FORMATION OF KAZAKH NATIONAL ELITES IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Elites, as a social group, generate and implement progressive ideas in society. The formation of Kazakhstan’s national elite began in the first half of the 20th century, with access to secular education. Kazakhstan’s new progressive intelligentsia made significant changes in many areas of science, economy and culture. This article examines the prerequisites for the emergence and development of elites in Kazakhstan and describes their contribution to the political, cultural, and economic spheres.


INTRODUCTION
Modern political science often employs the term "elite" to emphasize the intellectual and moral superiority of one group of people over others. Numerous researchers agree that the harmonious functioning of society is possible only with elites. In their opinion, elites play a crucial role in the social and political life of the state, especially during socioeconomic and political crises 1 . Such conclusions were drawn by Lal Sharma 2 , Joshua Pryor 3 , Arpad von Lazar 4 , Dinsha Mistree 5 , and others.
Concerning the development of Kazakh national elites, there are numerous works on various features of the formation of Kazakhs as an independent and culturally diverse nation. Mambet Koigeldiev 6 considers the repression of the Kazakh intelligentsia as a sign of weakness of the Russian imperial rule. Zhanna Mazhitova 7 explores the relation of national intelligentsia leaders with the court of biys as the traditional institution of Kazakh society, born of the reforms of the tsarist government in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Gulnar Kendirbay (Kendirbai; Kendirbaeva) 8 studies the training of the Kazakh intelligentsia in the early 20th century. In the study, the first most prominent representatives of the intelligentsia are mostly related to aristocratic Kazakh families who studied at the first Russian schools. However, G. Kendirbay demonstrates how remarkably the number of the intelligentsia in ordinary Kazakh families has increased with the spreading and democratization of Russian education. The theme of the Kazakh intelligentsia's struggle for independence at the beginning of the 20th century is also central in the works of Zhandos Kumganbayev and Nazgul Kudaibergenova 9 , Jean-Francois Caron 10 , Sattar Kaziev 11 , and Saule Kenzhebaeva 12 .
G. Kendirbaeva 13 admits the intention of the Russian bureaucratic system to destruct the traditional social structure of Kazakh nomadic society, as well as the Russification of the Kazakhs with subsequent conversion to Christianity. All this had a destructive influence on the identity of the Kazakh intelligentsia. S. Sabol 14 also explores the impact of Russian colonization on the genesis of Kazakh national consciousness. He highlighted that language became for national movements as well as for intelligentsia formation a central feature in their proto-national cohesion. Mary Holdsworth 15 analyzes the problem of Kazakhstan's elite formation under Soviet ruling during 1917-1940. One should also note the work of R. K. Nurmagambetova, who provides a comprehensive synthesis of the historiography of Alash activity 16  the post-Soviet period. It focuses on overcoming the significant Russian minority complex of the national elite which has been inoculated systematically since the nineteenth-century Russian colonization and twentieth-century Sovietization, as a result, and a constant reminder of the political elite's continued vulnerability to external political and cultural influence. Similar views are also expressed in the works of Jean-Francois Caron 18 , Dilip Hiro 19 , David Christian 20 , and Bhavna Dave 21 .
Although there are several studies, including the above-mentioned works, on the formation of Kazakh national elites in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many issues still require systematization and more detailed analysis. In this article, the authors examine the formation of Kazakh national elites during this period and analyze their influence on the country's development.

PREREQUISITES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL ELITES AND INTELLIGENTSIA IN KAZAKHSTAN
Rapid socio-cultural and economic transformations took place during the fin de siècle in Kazakhstan that influenced the further development of the state. The rise and growth of productive forces and trade, the development of commodity-money relations that broke the economic and social isolation of Kazakh villages, as well as the development of the capitalist system increased class differentiation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries 22 . The cultural and ideological shift was facilitated by the emergence of representatives of the social elite, a narrow layer of people with European cultural values 23 .
It should be noted that the slowed-down process of national identity formation among the Kazakhs could be associated with their "politically calm nature" and isolation from political problems in general, according to some researchers: "[Until] the mid-19th century, it [Kazakh epics and folklore] showed no evidence of political consciousness or even sub-national loyalties." 24 According to S. Sabol, the history of the intelligentsia as a separate social class within the Russian Empire (which included Kazakhstan, along with other subjugated nations) began in the 1860s. During that time, the term designated "not only the revolutionary opposition to the tsarist regime in whatever manifestation, but independent thinkers, often of aristocratic background, who by virtue of their intellect felt separated from the ordinary, typically uneducated, masses." 25 S. Sabol accents that in the 19th century, the Kazakh intelligentsia operated between the two societies and cultures (Russian and authentically Kazakh), and by the 20th century, they sought to mediate between the state and its subjects and to preserve and promote the cultural and economic development of a people permanently subjugated and impoverished. 26 The 20th century was the beginning of a more acute position of the Kazakh intelligentsia with the demands of cultural and religious autonomy and independence. The formation and development of the Kazakh national intelligentsia was not easy and straightforward, but rather a difficult and lengthy process. First of all, it can be measured by an increased number of trained professionals in the national industry, politics, and culture. Eventually, it was some of them who formed the country's intelligentsia.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were two options to get primary education in Kazakhstan: Muslim mektebs and Russian-Kyrgyz village schools. Religious schools (mektebs) outnumbered secular schools and formed the education system for the local population. Mektebs taught primarily religious subjects 27 . It was not until 1874 that the Ministry of Public Education began to oversee religious Muslim schools in Kazakhstan. Russian language classes were introduced in 1876 28 .
The Russian tsarist government insisted on limited primary education for the 24  Kazakhs and focused on the Russian language and basic arithmetic as school subjects. The tsarist government was not interested in the development of secondary or high education. Various tsarist decrees and the introduction of colonial administration minimized the political influence of the Kazakhs. Thus, only some elite representatives had the opportunity (though very limited) to get an education. Governor-General von Kaufman of Turkestan believed that the Kazakhs were more receptive to European civilization, which, in the colonial perception, could only be transmitted through the diffusion of the Russian language, culture and religion, and from this perspective, spreading education among the nomadic Kazakhs would allow the Russian state "to fulfill the humanitarian responsibility of drawing them into the family of civilized people [as well as] to distance them from Muslim influence that has already begun to appear among the nomads" 29 . However, the prospect of controlling educated people seemed more intimidating and dangerous rather than attractive.
The absence of national secondary schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries forced the Kazakhs to send their children to Russian educational institutions. The first Russian secondary educational institution, which became accessible to Kazakh children, was Orenburg Neplyuev Military School (1825), later renamed Orenburg Cadet Corps. M. S. Babadzhanov, a well-known Kazakh scientist, was among the first Kazakh students of the school.
As regards higher education, the Kazakhs had two options. The first option was to study in higher educational institutions of the Russian Empire. The second option to getting a higher education was to study in a religious, rather than secular, format -in madrasas. These institutions represented higher education and trained pastoral counsellors, mosque rectors, who were professionally versed in Sharia law, the norms of Muslim law, and the holy book of the Koran, as well as teachers of Islamic theological schools. Therefore, the madrasa curriculum was distinguished by a combination of the foundations of Muslim the-ology and the Arabic language with general education subjects, as well as information on pedagogical disciplines. 30 The most prestigious schools of the time were Galia in Ufa, Khusainia in Orenburg, Rasulia in Troitsk, and madrasas in the city of Uralsk. Many representatives of the Kazakh intelligentsia, including T. Zhomartbayev, M. Seralin, B. Mailin, M. Zhumabayev, and Kh. Ibrahimov, studied in the Galia madrasa in Ufa, founded under the patronage of Emperor Nicholas II in 1906. 31 In this regard, one should mention the problem of language, which directly influenced the learning process and the formation of the education system as a whole. The above-mentioned Muslim mektebs and Russian (or Altynsarin) schools had different approaches to teaching. Teaching in Kazakh mektebs proceeded in the Kazakh language written in the Arabic script. It was based on the so-called 'eski zhol' [`the old way'] method, i.e. influenced by Islamic educational traditions. 32 The so-called Altynsarin or Russian schools were first organized by the well-known Kazakh scholar I. Altynsarin, who introduced the Cyrillic alphabet adapted to the Kazakh language. 33 This alphabet was compiled by the Russian orientalist and missionary N. Il'minsky, who was convinced that the Cyrillic alphabet would serve as the first step to the Russification of the Kazakhs with subsequent conversion to Christianity. 34 The newspaper Qazaq also mentioned a third type of Kazakh primary schools, which used the so-called 'zhana zhol' [`the new way'] method of teaching. However, these schools were not widely spread. 35 Although the quality of education in mektebs was significantly worse due to poorly qualified teachers and archaic methods of teaching, 36 the Kazakhs preferred to send their children to Kazakh schools as they did not trust Russianspeaking teachers bringing in a foreign culture and contributing to the Russification of the people. This peculiarity created one of the many barriers to education 30  and slowed down the formation of national elites. 37 Another thing affecting the formation of the Kazakh intelligentsia was the geographical factor that "slowed down" this process: nomadic settlements were scattered, and there were huge distances between them, no transport infrastructure, and no such geographical center. 38 The formation of the Kazakh intellectuals during the fin de siècle was a complex process. Kh. Abzhanov emphasized that the intelligentsia was the product of the development of Kazakh society in the early 20th century, and then the national intellectuals awakened the great steppe population. M. Dulatov's poetic call "Оян, қазақ!" ["Wake up, Kazakh!"], captured the critical moment that could most accurately characterize the spirit of that time.

THE INFLUENCE OF NATIONAL ELITES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF KAZAKH SOCIETY
The oppressive colonial policy of the Russian tsar threatened the existence of Kazakhs as a nation. Acute social and economic problems arising from this policy were leading to a critical point. 39 The combination of the growing number of educated people and the rapid development of capitalist relations influenced the formation of national consciousness and stirred the desire to participate in the political life of the country.
In 1917, the Alash party was formed consisting of ethnic Kazakhs. The party united the progressive Kazakhs, who saw the destiny of their country free from imperial colonization. They dreamt about achieving Kazakhstan's prosperity and creating a modern Kazakh nation. The program of the party called for national autonomy with Kazakh courts and army but within a federal, democratic Russia, social equality for all, freedom of speech, justice for the poor, separation of religion and state, free and popular education in the native language, solution of the land question, and putting an end to Russian migration. 40 In December 1917, at the Second All-Kazakh Congress in Orenburg, the party leaders announced the creation of Alash Orda -a self-proclaimed Kazakh national-territorial entity with its own independent government. However, as far back as in 1920, after the Bolsheviks came to power, the Alash party and Alash Orda were dismissed. 41 Its members faced harassment and repression for many years after that, 42 and the lives of many prominent political figures and representatives of the national elites were cut short during the Stalinist repressions. A certain specific feature of the Kazakh liberation movement at the beginning of the 20th century is worth noting: it was led by a political force new to the Kazakh society: the national intelligentsia. Though modest in number, it was extremely active and politically sophisticated. 43 Representatives of national elites became the main driving force of political and state changes. Despite numerous difficulties, arrests and imprisonment, they continued to fight for the formation of their own statehood and the awakening of national consciousness. These people left a significant mark in Kazakh history, which is why a brief description of the activities and biographies of some of them is relevant.
Khalil Dosmukhamedov (1883-1939) was interested in the development of the country's political life. He was upset that no party (neither social democrat nor socialist revolutionaries) represented the interests of the Kazakh people and the peoples of the Russian Empire. 44  His colleague and close associate was Zhahansha Dosmukhamedov (1887-1938), who was also known for his proactive political stance. His interest in the country's socio-political life began during his studies at the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. 46 He began his career in the Uralsk judicial agency and went deeper into politics, becoming, subsequently, one of the leaders of the national liberation movement of Kazakhstan. 47 Zh. Dosmukhamedov, as a professional lawyer, played a leading role in shaping the legal concept of Alash. The particular significance of his activity consisted in the unification of the Muslims of Russia. He was elected Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Muslim Council, a member of the pre-parliament of the Provisional Council formed by the Provisional Government, and a member of a special session to draft a law on the Constituent Assembly. He also took an active part in organizing and conducting Muslim congresses. In the west of Kazakhstan, under his leadership, the Uilsky Olyat government was formed, reorganized later into the Western branch of Alash Orda. He initiated the formation of the Kazakh army, the people's militia, and started two cadet schools for the training of Kazakh officers. Putting into practice his ideas on the formation of national autonomy, Zh. Dosmukhamedov rigidly raised the land issue, believing that the land should be owned by the Kazakh people. 48 Alikhan Bukeikhanov (1866-1937) was the oldest leading figure of the Kazakh political movement in the first quarter of the 20th century. After graduating from the Faculty of Economics of St. Petersburg Forestry Institute, he began to actively participate in the country's political life. He joined the Constitutional Democratic Party of Russia, took part in anti-colonial speeches, and worked as an editor in the newspapers Irtysh, Omich, and Golos, covering important social and political issues. 49 Later on, he became one of the founders and the leader of the Alash party and the head of Alash Orda. 50 A. Bukeikhanov was also known as an encyclopedic scientist, the founder of Kazakh local history, and a talented publicist. 51 Another well-known leader of Alash Orda was Mirzhakip Dulatov (1885-1935), who was a poet, writer, journalist, educator, as well as one of the leaders [  As can be seen from the biographies of some socio-political figures, the representatives of the intelligentsia were interested not only in politics, but also in many other areas -art, literature, history, and folklore. Often, it was through artistic means that important ideas were conveyed to the people in the most accessible form for perception -songs, plays, novels, or poems.
In the early 20th century, the cultural ties of Kazakhstan strengthened. Progressively-minded poets and writers, turning more and more to Russian and Western European classics, began to translate the works of A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, L. N. Tolstoy, I. A. Krylov, and other advanced Russian word-painters, including their translations and adaptations from Western European culture.
The genre composition of Kazakh literature also became diverse: it was during this period that the first Kazakh novels, dramas, and stories were written, critical articles and essays first appeared in print, and satire developed. Kazakh literature moved to a qualitatively new stage of development, and the publication of books in the Kazakh language had a huge positive impact on the development of education in the region. 56 One of the most significant figures of Kazakh literature, S. Toraigyrov, saw the meaning of his life in the enlightenment of his native people, as well as their release from socio-political oppression. 57 In 1914, he wrote one of the first Kazakh novels -Kamar Sulu ['Beautiful Kamar'], in which he exposed the morals of tribal clans and the cruel customs and mores of feudal-patriarchal society, as well as advocated the emancipation of women. This theme was also touched upon in the work Gulkashima, written by M. Seralin at about the same period. The main plotlines in the works Rabiha, Kartkozha, and Sherniyaz by Zh. Aymautov are the problems of women's equal rights, morality, and the struggle against remnants of the past. 58 In M. Zhumabayev's story "Sholpannyn kunasі" ["Sholpan's Sin"], the image of the main character embodies the entire Kazakh people, who found themselves in difficult conditions, tormented by difficulties of the right choice and oppressed by imposed traditions. 59 Seeing the difficult situation of his people, Sh. Kudaiberdiyev searched for ways out of the crisis and propagated the ideas of education and humanism, exposing the anti-people policy of large feudal lords. He expressed his thoughts in the works Chronicle of Kyrgyz, Turkish, Kazakh Khans, Conditions of Islam, and Enlik-Kebek. 60 No less popular are the works of A. Baitursynov, M. Zhumabayev, and Zh. Aymautov, which adhered to universal values and principles of humanism. 61 It should also be noted that the late 19th and early 20th centuries were marked by the beginning of journalism in Kazakhstan. The main prerequisites for the formation of this field were the growth of population and several educated people, as well as the appearance of the first printed editions, post-offices, and telegraph.
The beginning of the periodical press was laid in Tashkent in 1870-1882 with the newspaper Turkistan ualayatynyn gazeti ['Turkestan Gazette'], published in the form of an addendum to the official press organ of the Turkestan Governor Generalship -Turkestan Vedomosti. 62 Turkestan Gazette was the very first Kazakhlanguage newspaper, which contributed to the emergence of modern Kazakh journalism and publication. The significance of this newspaper lies in the fact that it discussed social, economic, and cultural problems.
Later, in 1905-1907, the newspapers Serke ['Leader'] and Kazakh gazeti ['Kazakh Newspaper'] appeared, and in 1911, the newspaper Kazakhstan and the journal Ay Qap were established. 63 The latter was led by M. Seralin and played an important role in the development of Kazakh written literature. 64 However, the most famous newspaper was Qazaq, the first issue of which was published in Orenburg on February 2, 1913. The newspaper was published until 1918. Its issues were devoted to the transition from nomadism to agriculture, as well as the problems of equality, religion, and international relations. The newspaper circulation ranged from 3 to 8 thousand copies. 65 From time to time, the press was censored by the tsarist authorities. For example, Qazaq was closed down 66 due to its inconsistency with the colonial policy of the Russian Empire. Nevertheless, such attempts to oppress the print media only strengthened the ideas of the Kazakhs about the importance of forming national identity.
It should be noted that newspapers were best suited for use as a means of disseminating the ideas of the intelligentsia. For instance, the newspaper Birlik tui, founded in 1917, protected Kazakh national interests and proved the ideas of national self-determination of the peoples of Turkestan. 67 The newspaper Sary-Arka, which was printed in Semipalatinsk in 1917-1918, covered the problems of the formation of the Kazakh state system and the Alash Orda government. Politicians such as A. Bukeikhanov and Kh. Gabbasov advocated in this newspaper 68 the idea of prosperity of the Kazakhs, national self-determination and statehood. "I live, breathe, exist in the internal affairs of my homeland, for me its fate is above all good... I can't sleep peacefully if I don't know what position it is in," wrote A. Bukeikhanov. 69 As mentioned above, any form of art could be used to convey an idea to ordinary people, including theatrical productions, operas, performances, and concerts. The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the formation of the first professional Kazakh theater, opened in Kyzyl-Orda in January 1926. One of the first theatrical productions was the tragedy Enlik-Kebek by M. Auezov, which raised the problem of the rigidity of Kazakh traditions. A similar theme was covered in the novel Monument to Suga by B. Mailin, based on which a popular performance was also staged. The play based on the poem "Ayman Sholpan" by M. Auezov not only raised the theme of the traditional life of society but also highlighted the problem of the internal struggle and ridiculed the politics of the biys and the batyrs. In 1934, for the first time on stage, a work based on a real Kazakh legend was reproduced -the opera Kyz-Zhibek by E. Brusilovsky. In Zhalbyr E. Brusilovsky (1935) also described the struggle of the Kazakh people against tsarism and feudal lords. 70 All these productions were a huge success with the public. 71 Last but not least, one should also mention some representatives of the intelligentsia who developed the country's economy. Representatives of the oil industry held a special place among them since this industry was most actively developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The development of oil resources was at first associated with the involvement of many foreign specialists from Russia, France, England, Germany, and Sweden, while the Kazakhs initially performed exclusively basic manual work. However, harsh working conditions, poor living conditions, and a hot climate were not suited for foreign specialists. Moreover, over time, with the improvement of production technologies and the creation of new equipment, a need arose for a larger number of highly qualified personnel. In this regard, specialized educational institutions began to arise. 72 Dossor Factory-Plant School (FZU) became the first training school in oil production, while the second school was established in Guryev. 73 By 1926, 2,096 Kazakhs (62.7% of the total number of workers) were employed in the oil industry. During 1931-1932, the two schools trained 720 oil workers, including 510 Kazakhs. 74 The workers of the newspaper Zhumyskermіlі ['The Voice'] and Guryev Oil Technical College greatly contributed to training national cadres, preparing technical graduates, filling the deficit of professional staff, and developing special vocational education in Kazakhstan as a whole. Guryev Oil Technical College has become a leader in the booming oil industry. It trained geologists, drilling specialists, economists, and others. 75 Many of the graduates of the

CONCLUSIONS
A deep analysis of historical and socio-cultural conditions of Kazakhstan's development during Russian colonization makes it possible to conclude that it was the period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that was a turning point in the history of Kazakhstan, as political, economic and social factors led to significant changes in the country, namely the formation of the intelligentsia class and considerable activity in the direction of national Kazakh interests and national identity development.
The process of forming national elites as a class was quite long. The main factor preventing its development was the reluctance of the tsarist government to develop the colonial territories, including the Kazakh ones. Control over the poor and uneducated peoples was preferred. However, the search for new markets, natural resources, and labor resources on the outskirts of the empire required, one way or another, interaction with the local population. The Kazakhs gradually began to be involved in local governments, which increased confidence in the local population. But the greatest achievement and factor that influenced the formation of the intelligentsia class in Kazakhstan was the opportunity to receive an education for the Kazakh children. In addition to traditional Muslim mektebs, primary education also became available in progressive Russian-language schools. Moreover, immigrants from Kazakhstan also got access to higher education in such large educational centers as Kazan, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk and others. The increase in the number of educated young people contributed to the formation of a new class in the state, which desired better living conditions for its people. The priority of the Kazakh intelligentsia was to bring the Kazakhs to the Russian cultural level. It is obvious, though, that the economic standard of living was no less desirable.
The similarity of the views of many representatives of the intelligentsia contributed to the convergence of like-minded people, which resulted in the formation of the Alash party in 1917. The activities of the party led to the creation of state autonomy -Alash Orda with its own government. Although the party was later dismissed by the Bolsheviks, and most of its members were repressed, this stage became important for the history of Kazakhstan, which demonstrated the strong desire of the people to gain independence.
Promoting the ideas of enlightenment of the native people, as well as their liberation from socio-political oppression, required new tools for communication. This need was met through the development of the printing industry and the publication of newspapers, the most significant of which was Qazaq. This period was also marked by the emergence of significant figures in various fields -literature, theater, music, science, and industry. It was through these ways that one could propagate the ideas of education, raise awareness among the indigenous population, as well as expand the system of primary education. The conducted study makes it possible to conclude that it was due to the efforts of the intelligentsia that the Kazakhs as a nation strongly stood out from other imperial province and Soviet republics and could not be fully assimilated by the colonial authorities, despite numerous decrees and even repressive actions, aimed at suppressing the dissent of the subjugated peoples. Representatives of different elite strata contributed in every possible way to national development along the entire thorny path until independence.