Administrative policy of Russia in Kazakh Steppe in the first half of the 19th century: the search for new forms of governance

Abstract

Seizure of lands occupied by Kazakh tribes conducted by the Romanov Empire triggered the need to create adequate structures of the Russian administration to rule the country effectively. The first half of the 19th century witnessed the process of the Russian bureaucratic elite searching for an appropriate management model for the areas inhabited by the Kazakhs. A number of options for the design of the management structure were considered, ranging from the models functioning on the lands inhabited by nomadic tribes to new systems in need of verification. Finally, the process of administrative integration of the Kazakh Steppe finished in the 1860s.