Evolution of Taxation in Kazakhstan of the 19th Сenture in the Context of Frontier Modernization

Abstract

Pochekaev Roman - Head of the Department of Theory and History of State and Law, Saint-Petersburg campus of National Research University Higher School of Economics, Candidate of Juridical Sciences. Address: 16 Soyuza Pechatnikov Str., Saint-Petersburg, 190008, Russian Federation. E-mail: ropot@mail.ru.

In the article the evolution of tax structure in Kazakhstan during the imperial period is observed, theprocess of integration of Kazakhs into imperial political and legal field is analyzed. The reform of taxationis considered as one of ways of frontier modernization of the “national remote area” of the RussianEmpire.During the first stage of Kazakhstan’s being in the Russian Empire yasak as traditional form of taxationwas saved as it was used among nomadic peoples of Eurasia since the Mongol Empire. But as integrationof Kazakhs into imperial political and legal field intensified, taxation system was changed to drawlocal population together with one of another regions of the Russian Empire. Correspondingly, little bylittle Turkic-Mongol yasak (something like ‘income tax’) was changed by fixed ‘kibitochnyi sbor’ (kibitkatax). Despite the fact that it had negative consequences for many poor people of Kazakhstan, in generalreform was accepted without substantial discontent. Possibly, it could be explained by its gradualnature: firstly it was realized in the Little Horde of Kazakhs (closer connected with Russia) and then inthe Middle Horde. The success of the reform which began in 1830s was fixed in the legal acts of 1860sand 1890s.Author suggests to consider taxation reform in Kazakhstan not only within the framework of budgetpolicy against nomadic subjects to increase incomes from these region bat as a part of scaled transformationsduring the modernization process at that time — epoch of the Great Reforms of Alexanderthe Second. Comparing of information about taxation reform and another political and legal processeswhich took place in Kazakhstan in 19th c. confirms such opinion.