Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes: A History of Kazakhstan from Pre-History to Post-Independence

by Robert Wight

This is a major new history of an increasingly important country in Central Asia. The book opens with an outline of the history of Almaty, from its nineteenth-century origins as a remote outpost of the Russian empire, up to its present status as the thriving second city of modern-day Kazakhstan. The story then goes back to the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, and the sensational discovery of the famous Golden Man of the Scythian empire. A succession of armies and empires, tribes and khanates, appeared and disappeared, before the siege and destruction in 1219 of the ancient Silk Road city of Otrar under the Mongol leader Genghis Khan. The emergence of the first identifiable Kazakh state in the sixteenth century was followed by early contacts with Russia, the country which came to be the dominant influence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia for three hundred years. The book shows how Kazakhstan has been inextricably caught up in the vast historical processes – of revolution, civil war, and the rise and fall of communism – which have extended out from Russia over the last century. In the process the country has changed dramatically, from a simple nomadic society of khans and clans, to a modern and outward-looking nation. The transition has been difficult and tumultuous for millions of people, but Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes illustrates how Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the world’s most successful post-communist countries.

Genres: Kazakhstan, History

610 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2015

Reviews

[Wesley Giesbrecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is the only book devoted specifically to the history of Kazakhstan that I have read, I am unable to make any comparisons with any other Kazakh histories.

Overall the book is evenly balanced in addressing the major periods of Kazakh history (a welcome surprise considering that it can often happen that histories of former Soviet republics deal very little with the time prior to their interaction with Russia).

The main criticism would be that it occasionally is unnecessarily focused on events happening within Russia. Often it is necessary to explain political, social, or economic issues that were happening in the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union since it ended up having direct consequences in Kazakhstan. However, sometimes the author includes events happening in Russia that have no relevance. For example, one of the final chapters includes the Chechen War in the chapter title and immediately discusses the first Chechen War. However, the only point of contact the author makes with Kazakhstan is that the people of Kazakhstan (both Kazakhs and Slavs) were relieved that they didn't have any of their soldiers deployed there. The rest of the chapter focuses on the decision to move the capital from Almaty to Akmolinsk, and the renaming of the city to Astana, as well as discussing the political and economic developments under Nazarbayev at the time.

Overall it's a relatively balanced history which occasionally ends up being a little too Russocentric.

[Laura Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was a good comprehensive history of Kazakhstan. My critique is that there is so much time spent on the events in Russia. Obviously this is an integral part of Kazakhstan's history but there was way too much detail. There were times I thought I was reading a history of Russia, not Kazakhstan.