Response to the Review by Dr. Aminat Chokobaeva
Response to the Review by Dr. Aminat Chokobaeva

Summary/Abstract: First, I would like to thank Dr. Aminat Chokobaeva, who accepted the invitation to review the book. Dr. Chokobaeva not only carefully read the book but also provided incredibly valuable comments that will elevate my arguments pertaining to the role of the manaps in the national identity formation and modernization of the Q'irghi'z. Here, I have attempted to elucidate my response to the reviewer's comments. Certainly, Qirghiz and Qazaqs are similar in cultural and linguistical aspects, but they are different in national identity formation. In considering the process, some clues seem to lie in following the history of both groups that occurred from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century. Before the Russian Empire absorbed the Qazaqs and established its colonial rule at the beginning of the nineteenth century, they shared a certain degree of national identity. This was not only because of the Jungharian invasion that they suffered at the turn of the eighteenth century but also owing to the fact that they had formed the statehood of the Qazaq Khanate in the sixteenth century. Under Russian colonial rule from the middle of the nineteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century, the Qazaqs' "proto-nationalism" matured sufficiently to serve as the foundation of their eventual modem nationalism. While Russia's rule over the Qazaqs bore an oppressive character, it presented the Qazaqs with the opportunity to cultivate their modem orientation as participants in the colonial administration and education, which led to the formation of Qazaq secular intellectuals. Notably, the colonial newspaper issued by Russian authorities, including the Newspaper of the Steppe Region, played a crucial role as a medium for inculcating the Qazaq national identity among secular intellectuals. By the beginning of the twentieth century, they had begun to issue a series of original newspapers in their language.

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