International Experts Discuss the Alash Legacy and the History of the Jochi Ulus at ENU

The L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University hosted an international scientific and practical conference entitled “Alash Orda: Reviving Turkic Heritage and the Legacy of the Jochi Ulus.” The event was dedicated to the 160th anniversary of the birth of Alikhan Bokeikhan, the 35th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the 20th anniversary of the Alash Institute of Culture and Spiritual Development.

The conference aimed to comprehensively examine and reassess the legacy of the Alash movement, its ideas, and its experience in national state-building in the context of the historical traditions of Turkic statehood and the heritage of the Jochi Ulus. Particular attention was given to the contributions of Alikhan Bokeikhan and other Alash figures to the development of national political thought, statehood, and the revival of Turkic historical and cultural heritage.

The conference brought together historians, specialists in Alash studies, and Turkologists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Japan, Mongolia, and Russia.

The event was organized by ENU’s Alash Institute of Culture and Spiritual Development, the Golden Horde Civilization Department, and the Kazakh Historical Society Public Foundation. The plenary session was moderated by Dikhan Kamzabekuly, a member of the Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan, academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and professor.

In his welcoming address, Nurbek Saparhodzhayev, ENU Vice-Rector for Research and Commercialization, emphasized that academic research plays a vital role in shaping historical memory and national identity.

“The conference is of great importance because the legacy of the Alash movement holds a special place in the history of our people. It is equally important to study this subject in connection with the heritage of the Jochi Ulus. This approach allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the continuity of statehood traditions across the Great Steppe. I am confident that such academic gatherings will help us explore our history more deeply, promote national values, and enable younger generations to better understand their historical past,” Vice-Rector noted.

Sultan Khan Akkuly, Director of the Alash Institute, presented new historical findings and academic research on the Alash movement. ENU Professor Maksat Alpyssbes discussed the contemporary relevance of the Alash leaders’ ideas about national statehood.

“The establishment of the Golden Horde Civilization Department at ENU is an important step toward researching our national historical heritage and promoting it internationally. Our conference is also intended to draw the attention of the academic community to this subject. Such scholarly gatherings not only identify new directions for national historical research but also create opportunities to study the historical and cultural heritage of the Turkic world on an international scale,” the scholar emphasized.

During the conference, Dikhan Kamzabekuly addressed questions of national history in the works of Koshke Kemengeruly and Smagul Sadvakasuly, while Professor Yerkin Abil examined the historical agency of the Alash Autonomy and the Alash Republic.

Japanese scholars Takashi Ninomiya and Hiroyuki Nagamine analyzed historical manuscripts and information concerning the descendants of Jochi. Zainidin Kurmanov, a professor from Kyrgyzstan, spoke about the activities of the Alash Party in Pishpek. Turkish researchers Erdal Küçükyalçın and Abduakap Kara explored the history of the Turkic peoples and Central Asia, as well as the development of scholarly research devoted to Alikhan Bokeikhan.

“As a scholar who studies and promotes the history of the Alash movement and its leaders internationally, I can say that the Alash leaders are a cornerstone of our national identity. That is why the figure of Alikhan Bokeikhan and the very concept of ‘Alash’ are far more profound and significant than we often realize,” Turkish historian and Professor Abduakap Kara noted.

Zhaksylyk Sabitov, Director of the Research Institute for the Study of the Jochi Ulus, delivered a presentation entitled “The Administrative and Territorial Division of the Jochi Ulus from 1206 to 1359.” Satay Syzdykov, an academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, spoke about the development of Turkological research in Japan.

Throughout the conference, participants discussed how newly discovered historical sources can deepen our understanding of the Alash legacy, which materials from foreign archives should be introduced into scholarly circulation, and how international researchers are studying the history of national statehood.

The conference also featured presentations of academic publications.