Culture & Identity of Kazakhstan
Introduction
The way of life in Kazakhstan is undergoing some growing pains as the people, their culture, traditions, and historic way of life are be questioned. The people have always lived a life based on nomadism and moving with the animals and seasons. However, the Soviet changed this and forced the people to settle the lands, shifting them from herders to farmers. Today nearly everyone is settled, but only about half the population is actually urbanized as the daily way of life in Kazakhstan is still based on the land and nature for a large number of people.
Although over half the people are urbanized, many of these people are ethnic Russians, who live a lifestyle similar to that of other Russians. City life is the norm for many of these people as they maintain regular working hours and jobs. Many Kazakhs have also adopted this way of life as work and school set a schedule for the people, essentially dictating the daily routine. For these people the work day tends to last about eight hours and schools often teach for a couple fewer hours per day.
Despite the settlement of the people and the changing way of life, the culture is still rooted in the land and over a quarter of the working population of Kazakhstan still works in the agricultural industries. For these people life and livelihood are heavily dependent on the seasons and weather. Daily schedules shift from season to season, but long hours are not uncommon during the warm summer months when days are longer.