Germans of Kazakhstan

Germanic ethnic group in Kazakhstan

Ethnic group

Germans of Kazakhstan

* Kasachstandeutsche
* Қазақстандық немістер

Total population
226,092 (2021 census)[1]
Languages
German, Kazakh and Russian
Religion
Protestantism; minorities of Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodoxy, Irreligious
Related ethnic groups
Russian Kazakhstanis, German Poles
Share of ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan by district (2025)

The Germans of Kazakhstan (German: Kasachstandeutsche; Kazakh: Қазақстандық немістер, romanized: Qazaqstandyq nemıster) are a minority in Kazakhstan, and make up a small percentage of the population. Today they live mostly in the northeastern part of the country between the cities of Astana and Oskemen, the majority being urban dwellers.[2]

Their number peaked at nearly 1 million (957 thousand people per 1989 census) near the time of the Soviet dissolution, but most have emigrated since then, usually to Germany or Russia. However, after a significant decrease from 1989 to 2009, by 2015 the number had seen a slight increase of a few thousand, the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Between 2009 and 2021 the German population had increased by 26.7%, though mostly due to changes in patterns of ethnic identity rather than actual population growth.[citation needed]

## History

[edit]

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|

German historical population of KazakhstanYear| Pop.| ±%

|
|

1897| 2,613| —
1926| 51,094| +1855.4%
1939| 92,571| +81.2%
1959| 659,751| +612.7%
1970| 839,649| +27.3%
1979| 900,207| +7.2%
1989| 957,518| +6.4%
1999| 353,441| −63.1%
2009| 178,409| −49.5%
2021| 226,092| +26.7%
Source: [3][4][5]

Most Germans in Kazakhstan are the descendants of Volga Germans, who were deported to the then Soviet republic of Kazakhstan from the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic soon after the Nazi German Invasion during World War II. Large portions of the community were imprisoned in the Soviet labor camp system.[citation needed]

After the deportation, Volga Germans, as well as other deported minorities, were subject to imposed cultural assimilation into the Russian culture. The methods to achieve that goal included the prohibition of public use of the German language and education in German, the abolition of German ethnic holidays and a prohibition on their observance in public and a ban on relocation among others.[citation needed]

Those measures had been enacted by Joseph Stalin, even though the Volga German community as a whole was in no way affiliated with Nazi Germany, and Volga Germans had been loyal citizens of the Russian Empire (and later the Soviet Union) for centuries. These restrictions ended, however, during the "Khrushchev Thaw".[citation needed]

In 1972, over 3,500 German Russians sent a petition to Moscow again requesting an autonomous republic in the Volga regions. The government responded with an ad hoc committee to study this request. In 1976, the commission finally agreed to create an autonomous oblast (county) in Northern Kazakhstan, centered in Ereymentau, 140 kilometers from Tselinograd (Virgin Land City and capital of the virgin lands district). The district would be partially located in the “virgin lands,” which had already put 41.8 million hectares into agricultural production, although this area had been one of the least developed in Kazakhstan.

The success of Khrushchev's agricultural focus was largely due to the labor of the ethnic Germans exiled there. This government proposal created much opposition in Kazakhstan from residents, including a public protest, a rarity in the Soviet Union; every effort was made to keep the demonstration secret. Local Communist Party leaders also strongly opposed the plan, as it would diminish their authority in the Kazakh SSR. Ultimately, nothing came of the idea, which lacked support from even the German Russians, who tended to believe that reconstitution of the Volga Republic was the only way[6] toward full rehabilitation and restoration of their rights.

According to a 1989 census, more citizens of ethnic German origin lived in Kazakhstan (numbering 957,518, or 5.8% of the total population) than in the whole of Russia, including Siberia (841,295).[7]

Due to the German right of return law that enables ethnic Germans abroad who had been forcibly deported to return to Germany, Volga Germans could immigrate to Germany after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[8] But due to widespread abuse of the system and the lack of interest on the part of the heavily-Russified newly arrived immigrants to assimilate, Germany tightened[9] the policy during the early 21st century. By 2009, Russia had replaced Germany as the major immigrant destination for German Kazakhstanis.[10] In 1999, there were 353,441 Germans remaining in Kazakhstan.

A small number of Germans have returned to Kazakhstan from Germany during the last several years, unable to assimilate into the German cultural sphere. The Rebirth organization, founded in 1989, handles cultural and community affairs of the ethnic German community.

Most Germans of Kazakhstan speak only Russian. Most were historically followers of Protestantism, but some are Roman Catholic. Today many, possibly the majority, are irreligious. The heaviest concentrations of Germans in Kazakhstan can be found along the cities and villages in the Northern region, such as Uspen, Taran, and Borodulikha.[11]

The 2021 Census revealed for the first time since the dissolution of the USSR, that the ethnic German population of Kazakhstan had increased to 226,092 from 178,409 in 2009.[citation needed]

## See also

[edit]

* Germany–Kazakhstan relations
* Demographics of Kazakhstan
* Population transfer in the Soviet Union
* German as a minority language

## References

[edit]

1. ^ https://minorityrights.org/country/kazakhstan/#:~:text=Kazakhstan's unusually diverse ethnic makeup,Central Asian groups moving west.
2. ^ Assessment for Germans in Kazakhstan Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, The MAR Project
3. ^ "Население Казахстана снова растет, повышается процент казахов". www.languages-study.com. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
4. ^ "Агентство Республики Казахстан по статистике. Численность населения Республики Казахстан по отдельным этносам на 1 января 2012 года". Archived from the original on 15 November 2012.
5. ^ "2014 жылғы мұрағат". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
6. ^ Merten, Ulrich (2015). Voices from the Gulag: the Oppression of the German Minority in the Soviet Union. Lincoln, Nebraska: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. pp. 285, 279, 280. ISBN 978-0-692-60337-6.
7. ^ KAZAKHSTAN: Special report on ethnic Germans, IRIN Asia
8. ^ Russian-Germans: Back to the Heimat Archived 2008-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, kazakhstan.neweurasia.net
9. ^ Bildung, Bundeszentrale für politische (1 January 2022). "(Spät-)Aussiedler". bpb.de (in German). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
10. ^ "Демографический ежегодник Казахстана" (PDF). www.stat.kz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010.
11. ^ National Census of 2009, Kazakhstan

* v
* t
* e

German people

Historical|

* Bundesdeutsche
* Reichsdeutsche
* Palatines
* Volksdeutsche

Diaspora|

| Europe|

| Central Europe|

* Czech Republic
* Silesia
* Sudeten Germans
* Hungary
* Poland
* Vistula
* Vistula delta Mennonites
* Olęders
* Walddeutsche
* Galicia
* Silesia
* Vilamovians
* Volhynian
* Slovakia
* Zipser
* Switzerland

|

Eastern Europe|

* Belarus
* Moldova
* Black Sea
* Romania
* Transylvanian Saxons
* Landlers
* Danube (including Banat, Highland, and Walser)
* Satu Mare
* Bukovina
* Dobruja
* Regat
* Zipser
* Russia
* Volga
* North Caucasus
* Ukraine
* Bessarabia
* Black Sea
* Russian Mennonites
* Carpathian Ruthenia
* Crimea
* Galicia

Northern Europe|

* Baltic states
* Denmark
* North Schleswig
* Potato Germans
* Norway
* Finland
* Sweden

Southern Europe|

* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bulgaria
* Georgia
* Italy (South Tyrol)
* Yugoslavia
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Serbia
* Slovenia

Western Europe|

* Belgium
* France
* Alsatians and Lotharingians
* Netherlands
* United Kingdom

Multinational dimension|

* Central and Eastern

Americas|

* Argentina
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Amish
* Amish Mennonites
* Beachy Amish
* Old Beachy Amish
* New Order Amish
* Hutterites
* Dariusleut
* Lehrerleut
* Schmiedeleut
* British Columbia
* Chile
* Los Ríos Region (including German, Swiss and Austrians)
* Los Lagos Region (including German, Swiss and Austrians)
* Colombia
* Mennonites
* Costa Rica
* Guatemala
* Haiti
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Mennonites
* Nicaragua
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Pozuzo
* El Salvador
* Mennonites
* United States
* Amish
* Amish Mennonites
* Beachy Amish
* Old Beachy Amish
* New Order Amish
* Para-Amish
* Believers in Christ
* Christian Communities
* Caneyville
* Vernon Community
* Hutterites
* Dariusleut
* Lehrerleut
* Schmiedeleut
* Pennsylvania Dutch
* Nebraska
* Russian Mennonites
* Amish Mennonites
* Texas
* Omaha
* Palatines
* Puerto Rico
* by city
* Uruguay
* Venezuela
* Colonia Tovar

Africa|

* Angola
* Namibia
* South Africa
* Afrikaners
* Zimbabwe

Asia|

* Azerbaijan
* India
* Indonesia
* Kazakhstan
* Korea
* Kyrgyzstan
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Turkey
* Bosporus
* Caucasus
* United Arab Emirates

Oceania|

* Australia
* Hutterites
* New Zealand

See also|

* Ostsiedlung
* Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)

* v
* t
* e

Kazakhstan articles

History|

| Prehistory|

* Saka
* Kangju
* Wusun
* Huns

|

Early history|

* Tele
* Rouran Khaganate
* Göktürks
* Kangar union
* Kimek Khanate
* Karluks
* Oghuz Yabgu State
* Xueyantuo Khaganate
* Uyghur Khaganate
* Kyrgyz Khaganate
* Kara-Khanid Khanate
* Mongol Empire
* Chagatai Khanate
* Golden Horde
* White Horde
* Uzbek Khanate

Since 1465|

* Kazakh Khanate
* List of Kazakh khans
* Jüz
* Russian Turkestan
* Alash Autonomy
* Kazakh ASSR
* Kazakh SSR
* Republic of Kazakhstan

By topic|

* Postal

Geography|

* Aktogay Canyon
* Altay (Altai) Mountains
* Aral Karakum Desert
* Borders
* Caspian Sea
* Kazakh Steppe
* Khan Tangiri Shyngy
* Kyzylkum Desert
* Lake Balkhash
* Sharyn Canyon
* Syr Darya
* Tien (Tian) Shan
* Ural River
* Zhetysu

Subdivisions|

* Cities and towns
* Districts
* Regions

Politics|

* Constitution
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Government
* President
* Prime Minister
* Human rights
* Freedom of speech
* LGBT
* Law enforcement
* Military
* Parliament
* Political parties

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Energy policy
* National Bank
* Stock Exchange
* Science and technology
* Telecommunications
* Tenge (currency)
* Transport
* Waste management

Culture|

* Alphabet
* Anthem
* Architecture
* Clothing
* Coat of arms
* Cuisine (wine)
* Flag
* Kaznet (Internet)
* Kazakhs
* Media
* Music
* Religion
* Sport
* Squatting
* Television
* Wedding ceremony
* Y-DNA
* Kazakh tribes

Demographics|

* Education
* Health
* Language
* Women

Peoples|

* Armenians
* Azerbaijanis
* Dungan
* Germans
* Greeks
* Jews
* Kazakhs
* Koreans
* Poles
* Russians
* Tatars
* Turks
* Ukrainians
* Uyghurs

* Outline
* Index

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Ethnic groups in Kazakhstan

Majority|

* Kazakhs
* Chala Kazakh
* Oralman

Minorities >1%|

* Germans
* Russians
* Tatars
* Ukrainians
* Uyghurs
* Kashgartsy
* Uzbeks

Minorities <1%|

* Armenians
* Azerbaijanis
* Bulgarians
* Chinese
* Dungan
* Greeks
* Jews
* Koreans
* Kurds
* Madjars
* Poles
* Roma
* Romanians
* Turks

* Demographics of Central Asia
* Demographics of Kazakhstan
* Assembly of People of Kazakhstan

*[Pop.]: Population
*[±%]: Percent change
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