Development of Historical-Local Research in Kazakhstan in the Late of the XIX – the Beginning of the XX centuries

Abstract

A special place in popularization matter of various territories of the Russian Empire, including pre-revolutionary Kazakhstan, belongs to the 19th volume edition of “Russia. A complete geographical description of our fatherland”, published in 1898-1914. edited by V.P. Semenov and under the general supervision of P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, the vice-chairman of IRGS and V.I. Lamansky, Professor, the chairman of IRGS Ethnography Department. The 18th volume of this publication is dedicated to “Kyrgyz Krai” (1903), including Ural, Turgai, Akmola, Semipalatinsk and Semirechye oblasts of Stepnoy General Governorship; the 19th volume – “Turkestan Territory” (1913) in Syrdarya oblast with Amu Darya department, Zerafshan and Ferghana oblasts with the Pamirs of Turkestan governor general, V.I. Masalsky was
responsible for the publication. The same importance in the study of historical local lore of Kazakhstan
is the publication of a multi-volume “Materials on the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) land use”. Well-known scientists
of Russia from the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries took part in the preparation
and publication of this multivolume editions. In these editions contained not only data on fauna and
flora, but also significant geographic and historical local lore data on cities, fortresses, local sights and
natural wealth, as well as on railways, postal routes and stations on them, indicating the distances between
them. Ethnographic data show significant interest, which, first of all, concern the cattle-breeding,
number of Kazakh ethnic and tribal composition, everyday life, spiritual and material culture, crafts and
occupation of the indigenous and alien Slavic and European populations. In these editions, as well as
others, were provided with a considerable number of professionally executed illustrations in the text and
on separate sheets, at the end of each volume there was a folding map of the region described.