Abstract
The research relevance is determined by the key roles of historiography in the formation of national identity and relations; therefore, it is important to investigate the nature of its ethnocentrism and the degree of mythmaking to further its development. The purpose of the study is to determine the extent to which contemporary Kazakh historiography is ethnocentric and mythologised. The following methods of theoretical knowledge were used: analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction, and generalisation. The study revealed that the concept of ethnocentrism was investigated by scientists back in the early 20th century and has both negative and positive features, so it is assumed that conflict ethnocentrism is negative and adaptive positive. Mythologisation of history leads to the distortion of historical consciousness due to the negative influence of historical myths, so an objective approach is key in the study of the past. Kazakhstan underwent a complex development under the influence of modernisation and urbanisation, which led to the spread of nostalgia-utopia and myths, as well as the influence of colonial experience on the formation of historiography.