At 2,717,300 square kilometres (1,049,200 sq mi) in area, it was the second-largest republic in the USSR, after theRussian SFSR. Its capital wasAlma-Ata (today known as Almaty). During its existence as a Soviet Socialist Republic, it was ruled by theCommunist Party of the Kazakh SSR (QKP). It was the most economically advanced of the central Asian Soviet Republics, having a significant base in mineral extraction and agriculture.[2]
On 25 October 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR declared its sovereignty on its soil.QKP first secretaryNursultan Nazarbayev waselectedpresident in April of that year – a role he remained in until 2019. On 17 March 1991, the Kazakh SSR accepted theNew Union Treaty with 95% of citizens voting in favor.[3]
The Kazakh SSR was renamed theRepublic of Kazakhstan on 10 December 1991, which declared its independence six days later, as the last republic to secede from the USSR on 16 December 1991. The Soviet Union was officiallydissolved on 26 December 1991 by theSoviet of the Republics. The Republic of Kazakhstan, the legal successor to theKazakh SSR, was admitted to theUnited Nations on 2 March 1992.
The republic was named after theKazakh people, aTurkic ethnic group native toCentral Asia who formed the majority in the Kazakh SSR's territory. Historically, the Kazakhs werenomads who created a powerfulkhanate in the region before being defeated and annexed by theRussian Empire.
Established on 26 August 1920, it was initially calledKirghiz ASSR (Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) and was a part of theRussian SFSR. On 15–19 April 1925, it was renamedKazak ASSR (subsequentlyKazakh ASSR) and on 5 December 1936 it was elevated to the status of a Union-level republic,Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
In September 1920, the Ninth Soviet Congress of Turkestan called for the deportation of illegal settler colonists in the Northern parts of the country.[4] The proposed land reform began in 1921 and lasted until 1927, targeting Russian settlers, Ukrainians and Cossacks in the region and from 1920 to 1922, Kazakhstan's Russian population dropped from approximately 2.7 to 2.2 million.[4] A further 15,000 Cossack settler colonists were deported between 1920 and 1921 as part of the process of returning control and sovereignty of land to the Kazakhs.[5]
On 19 February 1925,Filipp Goloshchyokin was appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party in the newly created Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic. From 1925 to 1933 he ran the Kazakh ASSR with an iron grip, surprisingly with virtually zero interference from Moscow.[6] He played a prominent part in the construction of the Turkestan-Siberia railway, which was constructed to open up Kazakhstan's mineral wealth.
AfterJoseph Stalin ordered the forced collectivization of agriculture throughout the Soviet Union, Goloshchyokin ordered that Kazakhstan's largely nomadic population was to be settled in collectivized farms. This, alongside the disastrous agricultural and scientific policies ofTrofim Lysenko, eventually culminated in the deadlyKazakh famine of 1930–1933 in Kazakhstan which killed between 1 and 2 million people.[7][6]
Kazakhstani Korean scholarGerman Kim assumes that one of the reasons for this deportation may have been Stalin's intent to oppress ethnic minorities that could have posed a threat to his socialist system or he may have intended to consolidate the border regions withChina and Japan by using them as political bargaining chips.[9] Additionally, historian Kim points out that 1.7 million people perished in theKazakh famine of 1931–1933, while an additional one million people fled from the Republic, causing a labour shortage in that area, which Stalin sought to compensate by deporting other ethnicities there.[9]
Over one million political prisoners from various parts of the Soviet Union passed through theKaraganda Corrective Labor Camp (Karlag) between 1931 and 1959, with an unknown number of deaths.[10] TheGreat Purge affected many Kazakh families, sometimes even decimating entire lineages.[6][11]
Major improvements in literacy were recorded, by the 1960s nearly 97% of the country was literate with minimal disparity between male and female citizens. Various forms of technical and research-oriented education were provided to the citizens, which led to the fading away of the traditionalist culture systems.[12][13]
During the industrialization drives ordered byJoseph Stalin and the shift of key industries from theEastern Front (World War II), Kazakhstan developed many oil wells, mines, steel plants and mineral refineries. However, the focus on heavy industry stunted the development of light industries that could manufacture consumer goods.[14] In 1949, theTurkestan–Siberia Railway was constructed in the Kazakh SSR which linked the country to Russia via rail. Thousands of kilometers of road were constructed throughout the country, linking the previously disconnected parts of the country and facilitating development.[15] Many Kazakhs served with distinction in theGreat Patriotic War, withBauyrzhan Momyshuly,Manshuk Mametova andSadyk Abdujabbarov becoming household names. (seeList of Kazakh Heroes of the Soviet Union)
During the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet citizens were urged to settle in theVirgin Lands of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. This was initiated byNikita Khrushchev to utilize potential land for cultivation and to boost agricultural production.[15] From the 1960s onwards, many manufacturing units for chemicals, defense equipment and alloys sprung up throughout the country.[14] Agriculture soon became an important part of the economy, with wheat, beetroot, rice and cotton being grown in the country.[15]
During the 22 year tenure ofDinmukhamed Kunaev, the Kazakh SSR saw further advancements in economic prosperity, energy production and industrialization.[6] He enjoyed a strong working relationship withLeonid Brezhnev, which saw him rise to prominence in theSoviet Politburo. Kunaev was extremely popular among the people due to his growth-oriented policies and improvements in living standards. Many people in modern dayKazakhstan express fondness for his premiership.[18][19]
The immigration policies of the USSR led to a drastic influx ofRussians, eventually skewing the ethnic composition of the republic. With non-Kazakhs becoming the majority, the use of the Kazakh language declined and would only see a revival after the dissolution of the USSR. TheRussian language would become theLingua franca and dominant language. Other immigrant nationalities in the SSR includedUkrainians,Germans,Kyrgyz, Belarusians,Koreans,Tatars, andUyghurs. Kazakhs mixed well with the immigrants and helped create an inclusive multi-ethnic state.[6] The Kazakh SSR had the highest concentration of Germans in the enitre country. Post Kazakh independence, many of these immigrants have chosen to emigrate to countries likeRussia,Germany andUkraine.
In 1986, the dismissal ofDinmukhamed Kunaev, the First Secretary of theCommunist Party of Kazakhstan by the lastSoviet general secretary,Mikhail Gorbachev, proved to be highly controversial. Riots would break out for four days between 16 and 19 December 1986 [now known asJeltoqsan] by student demonstrators in Brezhnev Square in the capital city,Alma-Ata. The replacement of Konayev, who was very popular, byGennady Kolbin, an ethnic Russian, would stoke major discontent among the native population. 168–200 civilians were killed in the uprising. The events then spilled over to other prominent cities such asShymkent,Pavlodar,Karaganda andTaldykorgan.[20][21]
As a result of those events, the Kazakh SSR was renamed to theRepublic of Kazakhstan on 10 December 1991. It declared independence on 16 December[22] (the fifth anniversary ofJeltoqsan), becoming the last Soviet constituency to secede. Its capital was the site of theAlma-Ata Protocol on 21 December 1991 that dissolved the Soviet Union and formed theCommonwealth of Independent States in its place, which Kazakhstan promptly joined. The Soviet Union officially ceased to exist as a sovereign state on 26 December 1991 and Kazakhstan became an internationally recognized independent state. On 28 January 1993, the newConstitution of Kazakhstan was officially adopted.
Demographics of Kazakhstan from 1897 to 1970, with major ethnic groups. Famines of the 1920s and 1930s are marked with shades.
According to the 1897 census, the earliest census taken in the region,Kazakhs constituted 81.7% of the total population (3,392,751 people) within the territory of contemporary Kazakhstan. TheRussian population in Kazakhstan was 454,402, or 10.95% of total population; there were 79,573Ukrainians (1.91%); 55,984Tatars (1.34%); 55,815Uyghurs (1.34%); 29,564Uzbeks (0.7%); 11,911Moldovans (0.28%); 4,888Dungans (0.11%); 2,883Turkmens; 2,613Germans; 2,528Bashkirs; 1,651Jews; and 1,254Poles. In later years, due to deportations and societal engineering, manyBelarusians,Koryo-saram,Chechens andKalmyks were brought to the country.
Ethnic Composition of Kazakhstan (census data)[23]
The most significant factors that shaped the ethnic composition of the population of Kazakhstan were the 1920s and 1930sfamines. According to different estimates of the effects of theKazakh famine of 1930–1933, up to 40% of Kazakhs (indigenous ethnic group) either died of starvation or fled the territory.[24] Official government census data report the contraction of Kazakh population from 3.6 million in 1926 to 2.3 million in 1939.[25][26] The deadly effects of the famines are still remembered in now independent Kazakhstan, with national remembrances and solidarity campaigns gaining traction among the national community.
Before Soviet times, there was barely any industry or large-scale agriculture in the country. Most residents were either steppe nomads or pastoralists. While the USSR managed to create thriving industries and brought agriculture to Kazakhstan, these developments came at great costs. Forced collectivization of farms, bureaucratic restrictions, highly centralized economic planning and an excessive focus on heavy industry caused both structural and workforce issues for the Kazakh economy.[6]
Stalin's push for greater industrialization throughout theSoviet Union was heeded without opposition in the country. During his leadership,Central Asia experienced rapid yet chaotic industrial growth and agricultural restructuring, including the Kazakh SSR. In the 1930s and 1940s, major investments were poured into the Kazakh SSR to build transportation networks to link the country via road and rail.[15] Many industrial manufacturing plants were built throughout the country, pertaining to metallurgy, oil and gas production, chemical processing, defense equipment and wheat processing.[14][27] Upon the start of theSecond World War, many large factories located on theEastern Front (World War II) were shifted to the Kazakh SSR, to protect the USSR's industrial lifelines. This would prove vital for the USSR's victory as well as for the Kazakh economy. TheSemipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site andBaikonur Cosmodrome were also built here, with Baikonur being the iconic launch site for many prominent Soviet space explorations.[16]
After the war, theVirgin Lands Campaign was started in 1953. This was led byNikita Khrushchev, with the goal of developing the previously uncultivated lands of the republic and helping to boost Soviet agricultural yields. However, since it did not work as promised, the campaign was eventually abandoned in the 1960s.[28] The Kazakh SSR did eventually become a key regional producer of wheat, beet and cotton.[15]
The Kazakh SSR arguably saw its best days underDinmukhamed Kunaev, who not only brought significant economic expansion but also managed to foster political autonomy from Moscow. He oversaw a rapid expansion in the country's material prosperity, industrial capacity and social status. The Kazakh SSR became an efficient exporter of valuable raw and processed goods, eventually becoming the third largest economy of the USSR.[18][29] During the tumultuous era of Gorbachev's policies ofPerestroika andGlasnost, the economy stagnated and left many citizens disappointed. The economic discontent, coupled with growing nationalism among the elites and youth, would lead to the downfall of Soviet rule in Kazakhstan.
In the early days of the Soviet Union, Kazakh cultural autonomy was developed in line withVladimir Lenin's policy ofKorenizatsiia. The Latin script was adapted for theKazakh language and secular developments in national culture were encouraged, This brief period of cultural autonomy was short-lived however, as Stalin ordered a reversal of the policy and enforced the adoption of theCyrillic script for allTurkic languages spoken in the country.[30] This was accompanied by the propagation ofinternationalism through thecultural revolution in the Soviet Union, which aimed to build a strong socialist society on the foundation of scientificMarxism–Leninism. Beginning in 1937, the Soviet Government began a series of forced deportations of ethnic minorities, such as Soviet Koreans, the Volga Germans and various other minorities to the Kazakh SSR, a programme that ended only with Stalin's death in 1953.
After theStalinist era,Nikita Khrushchev's renewed efforts to reinvigorateinternationalism and furtherly weaken Kazakh culture were controversial in the Kazakh SSR.[11] During the stewardship ofDinmukhamed Kunaev, indigenous culture was promoted and national autonomy was restored once again.[31] The culture of the Kazakh SSR was shaped by both native culture and the ever-changingSoviet ideology, creating an eclectic mix of national pride and socialist internationalism.[32] In the early days, there were several instances of tensions betweenRussians andKazakhs, which would eventually fade away. In the coming years, Kazakhstan was depicted as the 'promised land' which benefitted immensely from Soviet friendship and cooperation.[32]
^The Russian-language name for the republic wasКазахская Советская Социалистическая Республика. TheKazakh alphabet has changed several times in the past century and the rendering of the republic's name in Kazakh changed as well:
^Даулетбаева, Алтынзер (30 October 2017)."History of Kazakh script".Portal "History of Kazakhstan" – everything about Kazakhstan. Retrieved1 August 2025.
^kaganmedia.org (12 September 2022)."August 22 is the day of memory of Dinmukhamed Kunaev".Kaganmedia is an information platform that provides interesting articles and recommendations on various topics, including fashion, beauty, travel, culture and design. Retrieved1 August 2025.
Cameron, Sarah (2018).The Hungry Steppe: Famine, Violence, and the Making of Soviet Kazakhstan. Cornell University Press.ISBN978-1501730436online review.
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