Ainash Mustoyapova – författare

The book tells about people who lived in an era of historical cataclysms, wars and revolutions, changes in political formations. The generation of the Kazakh intelligentsia responded to the historical challenge facing the Kazakhs at a turning point in history. These are people born at the end of the 19th century, educated in different countries and united by the idea of overcoming colonial dependence on the Russian Empire.

The author aims to form a holistic view of a galaxy of outstanding personalities who, in an important historical period, were able to take responsibility for the people and their future. The history of the country is perceived through the prism of their destinies, views, activities and death.

The material of the book is a biographical sketch and covers the history of Kazakhstan in the first third of the twentieth century, until the period of the Great Terror (1937–1938).

This book is devoted to the problem of the decolonization of Kazakhstan, which is considered in the framework of postcolonial studies. The author raises issues of identity, historical and socio-cultural heritage of nomads. In addition, the book examines and destroys colonial and Soviet myths and stereotypes concerning the history, lifestyle and traditions of the Kazakhs. Considering that imperial sentiments are increasing in Russia (as a former metropolis), the process of decolonization seems to be urgently necessary for Kazakhstan. And this process is beginning to develop actively. This fascinating polemic will interest historians, scholars trying to understand the former Soviet space, and scholars of Eurasia.