Repatriation Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan: from “Oralman” to “Kandas”

Abstract

The article analyzes the repatriation policy of the Kazakhstan from the era of the late USSR 1991 until our days and presents field materials of the research conducted in different cities from 2019 to 2021 (Ust-Kamenogorsk, Astana, the villages of Akmola region - Karaotkel and Koyandy). We have used materials of the field expeditions conducted in 2014 and 2019 in Western Mongolia (Bayan-Ulgiy) among ethnic Kazakhs. During the field expeditions, the goal was to identify the reasons for repatriation and find out the process of integration of immigrants into Kazakhstani society. It was supposed to answer the question of whether the repatriation policy could be considered successful. The authors relied on a transnational approach to study the process of the return of ethnic Kazakhs to their historical homelandas well as the theory of acculturation, through the prism of which the problems of repatriation are shown.The authors were guided by the method of biographical interviewing and participant observation. The article uses archival materials extracted from the National Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Astana) and the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Almaty). The reason for migration for repatriates is not only their desire to reunite with their homeland. One of the attractive factors is the desire for self-preservation of ethnicity and ensuring a successful life for the repatriates themselves and their children. The integration of repatriates takes place in different ways depending on the country of origin and on the generation of those who arrived. There are certain boundaries and rejection both between the migrants themselves, the repatriates and the locals, which are manifested not only in their behavior towards each other but also in a broader sociocultural understanding.