Abstract
The object of the study is the history of the Kazakh traditional society in the XVII – early XX century. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the history of Kazakh-Russian relations needs a new methodological analysis. The article analyses the institutions of power established by the colonial government, the course and consequences of land transformation, the activities of political and social institutions of the Kazakh traditional society, the process of their transformation by the colonial government, systematises the characteristic features of the nomadic society of traditional society. The influence of the Russian Empire in Kazakh-Russian relations is considered as a reflection of the process of transformation of traditional society. In the course of this, the parallel implementation of two directions is revealed – modernisation and ethnodeformation. The authors suggest an interpretation of the concept of "ethnodeformation of traditional society" and its manifestations in Kazakh society.