Russians in Kazakhstan and demographic change: imperial legacy and the Kazakh way of nation building

Today it can surely be said that the Kazakh government has come a long way in developing and supporting the Kazakh national identity, culture and language. These were suppressed and damaged during more than two centuries of Russian domination over the Kazakhs. Since independence, the ‘Russian problem’ in Kazakhstan has certainly defined Kazakh foreign and domestic policies. The cautious and astute policy of the Kazakh government is worthy of investigation, a task this paper takes up. After providing the historical background, the paper examines certain social, legal and demographic aspects of independent state‐ and nation‐building policies in Kazakhstan. In presenting and analysing the Kazakh national policy, this paper also examines the attitudes and criticisms of various Russian groups inside and outside Kazakhstan, both official and unofficial.