Nazbolat Dyusenyrov, 20, from Zhana-Aul, Kosh-Agach district, Altai Republic, student
I was born in Altai. My ancestors, being nomads, reached the Altai and stayed there. I come from the village of Zhana-Aul located in Kosh-Agach district with the population of about 900 people.
Our village is quite young, it was founded on May 5, 1986. All the Aktal villagers were moved to the new one, because there was flood each spring in the old. At the moment Aktal is abandoned.
We have a museum of Kazakhs of Altai. We try to preserve the culture and keep traditions while holding weddings, national games.
My area is the steppe surrounded by mountains. Altai is famous for its nature and called "The Pearl of Siberia". We have majestic mountains such as Belukha, forests, rivers and Teletskoye Lake. Many locals are engaged in cattle breeding, hunting and fishing.
I’ve never heard of "Altaic Kazakhs" while living in the village, but I knew that all the other Kazakhstanis call us so. In general, we have no differences from Kazakhs living in Kazakhstan. Probably, the difference can be found in the language as we have our own dialect influenced by the Kazakh, Russian and Altaic languages. However, most of the words are Kazakh.
Galiya Imansakipova, 32, from Gorno-Altaisk, Altai Republic, economist
I was born in the Kosh-Agach region near the border with Mongolia. It’s the place where my ancestors lived. I studied at the local lyceum, entered the university in Novosibirsk, then got married and stayed in Gorno-Altaisk.
The majority of the population is Kazakhs. There’re 1270 Kazakhs living in the city and 12,500 Kazakhs throughout the republic.
In Kazakhstan we’re called "Altaic Kazakhs" because of the language combining 3 languages. I guess that the mentality has also changed and today it’s similar to the Altai or Russian, although we do try to preserve customs and traditions such as Nauryz. The Kazakh diaspora thoroughly prepares for this holiday. The youth is super friendly.
Kazakhs living in the Altai usually attend cultural activities. Weddings are conducted according to Russian and Kazakh traditions, since guests are usually of different nationalities, however, funerals are held exclusively according to Muslim customs.
Despite the harsh climate many Kazakhs are engaged in cattle breeding, hunting and fishing regardless of nationality. However, there’re reserves with animals listed in the Red Book.
Kairat Atikeyev, 57, from Chernokurya village, Karasuk district, Novosibirsk region, employee in a private company
Kazakhs living in Novosibirsk come from the Pavlodar region. Kazakhs had to move to the Altai Territory due to the famine. It’s the fourth generation of my family living there.
I was born there, but then moved to Pavlodar.
Nature is amazing; it’s a rich forest-steppe full of berries and game. There’re a great many fish and animals, even wolves, so the locals hunt and fish. Most work on farms and deal with livestock and farming. Most Kazakhs are busy with the household.
Two villages with Kazakhs living there are located near Novosibirsk. There used to be schools with subjects taught in Kazakh.
The difference between Altaic Kazakhs and others is that the first value their nationality as there’re few of them
The Altaic Kazakhs speak Kazakh and honor traditions. However, there’re small differences in the language, and some words that sound the same have different meanings.
