INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF HISTORICAL SCIENCE IN KAZAKHSTAN FROM 1941 TO 1953: ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES

The article examines the directions and trends in the development of historical science in Kazakhstan during 1941–1945, with an emphasis on the historiographical interpretation of the postwar period. The main purpose of the research is to compare the complex changes and key trends in the evolution of Kazakhstan historiography in the context of the postwar era, as well as to provide a scholarly assessment of the research activities of that time. To achieve this aim, the study analyzes the major issues addressed in historical works of the 1950s, taking into account the prevailing political and ideological context. The paper investigates the works of prominent historians such as E. Bekmakhanov, A. Nusupbekov, S. B. Baishev, S. A. Neustadt, B. N. Abisheva, M. Kh. Asylbekov, N. G. Pana, S. B. Nurmukhamedov, V. K. Savosko, R. B. Suleimenova, E. Zhanov and others. Their research works cover a wide range of topics – from Kazakh-Russian relations in the XVIII–XIX centuries to the history of industrialization, as well as social and economic processes within the republic. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the systematization and critical analysis of the research directions and approaches that emerged during the postwar period, the identification of the factors that shaped historical thought under strict ideological control and the reassessment of the contributions of several scholars whose works remained on the periphery of academic attention for many years. The research concludes that the postwar years were a time of both active development and significant constraints for historical science in Kazakhstan, driven by the broader political climate of the USSR. However, it was precisely during this period that the foundations of national historiography were laid and research schools were formed that would go on to influence the future trajectory of historical scholarship in Kazakhstan.