Civil war as a factor of regional transformation: socioeconomic and political changes in East Kazakhstan

Introduction The significance of analyzing Eastern Kazakhstan’s regional trajectory during the Civil War lies in its capacity to illuminate the intersection of geopolitical volatility and the systemic degradation of daily survival standards, offering a vital departure from traditional military historiography toward a more comprehensive understanding of human security and institutional collapse in the Steppe. Based on an analysis of archival documents, this paper examines key factors contributing to the deterioration of local well-being: excessive taxes, the destruction of the agricultural sector due to “jute” and requisitions, and an acute shortage of industrial goods. Methods Using archival materials from the Central State Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan (CSA RK), the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region (HAOR), and regional repositories in East Kazakhstan and Abay Regions, supplemented by published documentary collections, the paper identifies the principal factors behind the deterioration of local living standards. Results The authors demonstrate that the decline in living standards was not a side effect of the war, but a structural result of the crisis of governing institutions and the total militarization of the economy. Mass requisitions, food taxes, forced transport mobilization, and livestock losses due to natural and economic factors led to the disorganization of agriculture and food supply. This was accompanied by monetary collapse, shortages of essential goods, mass migration, and rising social tensions. By leveraging a diverse assembly of primary archival records, this study achieves a comprehensive reconstruction of the socioeconomic landscape and living conditions in Eastern Kazakhstan. Discussion Its novelty lies in the structured synthesis of data that captures the degradation of living standards to the level of physical survival amid military confrontation. The study argues that the large-scale humanitarian catastrophe in the region was the result not only of the direct impact of military action, but also of the fatal combination of the institutional crisis of governance structures and the disorganization of basic economic mechanisms.