Yulia Guzhvenko Current Project Yulia Guzhvenko Curriculum Vitae Current Project According archival sources, Kazakhs and Russian had interacted on territory of Eastern Kazakhstan since XVIII century. Local Kazakh clans officially recognized Russian authority in XIX. In early Soviet times (1920-25) this area was divided politically and administratively - thus, Eastern Kazakhstan constituted the northern belt of the Kazakh ASSR -newly-established national unit, later upgraded to full-formatted "union republic". The demarcation of Central Asia by Bolsheviks in 1920s caused serious problems, which became explicit since independence boom in early 1990s. The territories which contained considerable Russian population get composed areas of new socialist republics. Meantime, their key laws ("About formation of Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic", etc) didn't take into account the factor of sizeable Russian population in northeast part of Kazakhstan. The Stalinist politics of deportation of the whole ethnical groups during Great Patriotic War, the industrialization of Central Asian borderlands of Soviet Union, Virgin soil campaign were the summoning reasons of migration to Eastern Kazakhstan from European Russia and Siberia along 1930s-50s. As a result of ethnical migration to Eastern Kazakhstan since 1926 till 1970 the Russian population increased here in 2, 5 times, meanwhile the Kazakhs decreased in 7, 6 times because of negative natural and migration growth. But the situation changed in late Soviet times, when the number of population had primarily depended from natural growth. Thus, in 1970-1979 the Kazakh population increased from 32,6 to 38,7 percent in Eastern Kazakhstan. At the same time the number of non-titular nations (particularly the Russians) progressively decreased. Nevertheless, according to 1989 census the  number of  Kazakhs in  Eastern  Kazakhstan was  38,7%,  Russians -

51,6 percent. One may say that Eastern Kazakhstan was actually the "Russian" region within Kazakhstan. The break-up of Soviet Union brought ethnic conflicts between Kazakhs and Russians in Eastern Kazakhstan. The politics of new Kazakhstan leadership led to exaltation of titular ethnic group - Kazakhs. It was the Kazakh language that was recognized as the official state language, and this is when the Russian-speakers were the major ethnic group in the eastern areas of new sovereign state. In 1997 Eastern Kazakhstan was re-configured administratively - it included Semipalatinsk oblast. This fact had influenced on the ethnical and demographic situation: in Semipalatinsk oblast in 1993 ethnical majority were the Kazakhs - 55,6 percent, with Russians as ethnical minority - 34,5 percent. By this moment Russians were the majority in Eastern Kazakhstan - 64,2 percent, when Kazakhs constituted only 29,1 percent. After uniting "Russian" Eastern Kazakhstan with Semipalatinsk oblast the correlation of the Kazakhs and the Russians became more or less comparable. Currently immigration of Russian-speakers from Eastern Kazakhstan is stabilized. The data of the census 1999 testified that in Eastern Kazakhstan Kazakhs amounted 48,5 percent, Russians - 45,4 percent. Politics of exaltation in favor of Kazakhs manifested in different spheres and public life: thus, increased number Kazakh students studying in universities, Kazakhs dominated in government agencies, whereas Russians still are playing leading roles in industry. Currently rural Kazakhs push out Russians from industry in urban areas of Eastern Kazakhstan. This fact doesn't correspond with demands of labor market because rural Kazakhs are not capable to replace qualified Russians. This tendency will negatively impact on ethno-social composition of population in Eastern Kazakhstan. This means that there is significant potential of Russian speaker's migration from Eastern Kazakhstan - the point which should be carefully explored and taken into account by officials of both (Russian and Kazakh) sides from academic, managerial, social etc points of view. This time I finished collecting empirical material: statistics, sociological survey, archival sources, legislative documents and I would like to improve my methodological and theoretical training. The up-coming visit at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology will be great chance to carry out further exploration ethno-social development Kazakhstan's regions on more firmly in theoretical approach.