Sergey Vasilievich Seliverstov,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Formation of a Secular Tendency in the Turkic Society of the Russian Empire: European-Russian and Muslim Education in the Interpretation of Ch.Ch. Valikhanov and M.-S. Babadjanov (Late 1850s – Early 1860s)
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2021-5-9
The study is carried out in the genre of intellectual history and focuses on the views of Ch.Ch. Valikhanov and M.-S. Babadzhanov – the leading representatives of the Turkic-Kazakh society of the Russian Empire. The sources of the research are documents of a journalistic and official nature. The concept of European-Russian and Muslim education in the Kazakh Steppe is considered as a problem. The education that Valikhanov received in Omsk, and Babadzhanov in Orenburg, was a European-Russian education in terms of its content. It can be argued that Europe and East were united in these personalities. Valikhanov wanted the spread of European-Russian education (on the basis of secular, non-religious knowledge) in the Asian region of the empire. He was a free-thinking person in religious matters, but as a representative of the Kazakh people he retained his Muslim identity. Babadzhanov was a firm Muslim. The Russian authorities recognized Valikhanov and Babadzhanov. At the same time, both figures understood the importance of European-Russian education and expressed critical opinions about conservative Muslim education. The argumentation of Valikhanov, who did not want the Kazakh Steppe to follow an anti-progressive path was especially sharp. However, the more moderate Babadzhanov also criticized the state and methods of the Muslim, “Tatar” school. However, while the reform of Muslim education was doubted by Valikhanov, it was considered necessary by Babadzhanov. It is noteworthy that Kazakh intellectuals expressed their positions two decades before I. Gasprinsky. Both thinkers believed that members of the steppe society should not be separated, but considered “our fellow citizens”. From the point of view of Valikhanov, Russian schools should be opened in the Kazakh Steppe for progressive development. So, the consequence of the consolidation of the continental space within the Russian Empire was the expansion of the European-Russian cultural area into Asia. This is how a kind of world was formed, in which European and Asian elements were combined. The phenomenon of Valikhanov and Babadzhanov testifies that pro-European thought (in terms of scientific and educational orientation) began to develop in the Kazakh society earlier than among other Turkic peoples. The views of Valikhanov represent the initial stage of the formation of a secular trend in the Turkic society of the Russian Empire and can be qualified in the historical and cultural aspect as a Euro-Asian intellectual phenomenon.
Publishing: 28/10/2021
The article has been received by the editor on 29/05/2021
How to cite: Seliverstov S.V. Formation of a Secular Tendency in the Turkic Society of the Russian Empire: European-Russian and Muslim Education in the Interpretation of Ch.Ch. Valikhanov and M.-S. Babadjanov (Late 1850s – Early 1860s) // Historical Courier, 2021, No. 5 (19), pp. 98–111. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2021/ISTKURIER-2021-5-09.pdf]
Links: Issue 5 2021
Keywords: intellectual history; European-Russian education; Muslim education; secular tendency; Russia; Asia