" . . . a rewarding book." —Times Literary Supplement Set in the vast windswept Central Asian steppes and the infinite reaches of galactic space, this powerful novel offers a vivid view of the culture and values of the Soviet Union's Central Asian peoples.

The Hungry Steppe examines one of the most heinous crimes of the Stalinist regime, the Kazakh famine of 1930–33. More than 1.5 million people perished in this famine, a quarter of Kazakhstan's population, and the crisis transformed a territory the size of continental Europe. Yet the story of this famine has remained mostly hidden from view. Drawing upon state and Communist party documents, as well as oral history and memoir accounts in Russian and in Kazakh, Sarah Cameron reveals this brutal story and its devastating consequences for Kazakh society. Through the most violent of means the Kazakh famine created Soviet Kazakhstan, a stable territory with clearly delineated boundaries that was an integral part of the Soviet economic system; and it forged a new Kazakh national identity. But this state-driven modernization project was uneven. Ultimately, Cameron finds, neither Kazakhstan nor Kazakhs themselves were integrated into the Soviet system in precisely the ways that Moscow had originally hoped. The experience of the famine scarred the republic for the remainder of the Soviet era and shaped its transformation into an independent nation in 1991. Cameron uses her history of the Kazakh famine to overturn several assumptions about violence, modernization, and nation-making under Stalin, highlighting, in particular, the creation of a new Kazakh national identity, and how environmental factors shaped Soviet development. Ultimately, The Hungry Steppe depicts the Soviet regime and its disastrous policies in a new and unusual light.

This compete history of one of the largest non-Slavic ethnic groups charts it from its emergence in the mid-fifteenth century to the present. Olcott details the major events that have shaped the character of the Islamic nation of Kazakhstan, discussing the rise and fall of the Kazakh Khanate, the Kazakhs in imperial Russia, revolutionary and Soviet Kazakhstan, and the struggle for autonomy under Soviet rule.

Colloquial Kazakh provides a step-by-step course in Kazakh as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Kazakh in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. Key features include: progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios useful vocabulary lists throughout the text an overview of the sounds and alphabet of Kazakh additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues. Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Kazakh will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and for students taking courses in Kazakh. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.

"Here is a rare book. It is the first-person story of Mukhamet Shayakhmetov, born into a family of nomadic Kazakh herdsmen in 1922, the year of the consolidation of Soviet rule across his people's vast steppe-land in central Asia, specifically eastern Kazakhstan." "Thus was brought to an end, with dread ideological ruthlessness, a way of life of sanctified interdependence between man and nature. Designated as a kulak, Mukhamet's father was imprisoned as 'an enemy of the people', and his family were stripped of all possessions, including livestock, and ostracised." "Collectivisation of agriculture was forcibly imposed, and famine ensued. In the years 1932-34 alone, well over a million Kazakhs died: more than a quarter of the indigenous population across a territory as great as western Europe. Of all this, the outside world knew - or chose to know - nothing." "Somewhat as Wild Swans laid bare the truth of Mao's China, so The Silent Steppe awakens the reader to the scale of suffering of millions in Soviet central Asia under Stalin." "Shayakhmetov takes his story to his recruitment in the Red Army, his wounding at Stalingrad, and his long trek home as a discharged solider at the age of 21. He is today in his mid-eighties."--BOOK JACKET.

Eva-Marie Dubuisson provides a fascinating anthropological inquiry into the deeply ingrained presence of ancestors within the cultural, political, and spiritual discourse of Kazakhs. In a climate of authoritarianism and economic uncertainty, many people in this region turn to their forebearers for care, guidance, and advice, invoking them on a daily basis. This "living language" creates a powerful link to the past and a stable foundation for the present. Through Dubuisson's participatory, observational, and lived experience among Kazakhs, we witness firsthand the public performances and private rituals that show how memory and identity are sustained through an oral tradition of invoking ancestors. This ancestral dialogue sustains a unifying worldview by mediating questions of faith and morality, providing role models, and offering a mechanism for socio-political critique, change, and meaning-making. Looking beyond studies of Islam or heritage alone, Dubuisson provides fresh insights into understanding the Kazakh worldview that will serve students, researchers, GMOs, and policymakers in the region.

Kazakhstan is emerging as the most dynamic economic and political actor in Central Asia. It is the second largest country of the former Soviet Union, after the Russian Federation, and has rich natural resources, particularly oil, which is being exploited through massive US investment. Kazakhstan has an impressive record of economic growth under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbaev, and has ambitions to project itself as a modern, wealthy civic state, with a developed market economy. At the same time, Kazakhstan is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the region, with very substantial non-Kazakh and non-Muslim minorities. Its political regime has used elements of political clientelism and neo-traditional practices to bolster its rule. Drawing from extensive ethnographic research, interviews, and archival materials this book traces the development of national identity and statehood in Kazakhstan, focusing in particular on the attempts to build a national state. It argues that Russification and Sovietization were not simply 'top-down' processes, that they provide considerable scope for local initiatives, and that Soviet ethnically-based affirmative action policies have had a lasting impact on ethnic élite formation and the rise of a distinct brand of national consciousness.

Catalogue from the exhibition held at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, March 7-June 3, 2012.

Kazakh for Beginners is comprehensive language course with recordings for English speakers who are looking for a modern approach to learn Kazakh. It is bilingual (Kazakh-English) book with structural methods of learning language intended for complete beginners and pre-intermediate students. The book is organized into 10 units. Each unit is designed to build upon the knowledge you have gained in the previous one. At the end of each unit you will have a blank page for your notes. The units start with an opening dialogue and then notes about the language points or the culture. The units also cover useful words and expressions relevant to the topic of the discussion. The exercises that follow are an essential part of each unit and one can complete them using the answer key right after the exercise section. Learn Kazakh in no time! Please, find audio recordings of this book and other available Kazakh learning resources under the website "www.myazericlasses.com".

Kazakh: A Comprehensive Grammar is the first thorough analysis of Kazakh to be published in English. The volume is systematically organized to enable users to find information quickly and easily, and provides a thorough understanding of Kazakh grammar, with special emphasis given to syntax. Features of this book include: descriptions of phonology, morphology and syntax; examples from contemporary usage; tables summarizing discussions, for reference; a bibliography of works relating to Kazakh. Kazakh: A Comprehensive Grammar reflects the richness of the language, focusing on spoken and written varieties in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. It is an essential purchase for all linguists and scholars interested in Kazakh or in Turkic languages as well as advanced learners of Kazakh.