Abstract
This study focuses on traditional Qazaq society in the 19th century, examining the concepts of border and space and their transformation under the influence of Russian colonial policy. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the Russian colonial authorities’ demarcation of a border between the Orenburg and Siberian Qazaqs on the overall perception of nomadic territory, the influence of Russian administrative maps on Qazaq understanding of borders, and the clash between the Russian colonial administration’s and nomadic Qazaqs’ perception of border. The article addresses only internal borders within the Qazaq Steppe, which emerged after the Russian reforms of 1822–1824. It introduces the concept of a nomadic mental map of space, formed through centuries of interaction between the nomad and the surrounding natural environment, which began to change following the Russian Empire’s colonial administrative-territorial reforms. Previously, the border, perceived by Qazaqs as a space defined by the patterns of migration, gradually disappeared under the new circumstances. Russian administrative-territorial division and demarcation of the Qazaq Steppe transformed nomadic Qazaqs’ perception of border, altered centuries-old migration routes and grazing territories, and changed the use of natural resources. The restriction of pasturelands that followed territorial partitioning ultimately led to the gradual sedentarization of Qazaqs