pollution in Central Asia. Pakistan Journal of Criminology, 16(3), 171-190. https://doi.org/10.62271/pjc.16.3.171.190
64. Yedgina, G., Dzhumabekov, D., Zuyeva, L., Dosova, B., Kozina, V. (2023). Language policy in Kazakhstan in the context of world practice. Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics, 17(1), 76-96. https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2023-0004
65. Yesmaganbet, N., Kairbekov, N. (2025). Examination of the Activities of Religious Educators of the Soviet Period in the Context of the Development of European Religious Thought. Pharos Journal of Theology, 106(3), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.106.3030
66. Yuhan, N., Zhylin, M., Antonyuk-Kyrychenko, S., Popova, N., Harbar, M. (2024). Cognitive Aspects of Translation: The Latest Research in Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Science. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 6(4), 316-325. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v6i4.6775
67. Zhang, Z., Tsakhirmaa, S. (2022). Ethnonationalism and the changing pattern of ethnic Kazakhs’ emigration from China to Kazakhstan. China Information, 36(3), 318-343. https://doi.org/10.1177/0920203X221092686
68. Zharkenova, S., Ongarbayev, Y., Nurmagambetov, A., Galiakbarova, G. (2022). State support for compatriots: Improving Kazakhstan legislation. Brazilian Journal of International Law, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v19i3.8526
69. Zharkynbekova, S., Tazhibayeva, S., Shakhputova, Z., Agabekova, Z., Azamatova, A., Kuzar, Z. (2024). Transnational practices of Kazakh repatriates: The role of family in the adaptation of ethnic Kazakh students from Mongolia and China. Frontiers in Sociology, 9, 1452785. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2024.1452785
70. Zhussupova, A. (2021). Kazakhstan supports interethnic accord since independence. https://astanatimes.com/2021/03/kazakhstan-supports-interethnic-accord-since-independence/