On the Issue of the Religious Policy of the Russian Empire and Its Influence on Kazakh Society

This study is devoted to the analysis of the confessional policy of the Russian Empire in the Kazakh steppe at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, which was an important tool for integrating the local population into the empire-wide environment.The article examines the main directions of the empire's religious policy, including measures to control Islamic institutions, bureaucratization of the Muslim clergy, restriction of the Hajj and regulation of religious education.Particular attention is paid to the interaction of the Russian administration with the Tatar clergy, which played a significant role in the formation of the religious traditions of the Kazakhs, as well as an assessment of the perception of the imperial religious policy in Kazakh society.The study is based on a wide range of sources, including archival documents, decrees, governors' reports, correspondence with the Orenburg Mohammedan Spiritual Assembly, as well as the works of domestic and foreign researchers.The methodological basis of the work is based on historical and comparative analysis, which allows to identify the specifics of confessional policy in the Kazakh steppe in comparison with other Muslim regions of the empire.The results of the study demonstrate that the policy of the Russian Empire towards Islam was dual in nature.On the one hand, a high level of religious autonomy was maintained, on the other hand, targeted steps were taken to regulate Islamic institutions and integrate them into the administrative system of the empire.The paper presents conclusions about the long-term impact of these processes on the socio-religious structure of Kazakh society, which contributes to further study of the imperial policy towards ethnoconfessional groups.