Department history

The early history of the Department of Kazakhstan History and World History is closely connected with the overall history of the university. It originates from the training of teachers of history, language, and literature within the Guryev Pedagogical Institute (1956). Initially, the Departments of the History of the USSR and World History were established, which were later transformed into the Departments of National History, History of Kazakhstan, History and Methods of Teaching History, Ancient and Medieval History of Kazakhstan, and Modern and Contemporary History of Kazakhstan. The current name is the Department of Kazakhstan History and World History.

A significant contribution to strengthening the scientific potential of the department and training specialists was made by well-known regional scholar-educators and respected mentors: Z.A. Aldamzharov, Ü.S. Qydyralin, G.A. Amangosov, Kh.B. TabylDyev, I.K. Kameshev, K.K. Kairbekova, Zh.B. Baki, G.N. Nygmet, T.T. Tolepbergeni, S.A. Khismatullin, A.P. Mardanov, Ä.Ü. Ermagambetova, Zh.Zh. Mustafin, Sh.N. Nagimov, Zh.T. Tangatarova, A.V. Blokhin, N.M. Borisova, G.B. Kalenova, Zh.K. Zhumabayeva, S.N. Sarmurzina, K.B. Mendigereev, S.T. Daukenov and others, who worked productively.

In order to train academic historians for the university from among local personnel, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a postgraduate (aspirantura) program was opened at the department in 1994, and a master’s program in 2006. Since the establishment of the department, 10 Candidate of Sciences and 3 Doctor of Sciences dissertations have been defended. Professors of the department, Doctors of Historical Sciences Ü. Qydyralin, Kh. Tabyldiev, A. Sarsenov, and Ä. Muqtar, were members of the Joint Dissertation Council at M. Utemisov West Kazakhstan State University, which brought together scholars from Kazakhstan and Russia in the specialty 07.00.02 — National History (History of the Republic of Kazakhstan).

The department maintains close ties with leading scholars of the republic and foreign countries. As part of training specialists in the field of history, scientific and partnership cooperation has been established with the Sh. Ualikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, the R. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies, the Ä. Margulan Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Kalmyk State University, the West Kazakhstan Center of History and Archaeology, as well as with other research institutions and educational organizations.

At different times, the Chief Researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor K. Yessmagambetov; the Chief Researcher of the Sh. Ualikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor S. Mazhitov; professors of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Doctors of Historical Sciences M. Koigeldiev and Q. Karazhanov; professors of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Doctors of Historical Sciences B. Irmukanov and G. Khalidullin; professors of L. Gumilyov Eurasian University, Doctors of Historical Sciences Kh. Abzhanov and Ö. Ozganbay; from Moscow — professors, Doctors of Historical Sciences N. Bekmakhanova and D. Amanzholova; from Elista — professors, Doctors of Historical Sciences P. Koltsov, A. Komandzhaev, V. Kolesnik, and others provided scientific consultations to young scholars, postgraduate students, and master’s students, and also delivered special courses for students.

In the 2025–2026 academic year, professors of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Doctor of Historical Sciences G. Khalidullin and Candidate of Historical Sciences B. Zhumagulov; professors of Ozbekali Zhanibekov South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University, Candidates of Historical Sciences B. Naimanbayev and B. Isabek; Professor of Vytautas Magnus University, Doctor of Historical Sciences Dominankas Burba; Professor of Sumgait University, Doctor of Historical Sciences Yu.L. Gasanov provided scientific consultations to young scholars and master’s students, and also delivered special courses for students.

The Department of Kazakhstan History operates a two-level system of specialist training (5B011400 – History, 5B020300 – History — bachelor’s degree; 6M01140 – History, 6M020300 – History — master’s degree), which has undergone national specialized accreditation. Since 1993, the department has trained more than 800 specialists, 11 postgraduate students, and more than 100 master’s students.

During the period of the department’s activity since 1991, specialists were trained in the fields of “History,” “History and Law,” “History and Geography,” “History and Museum Studies,” and “History and Religious Studies.” Currently, the department trains specialists under the following educational programs: 6B01601 – “History Teacher, Historian-Researcher, Lecturer of Humanities Disciplines,” 6B01602 – “History and Social Studies,” 6B02201 – “Historian-Researcher, Lecturer of Humanities Disciplines,” 7M01601 – “Historian-Pedagogue,” 7M02201 – “Historian-Researcher,” 8D02201 – “Historian-Researcher.”

Members of the department have published 25 monographs and about 300 scientific articles in recent years alone, and have organized 16 international, national, and regional scientific-practical conferences (“The Idea of Alashorda – the Achievement of Independence,” “Z. Kabdolov Readings,” “Kh. Dosmukhamedov Readings,” “Kazakhstan-2050 Strategy and the National Intelligentsia,” “The Role of Local History in the Study of National History,” and others).

In June 2013, department scholars Zh. Tangatarova, L. Berdigozhin, and S. Kuanysh took part in an expanded meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group on issues of studying national history, and subsequently, department scholars Zh. Tangatarova, L. Berdigozhin, A. Akhmet, S. Kuanysh, G. Kairgaliyeva, and M. Kasenov became members of the public council under the regional akim for coordinating issues related to the study of national history.

The faculty members of the department are engaged in research work on the topics “Current Issues of Regional History,” “Problems of Medieval and Modern History of Kazakhstan,” and “Issues in the Study of the Archaeological and Ethnographic Heritage of Western Kazakhstan.” Thus, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences Sh. Nagimov, in cooperation with the I. Altynsarin Kazakh Academy of Education, is working on the innovative project “Development of Pedagogical Thought in Western Kazakhstan in the 20th Century,” as well as on the project “The Fate of Teachers of the Atyrau Region Subjected to Political Repression (1930s–1950s)”; Candidate of Historical Sciences N. Sarmurzina is working on the project “Problems of Political, Social, and Cultural Adaptation of Oralmans in the Western Regions of Kazakhstan”; Candidate of Historical Sciences M. Kasenov continues work on international fundamental research projects “Archaeological Sites of the Northeastern and Northwestern Caspian Region” and “Medieval Cities of the Northeastern Caspian Region.”

In 2011–2013, under the supervision of Candidate of Historical Sciences Ä. Ermagambetova, fundamental studies on the history of the Atyrau region were published: “Corpus of Historical and Cultural Monuments of Atyrau Region. Isatai and Kurmangazy Districts” and “Map of Protected Historical Monuments of Atyrau Region.”

The faculty of the department is also engaged in the preparation of textbooks and teaching aids for students of secondary, vocational, and higher educational institutions. Thus, the textbooks by Associate Professor Sh. Nagimov, “Cultural Studies” and “History of the Spiritual Culture of the Kazakh People,” have been published as university-level textbooks. The teaching aids by Professor A. Akhmet, “Journey into the World of Archives,” Associate Professor Sh. Nagimov, “History of the Culture of the Peoples of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” and Associate Professor G. Kairgaliyeva, “Traditional Kazakh Society: Social Structures,” were prepared in accordance with the plan of the Association of Universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan and published.

In 2011–2016, the faculty members of the department completed internships at the Republican National Center for Advanced Training “Orleu” in the city of Almaty. The best student research works are regularly submitted to international and national scientific project competitions. Thus, at the VII All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference of Students “Ideas of Youth – National Heritage,” held at the Chelyabinsk Institute of Economics and Law named after M.V. Ladoshin, the project by student A. Tolebayev, “The Role of the Customs of the Orenburg Province in the Export of Livestock Products from the Kazakh Steppe to the Markets of the Russian Empire in the 19th Century,” and the project by student N. Serikova, “Ethnocultural Relations of the Peoples of the Ural Region (18th–20th Centuries),” as well as at the International Competition of Young Scientists of Russia and Kazakhstan “Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Orenburg Region and the Ural Area,” the project by student N. Uttibayev, “Illicit Salt Trade in the Orenburg Province and Border Territories Along the Nomadic Routes of the Kazakhs of the Bukey Horde,” were awarded third prize.

In 2011–2015, students of the specialties 5B011400 – History and 5B020300 – History regularly won second and third prize places at the Republican subject Olympiads among university students of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the specialties “History,” “Archaeology and Ethnology,” and “Religious Studies and Theology,” held in the cities of Almaty, Aktau, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, and Turkestan.

Under the supervision of Senior Lecturer G.Sh. Shugaepova, the student historical club “Mura” operates at the department. Every year, within the framework of the “Cultural Heritage” program, students under the guidance of the department’s faculty conducted archaeological excavations at the site of the historical complex of Saraishyk; in 2006, under the supervision of Candidate of Historical Sciences, archaeologist M.S. Kasenov (Research Center of Archaeology and Ethnography), history students actively participated in expedition work dedicated to archaeological excavations in the region. They completed archaeological practice at the medieval settlements of Aktobe-Laeti, Saraishyk, Korgansha, at the caravanserai Taskeshu, at Sarmatian burial mounds within the region, as well as at excavations in the Republic of Kalmykia of the Russian Federation, contributing to the study of current issues of regional history through archaeological expeditions.

In 2012 and 2014, with financial support from the university rector and in cooperation with the educational center of archaeology and ethnology, archaeological expedition practices demonstrated high effectiveness. Particularly significant were the discoveries of gold ornaments from the Sarmatian period found in the burial sites of Zholayshagyly and Zhangeldy, which became major scientific discoveries; valuable artifacts collected during the expeditions were transferred to the university museum. Dinara Ulykkankyzy Khamidullina, a graduate of the master’s program in “History,” who enrolled in the doctoral program at the department and, following its closure in 2011, was transferred to the doctoral program of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, successfully defended her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2014 in the specialty 6D020300 – History on the topic “Everyday Life of the ‘Special Contingent’ in Kazakhstan (1930s–1950s).”

Students of the department Äsel Mukhambetkaliyeva, Arai Artykbayeva, Aizada Baigaliyeva, Sairagul Turzhanova, and Asylzhan Sarsengaliyev, within the framework of the academic mobility program, continued their studies at Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University and Kalmyk State University; in turn, within academic mobility, first-year students of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University completed archaeological practice at the medieval settlement of Aktobe-Laeti. In 2014, the department’s educational programs passed specialized institutional accreditation. In 2015, in honor of the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate, the international scientific conference “From the Kazakh Khanate to Independent Kazakhstan” was held. Scholars led by L.B. Berdigozhin and A.S. Sarsenov organized lectures in schools of the city of Atyrau and the region on the topic “The Place and Role of the Kazakh Khanate in the History of Kazakh Statehood.”

In 2017, within the framework of the “Rukhani Zhangyru” program, L. Berdigozhin, A. Akhmet, Zh. Zhumabayeva, and N. Sarmurzina worked in the archives of the Russian Federation — in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Astrakhan, and Orenburg. The department staff also actively participated in the opening of the “Alley of Personalities” in front of the university. In 2018, Associate Professor of the department Gulfairuz Kairgaliyeva became the winner of the “Best University Teacher” competition.

The position of Head of the Department was held by Serik Oryngaliuly Kuanysh from 2009 to 2018, by Dinara Ulykpankyzy Khamidullina from 2018 to 2020, by Leskali Bazargaliyevich Berdigozhin from 2020 to 2022, and since 2022 to the present — by Dana Zhemgalikyzy Alipova.

In 2019 and 2024, the department’s educational programs successfully passed institutional accreditation. In 2019, the curricula of specialties were completely updated. Under the new bachelor’s educational programs, 6B01601 – “History Teacher, Historian-Researcher, Lecturer of Humanities Disciplines” and 6B02201 – “Historian-Researcher, Lecturer of Humanities Disciplines” were introduced; for master’s programs — 7M01601 – “Historian-Pedagogue” and 7M02201 – “Historian-Researcher.” In 2024, the educational program 6B01602 – “History and Social Studies” was opened, which passed institutional accreditation in 2025.

The work on opening a doctoral program, initiated in 2019, yielded positive results, and in 2024 a doctoral program under the educational program 8D02201 – “Historian-Researcher” was launched, with the first doctoral students admitted. Currently, 4 doctoral students are enrolled.

In 2023, the “History and Archaeology” section of the university bulletin, by decision of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was included in the list of publications approved by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education (CQASHE), in which the results of scientific research are published. The editorial board of the bulletin includes highly qualified scholars of the department: L. Berdigozhin, A. Sarsenov, S. Sapanov, and G. Kairgaliyeva.

In 2017–2020, a young lecturer of the department, Zainov Amangeldi Mugauuly, completed doctoral studies in archaeology and ethnology at L. Gumilyov Eurasian National University; in 2018–2021, Dana Zhemgalikyzy Alipova completed doctoral studies in “National History” at Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, and Gulmira Akenbekkyzy Dzhambaulova — in the field of methods of teaching history.

In recent years, the department staff has participated in major regional research projects:

• in 2018–2020 — the project “The Institution of Biys, Batyrs, Tarkhans, and Khojas in the History of Kazakhstan,” implemented with grant funding from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

• in 2020–2023 — the project “Full Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression in the Western Region of Kazakhstan” (funded by the Akimat of Atyrau Region);

• in 2020–2023 — the project “History of Atyrau Region” (a comprehensive three-volume publication in Kazakh, Russian, and English), implemented with grant funding from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

• in 2023–2025 — the project “Military History of the Western Region of Kazakhstan” (with grant funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan).

The department’s scholars also actively participate in scientific events organized by the Saraishyk State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, the Atyrau Regional Museum of History and Local Lore, and the State Archive of Atyrau Region.

In 2020, on the initiative of historian scholars, the Khismet Tabyldiev Research Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnology of the Caspian Region was established. In the same year, the institute obtained a state license to conduct archaeological excavations.

In 2024, history students won first prize at the Republican subject Olympiad in the field of pedagogical history.

The works of the department’s faculty have received well-deserved recognition: in 2020, Professor Shakhman Nagimuly, and in 2021, Professor Leskali Bazargaliyevich Berdigozhin, were awarded the state medal “Eren Enbegi Ushin.” In 2024, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Makat District of Atyrau Region, with the participation of the department’s scholars, the scientific-popular work “Gasyr Belesinde Audan” was published. Department lecturers Leskali Bazargaliyevich Berdigozhin and Serik Oryngaliuly Kuanysh were awarded the title “Honorary Citizen of Makat District.”

Many graduates of the department work as lecturers in universities, institutes, colleges, and schools, and are also employed as researchers in various research institutes, deputies of the Senate of Parliament, regional, city, and district maslikhats, as well as employees of administrative and law enforcement bodies, archives, and museums.