The administrative-territorial reform in Kazakhstan ( April 22, 1997 ) was initiated by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev [1] [2] . The Law "On measures to optimize the administrative-territorial structure of the Republic of Kazakhstan" led to the following changes: Taldy-Kurgan region became part of Almaty with a center in the city of Taldy-Kurgan ; Turgai region became part of Kustanai ; Kokchetav region was divided between Akmola and North Kazakhstan regions, Dzhezkazgan region returned to Karaganda , and Semipalatinsk became part of East Kazakhstan [1] . This reform has received mixed reviews among political scientists and analysts in the CIS countries, mainly outside Kazakhstan. Thus, many analysts, including Kazakhstani [3] , saw in the redrawing of borders an attempt to blur the existing ethnic balance between predominantly Russian and mainly Kazakh regions, in favor of the latter [4] . The redrawing of borders itself did not immediately change the structure of ethnic settlement, but created favorable conditions for this, given the high migration activity of urbanizing Kazakhs within the republic and their high natural growth.
Consequences
So, after the predominantly Kazakh Semipalatinsk region was included in the East Kazakhstan region, the share of Kazakhs in it rose to 48.5%, and the Russians dropped to 45%. After the enlargement of the North Kazakhstan region, the share of Russians in it decreased from 65% to 49.8%. In the enlarged Karaganda and Akmola regions, the shares of Russians and Kazakhs were almost equal (43% and 37%, respectively). The most noticeable was the redrawing of the borders of the Kustanai region, the silhouette of which took on a bizarre form due to the annexation of mainly the Kazakh Turgai region in the south. Thus, after the reform in Kazakhstan, there were no regions with a clear predominance of the Russian population [2] . In parallel, official Kazakhization of Russian-speaking place names took place. In the republic itself, the consequences of the reform were also ambiguous: after losing the status of the regional center of the Turgai region, a significant part of the inhabitants left Arkalyk .
See also
- Transfer of the capital of Kazakhstan to Akmola
- Jerrymandering
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 N.A. Nazarbayev - The First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - The leader of the nation - the creator of the Kazakhstan sovereign state . Date of treatment February 3, 2013. Archived February 12, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 Territorial-administrative structure of the Republic of Kazakhstan . Date of treatment February 3, 2013. Archived February 12, 2013.
- ↑ M.K. Derbisalin, Ph.D. in Economics. Administrative-territorial reform in the Republic of Kazakhstan, aimed at improving management efficiency and strengthening the unitarity of the state . Date of treatment February 3, 2013.
- ↑ Russian Archipelago - Russian-speaking at the external borders of Russia: challenges and answers (on the example of Kazakhstan) Archived on December 14, 2010.