Nation building policies and their impact on the Russian minority in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2006

Öğrenci: AYDIN ÖZGÜL

Danışman: PINAR KÖKSAL

Özet:

The objective of this thesis is to examine the impact of nation building policies over the Russian minority in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. In order to do so, the thesis first examines the Soviet nationality policies in general and their practice in Kazakhstan in particular. Second, the thesis examines the impact of the post-Soviet nation building policies over the Russians in Kazakhstan by focusing on five major issues: political elites, state planning and recruitment policy, language policy and rewriting of history, issue of citizenship and the relocation of the state capital. As a result, the thesis argues that, the post-Soviet nation building policies of Kazakhstan have overall had a negative impact over the Russian minority living in the republic. It is argued that this negative impact is mostly visible in the areas employment, and social and cultural spheres. In addition, the thesis also argues that opponents of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, both Russian and Kazakh, have largely been curbed by the Kazakh government.