Socio-Historical Portrait of the Kazakh Volost Rulers of the Steppe Region, the Russian Empire (second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries)

The socio-historical portrait of the Kazakh volost rulers of the Steppe region, the Russian empire, during the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries created in this article is based on published sources and archival data. A comparative analysis of the age characteristics, social origin, educational level and characteristics of professional duties of the Kazakh volost rulers is presented based on personal data from the official lists. The article focuses on the social changes among the Kazakh volost rulers in the period since the adoption of the "Temporary provision on administration in the steppe regions of Orenburg and West-Siberian General-governorships" (1868) until the revolutionary events of 1917. The article considers factors of positive motivation in learning the Russian language by Kazakh lower-level officials of local self-government, for whom education in general and the Russian language, in particular, became a powerful resource of socialization in the imperial space. It was concluded that during the specified period, when the volost governors were approved, their origin began to play less importance, and the educational level and personal characteristics of the applicant became increasingly important.