The article is devoted to the study of the ethnic component of the identity of the Kazakhs at the beginning of the 20th century on the basis of the works of Alikhan Bukeikhan. The article considers internal and external factors that influenced the development of the ethnic identity of the Kazakhs. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the plurality of Kazakh identities, the study of various components of identity, the mechanisms of their formation and manifestation. The authors for the first time presented a comprehensive description of the identity of the Kazakhs at the beginning of the 20th century. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study includes the ideas about the identity of B. Anderson, F. Bart, E. Hobsbaum. The main content of the study is the analysis of the scientific works of Alikhan Bukeikhan, in which the idea of the role of "Alash" in the revival of the national identity of the Kazakhs runs like a red thread. According to the authors, this issue reached its climax in December 1917 after the Second All-Kazakh Congress of the Alash Party and the decisions made at it. As a result of the study, the authors came to the conclusion that the Kazakhs of the period under review are characterized by a multiple identity, consisting of several levels. It is emphasized that the reasons for such a hierarchy in ethnic identification were the large share of the territorial component, the increased role of the religious factor and the crisis of tribal identity.