Introduction
Kazakhstan bears a rich country that dates back to the 10 th century. The country’s history reveals certain facts about the early years of the Euro-Asian communities, such as the characteristics of the people who occupied the land even before the historic era. The people of the region engaged in various human activities that can still be identified among the Kazakhstan people today. Additionally, historic studies of Kazakhstan reveals the gradual transformation of the socio-political activities that led to the formation of the country in the 20 th century.
Indigenous/Pre-Colonial History
Kazakhstan is an Asian country that borders Russia, China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The history of the country is characterized by numerous political, economic and social events. During the pre-colonial years, people of the area were nomads and hunters, and it was their major economic activity. The main reason why the people were nomads, moving from one region to another, was because of the drastic climatic changes. Some season were quite dry forcing the people living in the area to move in search of better climate, water, and pastures for their animals. Furthermore, as hunters, they moved a lot because of the seasonal migration of wild animals.
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The major ethnic groups that had occupied the region were Saka and Hun. Other smaller tribes that inhabited the area were Yancai, Yueban, and Turkic ( Diener, 2002) . During the periods between the 8 th and 15 th centuries, most of these ethnic groups were primitive and had little or no experience to modern human culture. However, an invasion of Arabs brought about several aspects of modern culture. For instance, they introduced Islamic religion to the pre-colonial are of South Kazakhstan. Gradually, people acquired knowledge and began fighting for various territories and empires. The region experienced a sequence of battles for territorial space, such as the Mongol invasion during the 13 th century ( Diener, 2002) . A branch of the Mongol Empire formed the Golden Horde which was a more established government system. Towards the 15 th century, several clans were established forming a regional community called khanates ( Diener, 2002) . The Kazakh Khanate was the ruling government for many decades until the 17 th century when Russians invaded the region.
The Nature and Impact of Colonization
From the year 1731, Kazakhstan was under the Russian Empire ( Diener, 2002) . However, people of the original Kazakh Empire were not keen on being colonized. Battles ensued between their potential colonialists to the North and Kalmyks to the South. Nonetheless, the Kazakh people were beaten by the strong Russian military, and they ended up being a Russian territory. The colonization of Kazakhstan was similar to any other experienced around the world. The Russians built fortresses and established administration points within the region to exercise their powers within the region. An ironical phenomena is that the structures built by the colonialists to exercise their power are historic monuments that the Kazakhstan people protect today as part of their rich history.
When Russians had established their authority in Kazakhstan, life proceeded as normal, and most Kazakh people were accustomed to being under a colonial administration. For many years, people went on with their daily lives, and they stopped fighting for their territory and slowly came to terms with the fact that the Russians were the ruling authority in the region. However, the experience was not entirely peaceful. During the nineteenth century, several uprisings were experienced in an attempt to restore Kazakhs’ power and authority over their native land ( Diener, 2002) . The Russian administration reacted by solidifying its policies and boundaries by forming two districts namely, the Steppes and Turkestan ( Diener, 2002) . The people of Kazakhstan gathered a spirit of numeracy where they began working together to resist the common enemy, the colonialists. However, the ruling power was aware of the resistance attempts and fought back. Kazakhstan in particular was a prime territory because of the fertile land and high productivity of both natural and human resources. To exercise maximum control, the Russians began limiting the activities of the Kazakhs, such as nomadism, by limiting the natives to specific areas they were allowed to reach ( Diener, 2002) . Additionally, the ruling government constructed a railway to ease transport to and from Turkestan. By the end of the 19 th century, and part of the early 20 th century, Kazakh people began serious resistance movements that led to the struggle for independence.
The Struggle for Independence
The colonization of the Kazakh people was beneficial in that the natives acquired knowledge that was necessary to fight the well-established Russian army. A national liberation movement, called Alash, was formed between the years 1917 and 1918 ( Rodrik, 2003) . The main purpose was to fight for the independence of the people of Kazakhstan. Some of the notable leaders at this time were Ahmet Baitursyonov and Alikhan Bukeikhanov who were well-educated and experienced leaders ( Rodrik, 2003) . Unfortunately, most of the leaders of the rebel union were killed in fights with the Russian military soldiers. During the First World War, the Soviet Union had fully established its powers in Turkistan, and they recruited thousands of soldiers to fight in the world war. The Alash dynasty did not last long and fell by the 1920s due to decreased manpower and tough economic conditions brought about by the world war.
Further developments occurred in the 1920s when Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz were distinguished from one another. Later, the Kazakh Soviet Republic was formed, to give it a sense of independence, but was still under the overall Soviet Union governance. Later in the 20 th century, many countries around the world were involved in continuous battles for independence, and a majority of these nations won the fight against foreign oppression (Rodrik, 2003). The fight for independence became more prominent, and by the year 1990, Kazakhstan was recognized, and they declared their sovereignty as an independent state after the Soviet Union declared its sovereignty.
The Political-Social-Economic Situation
As a young nation during the late 20 th century, the country of Kazakhstan was relatively dependent on Russia especially on matters relating to national security. During the time, many country’s economic success was based on their relationship with other nations, especially those that were already well established. As a result, some leaders, including Nazarbayev began forming friendly ties with strong countries such as China and other Western countries ( Cia, 2010) . With the help of international organizations, Kazakhstan and Russia improved their relations as neighbors. As a young country, the country made significant efforts to establish relations with super powers such as the United States. Today, the nation is a major trading partner not only with the US, but also other European and Asian countries.
The country has established a strong government which is led by a president who is elected by a popular vote. Other significant political positions appointed by the President are position of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. The country’s legislature is comprised of two houses, the Senate and the House Assembly ( Cia, 2010) . However, its social status has issues that have drawn attention from the international community. For example, some judicial conflicts and governance systems made it difficult for the European Parliamentary Assembly to accord Kazakhstan full membership. However, over the years, significant improvements were made in the social, political, and judicial structures which granted them recognition in international and European bodies. The economy of the country has significantly improved, and the country is currently doing better than most nations that gained independence decades before it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Kazakhs are probably more attached to their colonialists than any other nation despite almost two centuries of antagonistic interaction. Furthermore, the country today looks more to Russia than to the neighboring Islamic nations for support and trade. However, the citizens recognize their historic transition to independence as a foothold to being a globally competitive, self-ruling nation. The country has become a significant international participant in various fields, such as the sports and trade. Kazakhstan has also preserved a significant amount of their historical culture and traditions, but have also borrowed a lot from the rapidly growing and developing modern world.
References
Cia, C. I. A. (2010). The world factbook. Retrieved August , 20 , 2010.
Diener, A. C. (2002). National territory and the reconstruction of history in Kazakhstan. Eurasian Geography and Economics , 43 (8), 632-650.
Rodrik, D. (Ed.). (2003). In search of prosperity: Analytic narratives on economic growth . Princeton University Press.
