Abstract:
The article discusses protest actions under the leadership of Zholaman Tlenshiev that occurred intermittently in 1822−1840 in Kazakhstan and played a significant role in the formation of its north-western borders at a specified time. It was one of the very first and largest speeches against the policy of the tsarist empire. In the article based on archival sources describes previously unknown details of this uprising. The main sources are materials from the central archives of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. Briefly, the prerequisites and the main causes of the uprising, which were directly related to the socio-political crisis of the first decades of the ХІХ-th century in Western Kazakhstan, are given. The main prerequisites of protest actions were the acute social and political crisis in the mentioned region which arose mainly due to external factors. The power of Khans in the Younger Zhuz of Kazakhs was weakened severely; significant figures were not allowed to govern. As a result of the incapacity of Khans approved by the central authorities, internal differences between clans increased, and at times the steppe was engulfed by internecine and mass conflicts. Kazakh communities in the province were subjected to great confusion; murder of one of the khans as a result of unrest did not bring the expected calmness. Sultan Aryngazy, who later established absolute order and calmness in the steppes, was not allowed to govern. In addition, in the same years, the Novo-Ilets Line begins to be created in the northern border of West Kazakhstan, which becomes the main reason of protest actions under the leadership of Zholaman. These actions constituted an armed struggle and were one of the important events of that era. These events in the 20−40s of the XIX century in West Kazakhstan remain poorly studied. During this period, the khan power weakened by the central administration was eliminated, the colonization of the Kazakh steppes proceeded to the next step. Demanding their ancestral territories and the legal ruler, the struggle of Zholaman to the last supported the strong and legitimate power in the Kazakh steppes, the integrity and unity of the Kazakh communities.
