The main stages of the formation of historical memory in Kazakhstan

Abstract

The article considers the main stages of formation of historical memory in Kazakhstan, which reflect the changes in political, social and cultural conditions. Their analysis shows that historical memory in Kazakhstan has adapted to political and cultural changes, while remaining an important tool for the formation of national consciousness. At the same time, the problem is that historical memory can serve as a tool for nation-building, but at the same time it can also generate conflicts and tensions, especially due to differences in the interpretation of historical events.

The approach used by traditional European historical science, based on the «principle of soil» is unacceptable for the study of the history of nomadic peoples, in particular, the Kazakhs. Also, the limitation of the analysis to the modern territory of Kazakhstan, due to the relatively recent appearance of the self-name “Kazakhs”, leads to ignoring the prehistory and historical roots of the Kazakh people.

In this regard, the expediency of studying the Kazakh nomadic civilization on the basis of the «principle of blood», i.e., following the continuity of clans, generations and traditions is justified. This implies the study of the history of Kazakh clans before the formation of the Kazakh nationhood.

It is also proposed to get rid of the definition of the period of Kazakhstan's presence in the Russian Empire and then Soviet Russia as “colonial”, which has a negative connotation that cannot but affect the perception of this rather long historical period. For this purpose, it is necessary to abandon ideological bias and try to conceptualize the relationship between historical experience and current diplomatic realities.

An important component of the strategic development of modern Kazakhstan is the formation of national identity, preservation of cultural heritage through reproduction in the historical memory of society is.  At present, an important aspect of the development of a new model of national history of Kazakhstan has become its international character.

As a result, it is concluded that it is necessary to form a new historical worldview by updating the empirical and theoretical-methodological base. It should be taken into account that scientific and technological progress generates new means of commemorating the past, which determine the process of virtualization of historical memory.