Country in a Box:

Republic of Kazakhstan
Respublika Kazakhstan

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, Kazakhstan

A Teachers Guide
Compiled by the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
http://ceres.georgetown.edu
1

Kazakhstan in a Box: Table of Contents

Facts at a Glance

3-6

History of Kazakhstan

7-9

Timeline of Major Events in Kazakh History

Kazakh Culture

10
11-12

Folklore: Aldar Kose Tricks the Bai

13

Additional Resources

14

Kunzhamila Sakhain
Interior of a Kazakh Yurt

Kazakhstan: Facts at a Glance

_______
Text taken directly from Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: Kazakhstan.
Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kz.html
Country Name: Kazakhstan
Capital: Astana
Background: Ethnic
Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic
and Mongol nomadic tribes
who migrated into the region
in the 13th century, were
rarely united as a single
nation. The area was
conquered by Russia in the
18th century, and
Kazakhstan became a Soviet
Republic in 1936. During
the 1950s and 1960s
agricultural "Virgin Lands"
program, Soviet citizens
were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants
(mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and
enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence in 1991 drove many of these
newcomers to emigrate. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian
states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a
cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and
exporting them to world markets; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining
sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a multiparty parliament
and advancing political and social reform; and strengthening relations with neighboring states
and other foreign powers.

Location: Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural (Zhayyq) River in
eastern-most Europe
Area: Total: 2,724,900 sq km
Country comparison to the world: 9
Land: 2,699,700 sq km
Water: 25,200 sq km
Area - Comparative: Slightly less than four times the size of Texas

Terrain: vast flat steppe extending from the Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east
and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to oases and deserts of Central Asia in the
south
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
Highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m
Natural Resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome
ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
Environment - Current Issues: Radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with former
defense industries and test ranges scattered throughout the country pose health risks for humans
and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers that flowed
into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful
layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind
and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of
agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices
Population: 17,948,816 (July 2014 est.); Country comparison to the world: 64
Urbanization: urban population: 53.6% of total population (2011)
Life Expectancy at Birth: total population: 70.24 years
Country comparison to the world: 150
male: 64.98 years
female: 75.17 years (2014 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Kazakh (Qazaq) 63.1%, Russian
23.7%, Uzbek 2.8%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Uighur 1.4%,
Tatar 1.3%, German 1.1%, other 4.5% (2009 census)
Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%,
Protestant 2%, other 7%ce

A gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden

steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue
background; the hoist side displays a national
ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of
the ram) in gold; the blue color is of religious
significance to the Turkic peoples of the
country, and so symbolizes cultural and ethnic
unity; it also represents the endless sky as well
as water; the sun, a source of life and energy,
exemplifies wealth and plenitude; the sun's rays
are shaped like grain, which is the basis of
abundance and prosperity; the eagle has
appeared on the flags of Kazakh tribes for
centuries and represents freedom, power, and
the flight to the future

Education Expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (2009)

Country comparison to the world: 138
Government Type: Republic; authoritarian
presidential rule
Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet
Union)
Legal System: Civil law system influenced by
Roman-Germanic law and by the theory and practice
of the Russian Federation

Executive Branch: Chief of state: President Nursultan A. Nazarbaev

Head of Government: Prime Minister Karim Masimov
Legislative Branch: Bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 15 members are
appointed by the president; 32 members elected by local assemblies and the Mazhilis (107 seats;
9 out of the 107 Mazhilis members elected by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, a
presidentially appointed advisory body designed to represent the country's ethnic minorities;
non-appointed members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)
Judicial Branch: Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (seven members)
Political Parties and Leaders: Nur Otan (Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov); Azat NSDP (co-chaired
by Bolat Abilov and Zharmakhan Tuyakbay); and Ak Zhol Party (Bright Path) (Alikhan
Baymenov)
National Anthem: Name: "Menin Qazaqstanim" (My Kazakhstan)
lyrics/music: Zhumeken Nazhimedenov and Nursultan Nazarbayev/Shamshi Kaldayakov
Economy - Overview: Kazakhstan, geographically the largest of the former Soviet republics,
excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves and plentiful supplies of other
minerals and metals, such as uranium, copper, and zinc. It also has a large agricultural sector
featuring livestock and grain. In 2002 Kazakhstan became the first country in the former Soviet
Union to receive an investment-grade credit
rating, and from 2000 through 2007,
Kazakhstan's economy grew more than 9% per
year. Extractive industries, particularly
hydrocarbons and mining, have been the engines
of this growth. However, geographic limitations
and decaying infrastructure present serious
obstacles. Landlocked, with restricted access to
the high seas, Kazakhstan relies on its neighbors
to export its products, especially oil and gas.
Although its Caspian Sea ports and rail lines
carrying oil have been upgraded, civil aviation
has been neglected. Telecoms are improving, but
require considerable investment, as does the
information technology base. Supply and
distribution of electricity can be erratic. At the
end of 2007, global financial markets froze up
and the loss of capital inflows to Kazakhstani
The Tenge: Commemorative banknote 10000 tenge
banks caused a credit crunch. The subsequent and
devoted to 20 years of Independence. On the 100 note
sharp fall of oil and commodity prices in 2008
there is a watermark with the portrait of Ablay han. In the
center of the banknote (backside) is the Hodja Ahmed
aggravated the economic situation, and
Yassavi's mausoleum. The 50 tenge note shows rock
Kazakhstan plunged into recession. While the
paintings of Mangistau. On the 1 tenge note you can see
global financial crisis took a significant toll on
Al-Farabis geozetrical constructions and formulations.
Kazakhstan's economy, it has rebounded well. In
(http://www.nationalbank.kz/?docid=29 )
5

response to the crisis, Kazakhstan's government devalued the tenge (Kazakhstan's currency) to
stabilize market pressures and injected $19 billion in economic stimulus. Rising commodity
prices have helped revive Kazakhstan's economy, which registered 7% growth in 2010. Barring a
dramatic decline in oil prices, strong growth is expected to continue in 2011. Despite solid
macroeconomic indicators, the government realizes that its economy suffers from an
overreliance on oil and extractive industries, the so-called "Dutch disease." In response,
Kazakhstan has embarked on an ambitious diversification program, aimed at developing targeted
sectors like transport, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, petrochemicals and food processing.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $243.6 billion (2013 est.). Country comparison to the world:
53
GDP - Real Growth Rate: 5% (2013 est.). Country comparison to the world: 57
GDP - Per Capita (PPP): $14,100 (2013 est.). Country comparison to the world: 96
GDP - Composition by Sector: agriculture: 5.2%, industry: 37.9% services: 56.9% (2011 est.)
Labor Force: 8.611 million (2010 est.); Country comparison to the world: 54
Agriculture - Products: Grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock
Industries: Oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold,
silver, phosphates, sulfur, uranium, iron and steel; tractors and other agricultural machinery,
electric motors, construction materials
Current Account Balance: $1.965 billion (2013 est.). Country comparison to the world: 41
Exports - Commodities: oil and oil products 59%, ferrous metals 19%, chemicals 5%,
machinery 3%
Exports - Partners: China 19.3%, Italy 18.1%, Netherlands 8.8%, France 6.6%, Switzerland
5.8%, Austria 5.8% (2012)
Imports - Partners: China 28%, Ukraine 10.9%, Germany 8.5%, US 7.9% (2012)
Debt - External: $131.3 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Exchange Rates: tenge (KZT) per US dollar - 151.8 (2013 est.)
Military Service Age and Obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service;
conscript service obligation - 2 years
Military expenditures: 1.21% of GDP (2012). Country comparison to the world: 84

History of Kazakhstan
_______
Text taken directly from Department of State Website: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/kztoc.html

The Golden Man

In the spring of 1969, a farmer
exposed a small gold plaque-treasure from a burial in a large
kurgan (burial mound), one of
several that broke the flatness of the
field. The central tomb in the kurgan
had been plundered in antiquity, but
the robbers had missed a rich burial
hidden in the side of the mound.
Led by Kemal Akishev
archeologists soon uncovered a
sarcophagus and constructed from
large fir logs, within which they
found a skeleton of a young man 1718 years old, covered with 4,000
gold ornaments in Scythe-Sakas
Animal style. The discovery dates
back to the 5th-4th c.c. BC. It is now
a cultural and national icon of
Kazakhstan.
Although the burial was said to
be of a man, the headdress reminded
the Kazakh excavators of hats worn
by brides in traditional wedding
ceremonies. Kazakh bridal hats, part
of a dowry passed from generation to
generation, are also decorated with
ornamental plaques of gold and
silver cast from coins. Three earrings
adorned with turquoise, and
carnelian and white beads, perhaps
from a necklace, suggest more
elaborate jewelry than is usually
associated with male Saka warriors.
(http://www.archaeology.org/9709/a
bstracts/gold.html and
http://www.museumofgold.kz/en/exp
o/goldman/ )

The Beginnings: Humans have inhabited present-day

Kazakstan since the earliest Stone Age, generally pursuing
the nomadic pastoralism for which the region's climate and
terrain are best suited. The earliest well-documented state in
the region was the Turkic Kaganate, which came into
existence in the sixth century A.D. The Qarluqs, a
confederation of Turkic tribes, established a state in what is
now eastern Kazakstan in 766. In the eighth and ninth
centuries, portions of southern Kazakstan were conquered by
Arabs, who also introduced Islam. The Oghuz Turks
controlled western Kazakstan from the ninth through the
eleventh centuries; the Kimak and Kipchak peoples, also of
Turkic origin, controlled the east at roughly the same time.
The large central desert of Kazakstan is still called DashtiKipchak, or the Kipchak Steppe.
In the late ninth century, the Qarluq state was destroyed
by invaders who established the large Qarakhanid state,
which occupied a region known as Transoxania, the area
north and east of the Oxus River (the present-day Syrdariya),
extending into what is now China. Beginning in the early
eleventh century, the Qarakhanids fought constantly among
themselves and with the Seljuk Turks to the south. In the
course of these conflicts, parts of present-day Kazakstan
shifted back and forth between the combatants. The
Qarakhanids, who accepted Islam and the authority of the
Arab Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad during their dominant
period, were conquered in the 1130s by the Karakitai, a
Turkic confederation from northern China. In the midtwelfth century, an independent state of Khorazm along the
Oxus River broke away from the weakening Karakitai, but
the bulk of the Karakitai state lasted until the invasion of
Chinggis (Genghis) Khan in 1219-21.
The present-day Kazaks became a recognizable group in
the mid-fifteenth century, when clan leaders broke away
from Abul Khayr, leader of the Uzbeks, to seek their own
territory in the lands of Semirech'ye, between the Chu and
Talas rivers in present-day southeastern Kazakstan. The first
Kazak leader was Khan Kasym (r. 1511-23), who united the
Kazak tribes into one people. In the sixteenth century, when
the Nogai Horde and Siberian khanates broke up, clans from
each jurisdiction joined the Kazaks. The Kazaks
7

subsequently separated into three new hordes: the Great

Horde, which controlled Semirech'ye and southern
Kazakstan; the Middle Horde, which occupied north-central
Kazakstan; and the Lesser Horde, which occupied western
Kazakstan.
The Russian Era: Russian traders and soldiers began to
appear on the northwestern edge of Kazak territory in the
seventeenth century, when Cossacks established the forts
that later became the cities of Oral (Ural'sk) and Atyrau.
Forced westward in what they call their Great Retreat, the
Kazaks were increasingly caught between the Kalmyks and
the Russians. The expanding Quqon (Kokand) Khanate to
the south forced the last of the independent Hordes (the
Great Horde) to choose Russian protection, which seemed to
them the lesser of two evils.
The Kazaks began to resist Russian control almost as
soon as it became complete. The first mass uprising was led
by Khan Kene (Kenisary Kasimov) of the Middle Horde,
whose followers fought the Russians between 1836 and
1847. Khan Kene is now considered a Kazak national hero.
The final disruption of nomadism began in the 1890s,
when many Russian settlers were introduced into the fertile
lands of northern and eastern Kazakstan. Starving and
displaced, many Kazaks joined in the general Central Asian
resistance to conscription into the Russian imperial army,
which the tsar ordered in July 1916 as part of the effort
against Germany in World War I
In 1917 a group of secular nationalists attempted to set
up an independent national government. This state lasted
less than two years (1918-20) before surrendering to the
Bolshevik authorities, who then sought to preserve Russian
control under a new political system.
In 1936 the territory was made a full Soviet republic.
From 1929 to 1934, during the period when Soviet leader
Joseph V. Stalin was trying to collectivize agriculture,
Kazakstan endured repeated famines because peasants had
slaughtered their livestock in protest against Soviet
agricultural policy. In that period, at least 1.5 million
Kazaks and 80 percent of the republic's livestock died.
Thousands more Kazaks tried to escape to China, although
most starved in the attempt.
Many European Soviet citizens and much of Russia's
industry were relocated to Kazakstan during World War II,
when Nazi armies threatened to capture all the European
industrial centers of the Soviet Union. Many more nonKazaks arrived in the years 1953-65, during the so-called

Abai Qunanbaiuli (also known as

Kunanbaev) 1845-1904
Kazakh poet and educator, father of
modern Kazakh written literature.
Born to the family of Kunanbai
Uskanbaev, a prominent feudal lord,
Abai studied at a madrasah (mosque
school) under Mullah Akhmet-Riza
in Semipalatinsk and also attended a
Russian school. The humanistic
views of eastern poets and scholars
for example, Firdawsi, Nawai,
Nizami, Fizuli, and Avicennawere
instrumental in shaping Abai
Kunanbaevs conception of life. The
Russian classics had a profound
impact on himhe translated I. A.
Krylovs fables, poems by M. Iu.
Lermontov, and parts of Evgenii
Onegin by A. S. Pushkinand he
urged his people to acquire a
knowledge of Russian culture.
Abai Kunanbaevs poems, which are
rooted in the experience of a life of
toil, called for an end to ignorance
and oppression. He ridiculed Islamic
dogma and the outmoded customs of
the ancestral aul (village) and
protested the servile position of
women. He was an unsurpassed
master of Kazakh poetry
(http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionar
y.com/Abai+Kunanbaev)

Virgin Lands campaign of Soviet premier Nikita S. Khrushchev (in office 1956-64). Under that
program, huge tracts of Kazak grazing land were put to the plow for the cultivation of wheat and
other cereal grains. Still more settlers came in the late 1960s and 1970s, when the government
paid handsome bonuses to workers participating in a program to relocate Soviet industry close to
the extensive coal, gas, and oil deposits of Central Asia. One consequence of the decimation of
the nomadic Kazak population and the in-migration of non-Kazaks was that by the 1970s
Kazakstan was the only Soviet republic in which the eponymous nationality was a minority in its
own republic.
Independence: Text below from:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/313790/Kazakhstan

Nursultan Nazarbaey
Nazarbayev was the son of Kazakh
peasants. He graduated from a technical
school in Dneprodzerzhinsk. He worked as
a steelworker and engineer at the
Karaganda plant off and on from 1960 to
1977. He joined the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1962 and rose
through the ranks, becoming a full member
of the Kazakhstan Politburo in 1979.
Having long decried Moscows economic
exploitation of Central Asia, he carefully
nurtured Kazakhstans independence and in
1991 became president of nation. In April
2011, running against token opposition,
Nazarbayev was elected to another term
with more than 95 percent of the vote.
International observers deemed the election
unfair, noting widespread irregularities.
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/top
ic/407143/Nursultan-Nazarbayev)

The 1980s brought glimmers of political

independence, as well as conflict, as the central
government's hold progressively weakened.
Nazarbayev remained strongly committed to the
perpetuation of the Soviet Union throughout the spring
and summer of 1991. He took this position largely
because he considered the republics too interdependent
economically to survive separation. Proving himself a
skilled negotiator, Nazarbayev bridged the gap
between the republic's Kazaks and Russians at a time
of increasing nationalism. The independent Republic
of Kazakstan was proclaimed in 1991.
Nazarbayevs leadership was initially restrained,
relative to the leadership of neighbouring Central
Asian states; however, over time it grew increasingly
authoritarian. Nazarbayev was reelected to the
presidency in 1999 and again in 2005.
In 1994 the government decided to gradually
transfer the national capital from Almaty, located in
the countrys southeast, to Aqmola, located in the
north-centre, in the following years. The capital was
officially moved in 1997, and in May 1998 the city
was renamed Astana. At the beginning of the 21st
century, the rapid transformation of the capital was led
by a dramatic construction boom directed by
Nazarbayev and fueled largely by the countrys
growing petroleum revenues. Despite some periods of
tension, Kazakhstans relations with Russia in the
years following independence remained close, marked
by economic partnerships, treaties of accord, and
cooperation on matters of security and intelligence. In
consideration of both demographic and cultural
factors, Russian continues to function as an official
language.
9

Timeline of Major Events in Kazakh History

_______
Text taken directly from BBC News. Timeline: Kazakhstan. Available at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1298395.stm
1st-8th centuries - Turkic-speaking and Mongol tribes invade and settle in what is now
Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
8th century - Arab invaders introduce Islam.
1219-24 - Mongol tribes led by Genghis Khan invade Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Later they
become assimilated by Turkic tribes that make up the majority in their empire.
Late 15th century - With the formation of the Kazakh khanate, the Kazakhs emerge as a distinct
ethnic group.
Early 17th century - Kazakhs split into three tribal unions, the Great, Middle and Lesser
Zhuzes, or Hordes, which were led by Khans.
1731-42 - The Khans of the three Zhuzes formally join Russia in pursuit of protection from
invasions from the east by the Mongols.
1868-1916 - Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian peasants are brought in to settle Kazakh lands;
first industrial enterprises set up.
1916 - A major anti-Russian rebellion is repressed, with about 150,000 people killed and more
than 300,000 fleeing abroad.
Late 1920s-1930s Over 1 million die during destructive campaign to settle nomadic Kazakhs
and collectivize agriculture.
1936 - Kazakhstan becomes a full union republic of the USSR.
1949 - The first nuclear test explosion is carried out at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test ground in
eastern Kazakhstan.
1991 - Nursultan Nazarbayev wins uncontested presidential elections; Kazakhstan declares
independence from the Soviet Union
1998 - New capital is moved and renamed Astana.
2001 - First major pipeline for transporting oil from Caspian to world markets opens
2007 - Parliament votes to allow President Nazarbayev to stay in office for an unlimited number
of terms.
10

2010 February - A court overturns an earlier ruling that banned the media from publishing
criticism of President Nazarbayev's son-in-law Timur Kulibayev. The OSCE had criticised the
ban.
2010 May - Parliament approves a bill granting more powers to President Nazarbayev, granting
him the title of "leader of the nation" and immunity from prosecution.
2010 July - A customs union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan comes into force after
Belarus ratifies a key customs code.
2011 February - President Nazarbayev calls early presidential election, after a planned
referendum on allowing him to stay on unopposed until 2020 is ruled unconstitutional.
2011 April - President Nazarbayev wins re-election in a poll boycotted by the opposition.
2011 December - Clashes between striking workers and police in western oil town of Zhanaozen
leave 16 people dead. The government declares a state of emergency.
2012 January - Government ends state of emergency in Zhanaozen, allowing locals to vote in
parliamentary elections. Independent observers deemed the elections undemocratic. No true
oppostion parties overcome the 7% threshold.

Kazakh Culture
Text and Pictures Taken Directly from: http://www.advantour.com/kazakhstan/cuisine.htm
Kazakh national cuisine reflects the nature of its people, its
history, customs and traditions. Since old times hospitality
has been the most distinctive feature of the Kazakh people.
A guest is always given a special welcome and offered the
place of honor.
He or she is first treated to kumys (fermented mare's milk),
shubat (fermented camel's milk) or airan (fermented cow's
milk), then to tea with milk or cream, baursaks (fried dough
balls), raisins, irimshik (dried cheese balls), kurt (dried
Kumyz
cheese and whey).
Appetizers of horse or mutton meat follow (kazy, shuzhuk,
zhal, zhaya, sur-yet, karta, kabyrga) always served with flat bread.
Kazakhs eat at a low table called 'dastarkhan' and the most popular dish has always been the
national meat dish 'beshkarmak' (five fingers because of the manner in which it is eaten). It is
made of large chunks of boiled meat which the host cuts and serves to each guest according to
their importance: the pelvic bones and shin to the elderly guests of honor, the brisket to the son
or daughter-in-law, the cervical vertebra to girls and so on.

11

The highest ranking guest is served a sheep's head

cooked in a special way and distributes it to other guests
according to local tradition (old men, children, close and
distant relatives).
The meat is eaten with boiled pasta sheet and a meat broth
called sorpa usually sewed in traditional Kazakh bowls called
'pialas'. At the end of the meal kumys is sewed then tea.
Today the dastarkhan gathers as well as Kazakhs many other
Beshkarmak
nationalities: Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Germans,
Uigurs, Dungalts and Koreans.
These people who have lived peacefully with the Kazakhs have influenced their cuisine,
everyday life and culture and adopted some Kazakh traditions.
Today's Kazakh cuisine includes traditional Kazakh dishes as well as Uzbek, Uigur, Russian,
Tatar, Korean dishes that the Kazakhs like.
Today, the range of ingredients available locally has considerably widened and influenced the
national cuisine accordingly.
Traditionally Kazakh cuisine was mostly based on meat and milk products. But more recently
vegetables, fruits, fish, seafood, baked dishes and sweets have been added to the list of delights
Kazakhs offer to their guests.
Kazakhstan Music: http://www.kazakhstanlive.com/5en.aspx?sr=4
Kazakh music is nomadic and rural, and is closely related to Uzbek and Kyrgyz folk forms.
Travelling bards, healers and mystics called akyn are popular, and usually sing either
unaccompanied or with a string instrument, especially a dombra or kobyz. Akyn performance
contests are called aitys; their lyrics are often social or political, and are generally improvised,
witty remarks.
Traditional Kazakh music includes ensembles using instruments like the kobyz (qobuz) or
dombra, as well as kyl-kobyz, sherter, sybyzgy, saszyrnay and shankobyz; the most common
instrumental traditions are called kobizovaia, sibiz-govaia, and dombrovaia. Many songs are
connected to ancient mythology and folk religious beliefs (kui), while others were composed
after the rise of authored works (kuishi) by early songwriters (jiray) like Mahmud Kashgari,
Kaztygana, Dospanbeta, Shalkiiza and Aktamberdi. The kuishi tradition is said to have peaked in
the 19th century, when composers like Kurmangazy, Madi Baliuly and Birjan and singers like
Ahan were active. In the 20th century, the first major star was the singer Mayra Shamsutdinova.
Dombra:
The dombra is a Kazakh stringed musical
instrument played by plucking. It has a wooden
frame and two strings. Many traditional songs are
played with dombra, which is closely linked to
nomadic life. It evokes the first pages of

12
The Kazakh Dombra

Kazakhstans history and became a link stretching across generations.

As famous poet Kadir Mirzaliev said real Kazakh is not Kazakh, real Kazakh is dombra!.
Kazakh people still respect and play this instrument. In any Kazakh home you will find at least
one dombra player.
Dombra varies in length, neck, shape of corpus and amount of frets according to the
region. In western Kazakhstan you will find long, thin neck, pear-shaped dombras with 13-14
frets. Dombra in Central Kazakhstan has a wide and short neck, a triangle form, with 6-8 frets.
Kobyz: http://en.abyroi.kz/persons/english-kobyz/
The Kobyz (Kazakh: ) or kyl-kobyz is an ancient Kazakh
string instrument. It has two strings made of horsehair. The
resonating cavity is usually covered with goat leather.Traditionally
kobyzes were sacred instruments, owned by shamans and bakses
(traditional spiritual medics). According to legends, the kobyz and
its music could banish evil spirits, sicknesses and death.

The Kazakh Kobyz

Folklore: Aldar Kose Tricks the Bai

_______
Text taken directly from: http://silkroadcaravan.blogspot.com/2006/06/aldar-kose-tricks-bai.html
On a bitterly cold winter's day, Aldar Kose was travelling across the steppe. "Crunch, crunch,"
went his rickety horse's hooves through the snow. "Brr, brr," went Aldar Kose, as he shivered in
his thin, hole-ridden coat. As he struggled along, he saw the local bai, or rich man, headed
toward him. Immediately, Aldar Kose threw open his coat and whipped off his hat.
"Greetings, Aldar Kose! Why, you are burning up. What is the matter?" said the bai.
"It is this magic coat," explained Aldar Kose. "It is far too warm. The holes let all of the cold out,
and what little cool air does come in, blows right out through the next hole. I am melting from
the heat."
Upon hearing this story, you would think that the bai should
have known better. After all, Aldar Kose was known far and
wide as the cleverest and trickiest man on the steppe. But the
bai only heard that Aldar Kose had something wondrous that
he himself did not, and was gripped by the desire to have it
for his own.
"My poor man," said the bai. "How you suffer! Let me help
13
(http://www.denisovka.info/image.
php?u=372&dateline=1241807510)

you. I will trade my fur coat and hat, which are just right, for your holey, too-warm ones, so that
you may be more comfortable on your journey." Aldar Kose thought about the bai's offer, hiding
his smile behind his hand. "Sir, you are generous, but I cannot accept the trade," he said. "This
coat was enchanted and given to me by my father, whom I dearly miss."
Now the bai could not stand not to get what he wanted, and so wanted the coat even more. He
said, "I see it is difficult for you to let me help you. Take my coat and hat, and my horse, which
rides like the wind. The breeze will cool you."
Aldar Kose hesitated a moment. "On the one hand, I should honor my father's warning, though I
don't recall what it was. On the other hand, he always did encourage generosity in others, so I
should allow you to help me." The bai could no longer hide his impatience to own the magic
coat. "Then you cannot refuse my generous offer. Take the fur coat, hat, horse and this bag of
gold for your father's wisdom, give me that coat and consider yourself fortunate in the trade!"
Well, quick as a flash, Aldar Kose surrendered that coat of holes and the tired old horse to the
bai. He put on the fur coat and hat, took the bag of gold, and mounted his new horse. The bai
now sat on the old horse, wearing the holey coat and looking very pleased with himself. As
Aldar Kose turned to ride away, he paused. "Aha! I've just remembered my father's warning," he
said. "The magic in the coat works only for me. Good-bye!"

Select Bibliography of Sources on Kazakhstan

Aitken, Jonathan. Nazarbayev and the making of Kazakhstan. London ; New York : Continuum,
2009
Bonora, Gian Luca; Niccol Pianciola and Paolo Sartori (Eds). Kazakhstan : religions and
society in the history of Central Eurasia. Torino ; New York : U. Allemandi, (2009)
Dave, Bhavna. Kazakhstan : ethnicity, language and power. London ; New York : Routledge,
2007
Schatz, Edward. Modern clan politics : the power of "blood" in Kazakhstan and beyond. Seattle :
University of Washington Press, c2004.
Winner, Thomas Gustav. The oral art and literature of the Kazakhs of Russian Central Asia.
Durham, N.C., Duke University Press, 1958
Salhani, Claude. Islam without a veil: Kazakhstan's path of moderation. Washington, D.C. :
Potomac Books, c2011.
Olcott, Martha Brill. The Kazakhs. Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford
University Press, 1995
Khlid, Qurbnal. An Islamic biographical dictionary of the Eastern Kazakh Steppe, 17701912. Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2005
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Akshalova, Bakhytgul (ed.). Kazakh traditions and ways Almaty : "Dyke-Press", 2002
Robbins, Christopher. Apples are from Kazakhstan : the land that disappeared. Ashland, OH :
Atlas Books, 2008
Martin, Virginia. Law and custom in the steppe : the Kazakhs of the Middle Horde and Russian
colonialism in the nineteenth century. Richmond, Surrey : Curzon, 2001
Privratsky, Bruce G. Muslim Turkistan : Kazak religion and collective memory. Richmond,
Surrey : Curzon Press, 2001
Svanberg, Ingvar. Contemporary Kazaks : cultural and social perspectives. Richmond : Curzon,
1999
Weller, R. Charles. Rethinking Kazakh and Central Asian nationhood : a challenge to prevailing
western views. Los Angeles : Asia Research Associates, 2006

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