THE EVOLUTION OF THE KURULTAI IN GEOCULTURAL AND CROSS-TEMPORAL DIMENSIONS

Abstract

This article is an attempt to trace the evolution of the polysemous phenomenon of the kurultai within the socio-political history of Eurasia, from ancient times to the present day.

Kurultais remained a reality of the political and social life of the Turkic-Mongol peoples during the late Middle Ages. In this period, kurultais reflected both consolidating and centrifugal tendencies of the political elite. They continued to be convened in spring and autumn for enthronement rituals and for discussions of vital matters for the states of Central Asia, including legislative, military, and economic issues.

With the strengthening of nation-building in the 20th century in China and the USSR—where ethnocultural specificities were largely leveled—the kurultai as a political phenomenon and term disappeared from the political lexicon and practice of the peoples whose territories were incorporated into these states.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the process of sovereigntization, which affected the national republics of the USSR and subjects of the Russian Federation (Altai, Buryatia, Bashkortostan, Kalmykia, Tuva), led to the revival of what had seemed a forgotten institution. Today, the kurultai and khural are an integral part of the modern political culture of Turkic-Mongol peoples. On the one hand, this reflects the strength of their historical and cultural memory. On the other, using Kazakhstan as an example, we see the political elite's aspiration to utilize the potential of this traditional institution to expand public participation in decision-making on issues of state importance.