Science and the Steppe: Agronomists, Nomads, and the Settler Colony on the Kazakh Steppe, 1881-1917
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Seitz, John Britton
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Andrews, James T.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Iowa State University
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2019
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
299 p.
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
Iowa State University
Text preceding or following the note
2019
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
In the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, Russian officials and scientists undertook a project of exploiting the Kazakh Steppe to turn it into an agricultural breadbasket. However, this project ran into difficulties both among the indigenous nomadic Kazakh population and with the challenges of farming in a new environment. Therefore, officials and scientists turned to another group to attempt to transform the steppe, peasant settlers from European Russia. While they did not fully overcome the challenges and achieve their most extreme visions for the steppe, this process that included demographic, scientific, and economic changes would have far reaching affects on the story of Kazakhstan down to the present day.