“OWN LAND”: THE SPATIAL LOGIC OF LOCAL REPATRIATION IN ZHETYSU

Abstract

The article examines the spatial logic of the local repatriation of ethnic Kazakhs in the Zhetysu region, one of the key areas of settlement for kandases in Kazakhstan. Despite the considerable number of studies devoted to repatriation issues, the problem of selecting a specific place of residence and the factors shaping territorial settlement patterns remains insufficiently explored. The study focuses on how the idea of returning to one’s “own land” is realized in everyday practices of rootedness and integration.

Based on semi-structured interviews, sociological data, and the analysis of normative documents, the study demonstrates that the attractiveness of the Zhetysu region is determined by a combination of four interrelated factors: historical and ethnocultural, economic, political-institutional, and social. The region is perceived as a symbolically significant space of the historical homeland, characterized by familiar natural and economic conditions, supported by state programs, and strengthened through well-developed kinship networks.

The findings suggest that Zhetysu has become one of the priority destinations for repatriation due to the intersection of historical memory, economic compatibility, and social capital, despite the continuing contradictions between the expectations of kandases and the everyday realities of their adaptation.