Imperial Agrarian Policy and Local Land Use Practices on the Territory of Northern Kazakhstan in the late XIX – early XX centuries (the Case of Petropavlovsk Uyezd)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the system of land use in the territory of Northern Kazakhstan in the late XIX -early XX centuries on the example of Petropavlovsk uyezd.The study is aimed at revealing the nature of interaction between the Russian agrarian policy, implemented within the framework of colonial development of steppe territories, and local practices of Kazakh land use, reflecting the aspiration of local communities to adapt to changing economic and legal conditions.Under increasing pressure on land resources, there was a gradual shift away from traditional forms of farming and the formation of new models of land use.Particular attention is paid to the processes of haymaking development and the expansion of lease relations, previously little characteristic of the region and poorly represented in historiography, despite their significant role in changing land practices.These processes were accompanied by significant changes in the structure of economic activity and ways of regulating access to land.New forms of land use were formed at the intersection of administrative initiatives on the part of the state and adaptive strategies developed by local communities.Thus, the transformation of the agrarian system in the region acquired a complex and multilayered character, combining elements of external pressure and internal dynamics.