Urban issues in Kazakhstan and foreign historiography (historiographical overview)

Abstract

Modern Kazakh historiography is in the paradigm of mastering the results of foreign urban history. The article presents a historiographical review of urban issues. The study of the city as a complex organism has become one of the most relevant areas recently. Since the middle of the twentieth century, American and European historical urban studies have considered the city in its entirety, the interaction of the city and citizens, as an environment and subjects that create urban space. To date, Kazakh historiography is represented by separate studies on the history of the city, in the context of local lore, the history of urban architecture. There are few works considering the population of Kazakhstan and the city as a single complex organism in permanent interaction and mutual influence, focusing on the history of everyday life. The historical and genetic methods allow us to consider the problems in its development and identify patterns. The application of the historicalcomparative method reveals differences in the development of Kazakh historiography. A comprehensive study of the urban environment in the historical context allows us to understand the nature of the changes in which society and the state were, as well as the motives and aspirations of social groups. As a result, it is identified that there are common patterns in Soviet and Kazakh historiography, as the city and society, being objects of research, were not considered in close connection and mutual influence. The indicated problems have not received proper attention from the researchers of both the Soviet and modern periods.