Kazakh rebellions are events and actions in the history of Kazakhstan in which the Kazakh people engaged in civil disobedience or armed resistance to state power. The national uprisings of the Kazakhs in the 18th–19th centuries are commonly referred to as national liberation uprisings.
From the middle of the nineteenth century until 1916, there were 300 national liberation movements, wars and uprisings in Kazakhstan.
The 18th century
Kazakhs in the Pugachev's Rebellion
The first joint action of Kazakh and Russian people against autocracy was the active participation of Kazakhs in Pugachev's Rebellion in 1773–1775. The main reason for Kazakh participation was the land issue. In 1742 Nuraly khan, under pressure from the people, demanded that the government remove restrictions on grazing along the Ural River, but the Russian government refused.
In the second half of the 18th century, the Kazakhs of Junior zhuz suffered even more from the Russian colonial policy and the aggressive actions of the Yaitskiy Cossack Army. In 1756 the Imperialist government, protecting the interests of the Cossack troops, forbade the Cossacks to nomadize on the right bank of the Ural.
During the peasant war led by Pugachev, the famous biy Dautbai urged the Kazakhs to actively support the rebels. Kazakh detachments were united on tribal grounds. One of the leaders of the insurgent units was a Kazakh batyr Syrym Datuly. The Kazakh troops were the main striking force in the capture of the Kulagin fortress. Nuraly khan, having dual-position tried to use the rebellion for the return of the seized lands. The steppe aristocracy sought to weaken the royal position in Kazakhstan.
In 1771 some of the Volga Kalmyks attempted to migrate through Kazakhstan to their historical homeland, Dzungaria, but were defeated by the Kazakhs.
Sapura's Rebellion
1775—1776 - an Movement of Koktemir led by Sapura Matenkyzy. The main uprising: repression by the Russian Empire, royal prohibitions about the land, the Ural Cossacks. 10,000 people participated in the uprising.
Rebellion of Syrym Datuly
The Kazakhs of Junior zhuz led by Syrym Datuly revolted in 1783–1797, due to the outrages of Cossacks. In 1778, during one of the armed clashes with the Cossack detachments, children of Syrym Datuly were killed.
The main driving force behind this rebellion was the Kazakh poor, the "sharua", Kazakhs who saw the cause of all their troubles in maintaining the personal power of Nuraly Khan. The deepening agrarian crisis in the second half of the 18th century weakened the positions of the khan's surroundings and strengthened the opposition against the successors of khan Abulkhair. Wary of the wrath of the insurgents, Nuraly khan moved to the Ural Cossack line.
Mass participation of the Kazakhs of Junior Juz in the peasant war of 1773–1775 was a consequence of the weakening the position of the khan Nuraly. During the uprising, relations between Nuraly Khan and the Orenburg governor Baron O.Igelstrom were strained, as the baron supported Syrym Datuly. Compromise between Igelstrom and Syrym Datuly concerned the issue of the destruction of the khan's power in the Junior zhuz. Prior to the outright struggle, S.Datuly believed that the end of the displacement of the Kazakhs from their tribal nomadic lands could be achieved by force of persuasion.
During the uprising of 1783–1797, Baron Igelstrom proposed a new system of governance for the Junior zhuz. According to Igelstrom's plan, all power in the Junior zhuz was concentrated in the hands of the Frontier Court. During the uprising, the inconsistency of Datuly manifested itself in the fact that he, against the Khan's grouping, supported the reform project of Igelstrom. The Russian government refused to carry out the reforms of Igelstrom in the Junior juz because of the growing anti-monarchist sentiment in Russia.
During the uprising of Kazakhs in 1783–1797 years punitive detachments, unable to conduct military operations against guerrilla units of the rebels, attacked peaceful Kazakh villages. To deprive the rebels of the support of auls, the head of the military board ordered to push "Kirghiz-Kaisak bandits" to the Emba river.
Strengthening of confrontation and open help of khan Nuraly to the Cossack punitive detachments have led S.Datuly to a conclusion on the necessity of removal of Nuraly from a khan throne. In the management of Juz's plan, S.Datuly consisted in the removal of the one-man rule of Khan and the transfer of power to the Council of Biys. In 1785 a meeting of biys of Junior Juz decided to remove Nuraly khan from power and henceforth prevent the election of his close relatives to the khan's throne.