THE BAI AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTION IN NORTHERN KAZAKHSTAN: A RECONSTRUCTION BASED ON ARCHIVAL MATERIALS OF THE 1920S

This article analyzes the socio-economic profile of the bai class in Northern Kazakhstan at the end of the 1920s, based on archival materials of the North Kazakhstan Region and recent historical scholarship. Special attention is given to the economic structure of bai households, their property stratification, and their social functions within the traditional aul system. A consolidated district-level dataset reveals several types of bai—ranging from large-scale livestock owners to mid-level and small proprietors who were classified as “bai” primarily for political reasons. The study demonstrates that the bai institution represented a complex social structure combining economic leadership, lineage-based mediation, and administrative authority. The novelty of this research lies in reconstructing the regional specifics of the bai institution in Northern Kazakhstan and identifying the mechanisms behind the political transformation of the bai image into that of a “class enemy” on the eve of the confiscation campaign of 1928–1930. The article concludes that the policy of eliminating the bai class was aimed not only at seizing property but also at dismantling the traditional social structure of the aul, which shaped the subsequent trajectory of collectivization in the region.

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