From the history of the study of the Kazakh territory in the Russian Empire in the 17th-19th centuries

At the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, Russian scientists began to explore the territory of Kazakhstan, and studied the history, culture, and way of life and customs of its people. One of the first Russian mapmakers was S.U. Remezov. After the accession of Kazakhstan to Russia, research was conducted more widely and intensively. In 1733, the Russian Academy of Sciences organized an expedition to explore the geography, geology, and ethnography of Kazakhstan. From 1733 to 1771, many scientists of the Academy visited Kazakhstan: S.P. Krasheninnikov, I.G. Gmelin, I.I. Lepekhin, P.S. Pallas, I.P. Falk, P.I. Rychkov and others. The first fundamental work on the history of the Kazakhs Description of Kirghiz Cossack or Kirghiz Kaisak Hordes and Steppes (1832) was made by A.I. Levshin, whom Ch.Ch. Valihanov named the Herodotus of the Kazakh people, and praised his monograph as a valuable scientific asset. The study of the vast territory began after the accession of Kazakhstan to Russia. Climatic and geographical maps of various fauna and landscapes of Kazakhstan were developed by Russian scientists. They also studied the Caspian and the Aral Seas. In 1731-1732, Moscow sent an embassy to the Kazakh khan of JuzAbul-Khair, with surveyors A. Pisarev and M. Zinoviev who took the first photographs of the northern coast of the Aral Sea. In 1769, an expedition led by P.S. Pallas studied the area of western Kazakhstan, and in 1769-1772, Captain N.P. Rychkov, an employee of the Orenburg provincial office, did a lot on the study of the Kazakh population of Orenburg region. In the 19th century, A.I. Levshin made a priceless contribution to the study of Kazakhstan. It was described in his three-volume study of the history, geography and ethnography, as well as in his other works. The works of A.I Levshin on the history of the Kazakhs aroused a great interest among the Russian public, were widely recognized, and translated into foreign languages. A well-known Russian scientist V.V. Velyaminov-Zernov also left an imprint on the study of the history of Kazakhstan. A great role in the study of Kazakhstan belongs to the Imperial Russian Geographical Society formed in 1845. Expeditions conducted by the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society made a great deal of the research. Scientists, officers, officials who took part in the expeditions studied geographical surveys and made maps of the area, collected materials on the history, economy, culture and life of the Kazakh people. Speaking about the contribution of the Russian Geographical Society, one should note activities of its branches which studied Kazakhstan. The Orenburg branch of the Russian Geographical Society, opened in 1867, played the main role. In 1877, the West Siberian Branch was opened in Semipalatinsk with a subdivision where Abay Kunanbayev worked. In 1896, the Turkestan department of the Russian Geographical Society began its activities. It should be noted that in the second half of the 19th century Turkestan region was studied in Tashkent by the Agriculture Society, the East dub of Archeology and History Lovers, the Society of Naturalists, Anthropology and Oriental Studies. These scientific societies made a significant contribution to the study of Kazakhstan. In the 19th century a number of scientific expeditions were held. For instance, in 1856-1857 trips were organized to study the Caspian Sea and the Aral-Caspian Lowland with N.A. Ivanschintsev, N.L. Pushin, A. Ulskiy, N.A Severtsev, I.K. Borshchov, I. Guryanov, E. Aristov, E.A. Alexeyev and others. The vast expanses of Zailiyskii territory, Lake Issyk-Kul, and Alakol were studied by the expedition of Captain of the General Staff of the Russian Army A.F. Golubev in 1859. Colonel A.S. Gaines toured the "Kirghiz steppes and Turkestan region" in 1865. It should be noted that there were many people in Russia who studied the history and ethnography of the Kazakh people. They initiated the study of the local history of Kazakhstan, engaged in enlightenment, participated in scientific expeditions, took an active part in the work of the local branch of the Russian Geographical Society, statistical committees and other local research institutions, and opened museums, libraries and other cultural centers.

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