Kenesary Kasymov

Born 1802; died 1847. Sultan; khan of the Middle Horde in Kazakhstan after 1841; grandson of Khan Ablai.

From 1837 to 1847, Kenesary Kasymov headed a reactionary feudal-monarchical movement directed at separating Kazakhstan from Russia. He established a cruel despotic rule, burdened the people with excessive taxes, and mercilessly suppressed malcontents. In the struggle against Russia he relied on the khanates of Central Asia. The acceptance of Russian citizenship by Kazakhs in the 18th and early 19th century, despite the colonial policy of the tsarist regime, was a historically progressive phenomenon. The tsarist government gradually limited the power and privileges of the local feudal lords and sultan elite. This was one of the reasons for the emergence of feudal-monarchical movements in the 19th century, which aimed at the restoration of the authority of the khans. Kenesary Kasymov compelled many auls (villages) and families to join his movement by force of arms. The feudal lords were the social buttress of his movement. His closest relatives (brothers, nephews) with their feudal retinues formed the nucleus of his troops. Lacking the support of the people and pursued by tsarist troops, he fled south to the territory of the Great Horde in 1846. In 1847, Kenesary Kasymov carried out a campaign of plunder against the Kirghiz during which he was killed.