On September 19, 2024, the M. Auezov House Museum hosted a Republican scientific and theoretical conference on the topic “Unknown aspects of the state activities of Abylai, Uali and Bokey Khans” organized by the Department of Ancient and Medieval History of Kazakhstan and Neighboring Countries of the Ch. Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology.  This event was held within the framework of the grant project “Research of unexplored periods of state activity of the khans of Abylai, Uali and Bukey (based on rare archival and folklore sources)”.

The event was attended by well-known historians and orientalists of the republican level. The conference was moderated by the Director General of the Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Z.E. Kabuldinov. In his welcoming speech, he focused on the purpose and significance of the conference, and also gave an overview of the scientific research carried out within the framework of the project. Project leader, leading researcher and Head of the Department of Ancient and Medieval History of Kazakhstan and neighboring countries, Candidate of Historical Sciences Oshan Zh. He spoke about important aspects carried out within the framework of the grant project and highlighted a number of problems that arose when introducing original sources related to the period of khans Abylai, Uali and Bukey into scientific circulation. Consultant to the director of the Institute, PhD student Kuanbai O.B. presented the current results of scientific work on the project.

In his report, the Director General of the Institute, Z.E. Kabuldinov, analyzed the policy of the Russian Empire towards Abylai Khan and told about the house built for him by order of tsarist Russia. The leading researcher of the Institute, Candidate of Historical Sciences, member of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan Dauletkhan A. touched upon the heroic image that has developed around Abylai Khan and drew attention to the exploits of the Kazakh batyrs. Deputy Director of the Institute for External Relations, Candidate of Historical Sciences Zhomart Zh.Zh. He made an analysis of Persian sources on the Kazakh history of the XVII-XIX centuries, highlighting important aspects contained in these documents. The conference also included the presentation of Z.E. Kabuldinov’s book “Abylai Khan and Russia” and the collective monograph “Abylai Khan zhane irgeles memleketter men halyktar”.

The project manager Oshan J. analyzed in detail one of the letters of Abylai Sultan, written in 1759 to the commander of the Siberian Corps, and paid special attention to Kazakh-Russian relations of that time.

Denis Cherniyenko, an employee of the Astana branch of the Institute, Candidate of Historical Sciences, made a presentation on the topic “Sultans Abylai and Abulfais: from the history of military-political cooperation”, highlighting the military and political ties between these khans. The teacher of al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Candidate of Historical Sciences M.K. Dautbekova told about the diplomatic activities of Kazakh batyrs, and PhD doctoral student Kuanbai O.B. He conducted a detailed analysis of a rare archival document in the Chagatai-Kazakh language sent by Abylai Khan to the Russian authorities, emphasizing the important linguistic, cultural and political features of the translation of these documents. PhD doctoral student Sauyrkan E. presented a report on the topic “Kazakh tarikhyn XVIII-XIX gg. kezenine katyst Taiwan derekteri”, focusing on the international aspects of Kazakh history.

Kadylbek M., a junior researcher at the Institute, conducted a detailed analysis of Abylai Khan’s letters to the Qing Empire, focusing on their research significance.

The moderator of the conference, Deputy Director for Science, Candidate of Historical Sciences Sh.B. Tleubaev summed up the results of the reports and analyzed their significance for the national historical science.

At the end of the conference, free discussions were held, where participants shared their thoughts on the topics raised and pointed out topical issues that require further study.