Yerlan Karin, First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, noted that the multi-volume History of Kazakhstan introduces into scholarly circulation a substantial body of previously unavailable documentary sources.
“The academic publication History of Kazakhstan: From Ancient Times to the Present Dayrepresents a large-scale national project.
Over 300 distinguished scholars from Kazakhstan, together with approximately 50 leading international experts from 12 countries Russia, the United States, Türkiye, Japan, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Australia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic participated in the preparation of this multi-volume academic edition.
The multi-volume publication introduces into scholarly circulation an extensive corpus of previously unavailable documentary sources. In preparing the academic edition, materials from 90 archives and museums, including 35 foreign institutions, were utilized. Overall, historians examined more than 5,000 archival records, including documents that had not previously been available to researchers,” Yerlan Karin stated at the 14th and final meeting of the Editorial Board.
It should be recalled that the Editorial Board for the preparation of the seven-volume academic edition on the history of Kazakhstan was established on 15 May last year. Its mandate was to coordinate the research, editorial, and expert review processes involved in the development of the publication.
All meetings of the Editorial Board were conducted in an open format. Each meeting was documented through photographs and video recordings, accompanied by verbatim transcripts and audio recordings. In addition, official minutes were prepared and formally approved following each meeting.
The next stage of the project will involve extensive literary editing and harmonization of the text to ensure consistency of style throughout the publication. A substantial volume of work also remains in book layout and design, as well as the preparation, digitization, and graphic rendering of maps and illustrations.
