On September 3, 2026, the Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology hosted the International Scientific and Practical Conference titled “History of the Regions of Kazakhstan: Archival Sources, Oral History and Folklore Heritage”
The event was organised within the framework of the programme-targeted funding project “Interdisciplinary Study of Regional Aspects of the History of Kazakhstan Based on New Archival Materials and Folklore Works.”
Held in a hybrid format, the conference brought together historians, archivists, ethnographers, folklore scholars, museum professionals, educators and independent researchers from Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
Ziyabek Kabuldinov, Director General of the Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor and Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, delivered the welcoming address. He also presented a paper titled “The Documentary and Archival Foundation of Scientific Research at the Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology.”
The plenary session was moderated by A.K. Shashayev.
The plenary speakers included Satay Syzdykov, Mostafa Rostami, Murat Sdykov, Sayin Borbasov, Sergey Lyubichankovsky, Nadezhda Kubik, Anna Krikh, Askhat Toybayev, Anar Tylakhmetova and other researchers.
The participants discussed a broad range of issues related to the study of Kazakhstan’s regional history. Particular attention was given to newly discovered archival documents, historical geography, oral history, folklore heritage, migration and demographic processes, the history of Kazakh statehood, the activities of historical figures and interdisciplinary research methods.
As part of the conference programme, Nursulu Dyusenova presented the electronic version of the conference proceedings.
Following the plenary session, the conference continued in three thematic sections:
“Archival Sources, Political History and Historical Geography,” moderated by Vitaly Sirik and Anar Tylakhmetova;
“Socio-Economic Processes of the Twentieth Century and Historical Memory,” moderated by Nursulu Dyusenova and Askhat Toybayev;
“Oral History, Folklore, Museum Studies and Interdisciplinary Approaches in Education,” moderated by A.S. Margulan and A.R. Beisembayeva.
The section sessions featured studies on the famine of 1931–1933, political and socio-economic processes of the twentieth century, the history of Kazakhstan’s regions, archival collections, museum holdings, oral sources and folklore. Special attention was also paid to the application of modern educational technologies and interdisciplinary approaches in historical research.
The conference served as an important academic platform for sharing research findings, discussing new archival materials and strengthening professional cooperation between Kazakhstani and international scholars.
The event concluded with an exchange of views and the adoption of the conference resolution.
