Secondary and Higher Educational Institutions in Second Capital of Soviet Kazakhstan, Kzyl-Orda (1920–30s)

The article examines the issues of establishing a number of secondary specialized and higher educational institutions in the city of Kzyl-Orda (from 1922 to 1925, it was named Ak-Mechet ) during the 1920s–1930s. New archival historical documents are introduced into scientific circulation, containing information on the formation and development of the sphere of secondary special (vocational) and higher education in the city of Kzyl-Orda, which served as the capital of Kazakhstan from 1925 to 1929. The difficulties faced by the city in the process of creating new educational institutions are analyzed. It is noted that significant assistance from the supreme bodies of the USSR's system of education and science played a crucial role in the development of education in Soviet Kazakhstan. It is argued that this is one of the topics to which Kazakhstani historical science has not yet paid sufficient attention. The authors demonstrate that the city of Kzyl-Orda and the Kzyl-Orda region were closely connected with the Russian Empire from the mid-19th century until 1917, and subsequently with the Soviet Union in the field of public education. It is established that during the period under study, several technical colleges ( technikums ), the Kazakh Institute of Education ( Kazinpros ), and other institutions training specialists for the republic's economy were opened in Kzyl-Orda, as well as the Korean Pedagogical Institute, which was reorganized into the Kazakh Pedagogical Institute. This institution currently functions as the Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda State University.