The transformation of the institute of bais in the conditions of modernization processes of the 19th – early 20th centuries

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the social and institutional history of the prosperous estate of a nomadic society – the Kazakh bais. The main content of the topic of this study is the history of the bais estate as a social community – its condition, social behavior, place and role in the system of social relations, sources of material well-being, social alliances and conflicts, social preconditions and consequences of political, cultural and economic transformations.  Integration of the Kazakh economy into the system of the all-Russian economy in the second half of the 19th century caused changes in the social stratification of the traditional nomadic society. The category of wealthy individuals – bais had begun to play an increasing role in its structure. The article is aimed at studying the traditional authoritу – bais, its transformation in the conditions of change of socio-economic and political life in the Kazakh territory under the influence of strengthening of colonial policy and penetration of elements of the market economy in the 19th – early 20th centuries. The methodological basis of the article is the theory of modernization and frontier modernization. Being part of the Russian Empire, Kazakhstan in the 19th – early 20th centuries actually was a frontier zone. As a result of the study, it was revealed that bais, actively involved in the sphere of commodity-money relations, used intensive forms of livestock breeding. By increasing the number of livestock, bais formed initial capital, which contributed to the development of entrepreneurship and trade. This, in turn, intensified charitable activities.