On April 25, 2025, the East Kazakhstan State University named after Sarsen Amanzholov hosted a significant international scientific and practical conference dedicated to the bright memory of the outstanding Kazakh historian Irina Yerofeyeva. The event brought together prominent historians, culturologists, state and public figures to discuss topical issues of the historical and cultural heritage of the Great Steppe, its rich experience, current problems, and prospects for further research at the international level.
The large-scale conference was organized by the Akimat of the East Kazakhstan Region, the East Kazakhstan University named after Sarsen Amanzholov in close cooperation with the Ketbuga-Tolegetai International Public Foundation and the A.S. Pushkin East Kazakhstan Regional Library. A rich and informative program was prepared for the participants and guests, including the screening of a documentary film dedicated to the life and fruitful scientific path of Irina Yerofeyeva. The conference featured informative panel and breakout sessions where about 50 in-depth and interesting reports covering a wide range of topics related to the history and culture of the Great Steppe were heard.
The work of the conference was attended by the Head of the Office of the Akim of the East Kazakhstan Region Yerlan Tekeshov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of EKSU Amerkhan Rakhimzhanov, as well as distinguished guests from abroad: Professors Zhang Jianhua (China), Agnieszka Michalska and Leszek Zekszewski (Poland). The Kazakh scientific school was represented by such well-known scientists as Professor of Al-Farabi KazNU Nabizhan Mukametkhanuly, Professor of the Kazakh-German University Tamara Volkova, as well as employees of the Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology A. Ualtayeva and M. Satenova. One of the highlights of the event was the exhibition “Gold of the Great Steppe,” which presented unique artifacts discovered by archaeologists during the excavations of the famous necropolises of Eleke Sazy, Shilikty, and Berel. These priceless finds clearly demonstrated the cultural and material achievements of our distant ancestors. The greatness of the Great Steppe as a unique phenomenon that played a key role in the formation of world civilization was emphasized by the conference participants. Special attention was paid to the invaluable contribution of the outstanding scientist Irina Viktorovna Yerofeyeva to the study of the history of this vast region. Her deep knowledge and many years of research, based on her rich experience at the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR and the Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, as well as her leadership of the Kazakh Research Institute for the Problems of Nomadic Cultural Heritage, left an indelible mark on the historical science of Kazakhstan.

The scientific interests of Irina Viktorovna covered a wide range of issues, from the political and socio-economic history of Kazakhstan in the 18th – early 19th centuries to ethno-demographic processes, in particular, the history of the German ethnic group in Kazakhstan. Her significant contribution to the state program “Cultural Heritage,” within the framework of which the multi-volume “History of Kazakhstan in Russian Sources of the 16th–20th Centuries” and “History of Kazakhstan in Western Sources of the 12th–20th Centuries” were published, is an invaluable asset of national science. The pinnacle of her scientific work was the publication of “The Epistolary Heritage of the Kazakh Ruling Elite,” which presented a unique collection of letters from the Kazakh khans. The conference became an important platform for the exchange of opinions, discussion of pressing issues, and identification of promising directions in the study of the historical and cultural heritage of the Great Steppe, confirming the significance of the scientific heritage of Irina Viktorovna Yerofeyeva for modern historical science.