Probably not every compatriot knows what the Middle Zhuz is. However, not many people have heard about Junior and Senior either. But once these three formations consisted of most of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the political and economic partner of the Russian Federation. Therefore, it will be very interesting for many readers to learn about it.
What is this
First of all, you should tell what the Middle Zhuz is all about. This is the name of the historically established association of tribes that lived on the territory of modern Kazakhstan. It is rather difficult to indicate clear boundaries, as well as the time of formation. Chronicles were not kept in these places due to the complete absence of their own writing - it appeared much later, after joining Russia.
And it is almost impossible to indicate the boundaries of the lands inhabited by nomads. Just a few dozen tribes - both numerous and relatively powerful, and small, having no influence in the region - roamed from place to place along certain routes. No centralized authority and structures existed here.
Geographic location
First, let's find out where the Senior, Middle and Junior zhuzes were located.
The middle one, which will be discussed in most detail in the article, had the largest territory. Almost half of modern Kazakhstan is a rather large state, occupying the ninth place in the world in terms of area. And today it is the Middle Zhuz that is the most developed part of the state. The metallurgical industry is concentrated here, the products of which provide a significant share in the state's GDP. In addition, most of the rural land is concentrated here. And local mineral deposits contain almost the entire periodic table.
The territory of the Middle Zhuz occupied modern Central, Eastern and Northern Kazakhstan. True, one should not think that its borders exactly coincided with the borders of the modern Republic of Kazakhstan. During the existence of the tribal formation, an accurate cartography of these places had not yet been compiled - the corresponding work was carried out later by Russian officers and specialists.
The senior zhuz had the smallest territory, occupying only the south-east of modern Kazakhstan. The area of the Younger Zhuz was average - two times larger than that of the Elder, but at the same time one and a half to two times less than that of the Middle. It accounted for part of Kazakhstan - from Central to Western.
Tribes inhabiting zhuz
The main population today is Kazakhs. The middle zhuz was previously inhabited by such tribes as the Kipchaks, Argyns, Naimans, Kereys,konyrats, waks, tolenguts and tore.
The first census was conducted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The most numerous tribe was the Argyns - about 500 thousand people. In second place, with a small margin, was the Naiman tribe. Its number reached 395 thousand people. Then followed the Kypchaks, of whom there were about 169 thousand. Finally, the five largest tribes of the Konyrats and Kereys were concluded with 128 and 90 thousand people, respectively.
The tribes were quite different. Some lived in isolation, in relatively small areas. Others settled everywhere, because of which they mixed strongly with other tribes, partially losing their identity.
History
Being on the territory between the Bashkirs and China, the Middle Zhuz often became the object of raids. Hordes of Dzungars often passed through these lands.
The local tribes could not resist the opponents - the lack of military training, the lack of a powerful state structure and centralization affected. That is why the decision was made to join the Middle Zhuz to Russia.
Joining Russia
It is worth noting that Khan Abulkhair, the ruler of the Little Zhuz, was the first to address the Russian rulers. Being in the western part of modern Kazakhstan, these lands suffered most acutely from the raids of the Bashkirs and Dzungars. Therefore, in 1730, the ruler swore allegiance to the Russian Empire. A year later, the petition was accepted, and the western part of modern Kazakhstan became part of the powerfulempires, receiving reliable protection from unfriendly neighbors.
The middle zhuz is also not far behind. Having appreciated all the advantages of such a position, Khan Sameke, who was its ruler, also swore allegiance to Anna Ioannovna in 1732. So the Junior and Middle zhuzes became part of Russia.
Existing uprisings
However, it cannot be said that this state of affairs suited the population. During the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, several uprisings of varying degrees took place on the territory of the Middle Zhuz - some were suppressed in a matter of weeks, while others, for example, the uprising of Kenesary Kasymov, periodically flared up over several years. Basically, they consisted in the destruction of small convoys of Russian merchants and the military, or even the capture of weakly fortified settlements.
Emelyan Pugachev's uprising was also actively supported.
Unfortunately, many gangs whose goal was simply robbery were subsequently exposed as uprisings to get rid of the cruel yoke of the Russians. But was it really cruel? This issue is worth looking into.
Russian activities in the Middle Zhuz
Today, Kazakhstan gives a fairly unambiguous assessment of Russia's activities on the territory of this now sovereign country. Books and articles are being written about the predatory capture and suppression of any uprisings. The fact that the leaders of Kazakhstan themselves came to the Russian tsars with a request to send troops to protect themselves from cruel neighbors, many local residents do not like to remember.
What actions were taken by the "Russian occupiers" after fixing on the territory of the Middle Zhuz?
First of all, everything possible was done to make the nomads a settled people. A completely justified decision - nomadism left practically no time and resources for the development of the people. Therefore, extensive land plots were allocated to local residents - 15 acres each. And this applied to ordinary people - the elders of the clans were given 30 tithes, and the biys (people's judges, who enjoyed universal respect and recognition) - 40 each. In addition, people were given seeds for sowing and the necessary agricultural equipment. And it's all completely free.
In 1841, a code of laws was also drawn up - in fact, the revised judicial legislation of Russia, taking into account local rules - adata.
In 1864 the first school was opened. Over time, cities were founded - all modern large cities were built by Russian settlers or the military to protect the lands from attacks from different directions - it is no coincidence that most of them are located precisely along the perimeter of the country.
Practically all representatives of the elite of the XVIII-XIX centuries, which the citizens of Kazakhstan are proud of today, were educated in Russia or in Russian schools built on the territory of the Middle Zhuz. These include Chokan Valikhanov, Ybyray Altynsarin, Abai Kunanbaev and many others - educators, writers, poets.
By the way, Abai Kunanbaev is the author of "Words of Edification" - one of the first Kazakh literarymonuments that they are proud of today. Almost each of these short essays speaks of the need to study the Russian language, study the culture of the northern neighbors, and its maximum implementation. On the one hand, today Abai Kunanbaev is hailed as a folk thinker who was ahead of his time. On the other hand, although most of his "Words of Edification" are not subject to censorship, they are usually quoted selectively - inappropriate passages are simply ignored and not given wide publicity.
Already based on this, one can judge the impact that the people of the Middle Zhuz and all others had on joining the Russian Empire and proximity to Russian culture.
Conclusion
This article comes to an end. Now the reader knows more about the Junior, Senior and Middle zhuzes. Moreover, he learned not only about their location, but also about their history and development.
