The need for a thorough, evidenced-based understanding of Central Asia’s past is rising, given Russia’s tendency to try to reinvent history as it continues to harbor imperial geopolitical ambitions.
For example, Russian leader Vladimir Putin back in 2014 notoriously called into question Kazakhstan’s legitimacy as a sovereign state, claiming that “the Kazakhs never had any statehood.” Kazakhstan’s post-Soviet leadership, Putin added, established “a state in a territory that had never had a state before.”
A recent work published in Kazakhstan, titled Tamga: A History of the Kazakh Tribes, is a comprehensive effort to clear up the historical confusion sown by Putin and others. It recounts in painstaking detail over almost 700 pages the history of Kazakh peoples and their centuries-old, deeply felt sense of nationhood.
The book’s author, Radik Temirgaliev, relied heavily on written records, not oral tradition. Thus, the narrative effectively begins in the 13th/14th centuries, an era when the Golden Horde controlled most of what is now Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and beyond.
In an email interview with Eurasianet, Temirgaliev recounted that in recent years new, original source material has surfaced, helping him flesh out the story of Kazakh tribes. He was also able to draw on innovative genetic research to help fill in gaps in the written record, enabling him to write authoritatively about the nuances of Kazakh history, as well as debunk myths.
“Thanks to the Internet and social networks, these myths are spreading quite widely in society,” he said, adding that this phenomenon is common not only in Kazakhstan, but across “the post-Soviet space.”
“I am trying to convey to the reader that the history of any people is a complex thing. You cannot look at it through the eyes of a child and try to divide all events only into good and bad,” he continued. “Kazakhs are no better or worse than other peoples. Like everyone else, we had our victories and defeats. If we learn to perceive our past objectively and honestly, it will help us make fewer mistakes in the present and future.”
Temirgaliev shows how tribal identity was a key cultural indicator for nomadic peoples. The book highlights how from the start of recorded history, Kazakh tribes, just like states, were skilled at forming alliances for security and economic purposes. Over time, tribal networks gave rise to three large quasi-state like associations, called zhuzes. Each tribe had a distinctive symbol or seal called a tamga.
“I show that the Kazakhs had a very strong national identity, which was based on the legend of Alasha Khan. People were united by the idea of their origin from the three hundred warriors of this ruler and considered themselves obliged to preserve the unity bequeathed by their ancestors,” Temirgaliev said. “This self-awareness was one of the basic elements thanks to which the Kazakh Khanate existed.”
An accurate understanding of history helps to reinforce national sovereignty, he indicated. “As in any country, national history is the basis of state ideology,” Temirgaliev said. “It is impossible to be a popular politician in Kazakhstan without paying tribute to the historical past.”
While Temirgaliev’s work may influence history-related debates among historians and on an official level, it is not positioned to become a best-seller in Kazakhstan. Written in Russian, the first print run was only 1,000 copies and it was retailing for the equivalent of roughly $20 in Almaty bookshops, a hefty sum by Kazakh standards.
The idea for producing a comprehensive history of Kazakhstan’s tribes dates back to 2018. The work ended up being an outgrowth of a somewhat unusual collaboration, involving the sponsorship of the Kazakhstan-based Caspian Beverage Company, which produces Tamga brand energy drinks. Company representatives were involved in the production process, board chair Almat Akhmetov said in an interview with the Tribune.kz news outlet.
“We wrote this book together, for a long time we processed and refined the material,” Akhmetov was quoted as saying in the interview.
