COLONIZATION ОF THE BUKHTARMA VALLEY

Abstract

Abstract. The article discusses the issues of colonization of the Bukhtarma Valley, which makes up the main part of Kazakhstan's Altai, and its consequences. The purpose and objectives of the study. The issue of colonization of the Bukhtarian region is one of the topics that has not yet been fully studied in Russian historiography. Russian researchers are particularly active in assessing this problem from the point of view of the idea of the "Russian World". In this situation, based on specific historical data, analyzing the connection of the Kazakhs with Altai, the peculiarities of colonization of this region, we prove that the Bukhtarma valley is part of the ethnic territory of the Kazakhs. The results of search work in the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Altai branch of the East Kazakhstan Regional State Archive are widely used in the study. Documents and data published in different years were also used. In the course of the research, the methods of analysis, systematization, and comparison widely used in historical science were used. For a long time, the history of the Kazakhs was considered out of connection with the historical destinies of neighboring peoples, including the Siberian Turks. Comparing various ethnographic, archaeological and folklore data, we are convinced that the Kazakhs' connection with Altai has not been interrupted for a long time. One of the most difficult stages in the life of Bukhtarma Kazakhs is associated with the implementation of the Russian colonial policy. The constant expansion of the Altai Mining Administration's holdings has also exacerbated the land issue. During this period, the Kazakhs lost their lands and, unable to withstand the pressure of Russian settlers, were forced to leave their ancestral settlements and migrate to neighboring territories. Part of the Kazakh population was forced to migrate to China, while the other part moved towards the Altai Mountains. Forced migration is known to be a very complex process. This trend was one of the main causes of the disaster and the collapse of the economy of the majority of the Kazakh population of the Bukhtarma valley.