Аңдатпа
The paper analyzes the origins, achievements, and methodology of Ch. Valikhanov as a researcher of the nomadic civilization of the Eurasian steppes. Valikhanov (1835-1865) was a prominent Kazakh scholar, ethnographer, and geographer who was the first to systematically describe the lives of Central Asian nomads. His multi-volume work (travel diaries, notes on nomads, descriptions of epics and rituals) became the foundation for understanding the ethnogenesis and sociopolitical structure of the Kazakhs and related peoples. Introductory expeditions (Isyk-Kul 1856, Kashgar 1858-1859, and others) provided data on the tribal composition, daily life, folklore, and law of nomadic peoples, and the use of oral traditions and epics (for example, the translation of a fragment of “Manas”) made it possible for the first time to present nomadic culture in scholarly discourse. The report offers a structured research plan: an extensive review of sources (including Valikhanov’s five-volume “Collected Works” and archival materials), a critical review of contemporary literature, and a comprehensive comparative analysis of the approaches of Valikhanov and his contemporaries. Particular attention is given to original hypotheses regarding the role of clan-tribal organization in the formation of the “nomadic Eurasian community.” Thus, Eurasianism in its essence represents a distinctive mode of relating to the world, permeated with moral principles and capable of becoming integrative - overcoming the extremes of both West and East and synthesizing their best features.