Roundtable "A.Baitursynov and the Kazakh society" was carried out as a part of the international scientific-practical conference "Baitursynov reading - 2013", held on April 12, 2013 on the basis of A.Baitursynov Kostanai State University and dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the birth of Akhmet Baitursynov.

Akhmet Baitursynov dedicated his entire life to the liberation of his people and building an independent state. Kazakhstan had been in the colonial dependence for many years, turning into a raw materials of another state. The best part of the Kazakh intelligentsia, consisted of A.Bokeyhanov, A.Baitursynov, M.Dulatov, created the Alash party, which wanted to create an independent state through reformation. Its leaders were looking for a hard road to freedom and that’s why began to analyze the Kazakh society.

Many of us know A.Baitursynov as a connoisseur of the Kazakh language and literature, reformer of the new script. At the same time, analyzing the scientific papers and articles by A.Baitursynov, though not on a large scale, we find his judgment about the Kazakh society of the late 19th century. For example, in the newspaper "Kazakh" (1915, №145-148, 158, 161, 163, entitled "Sharuashylyk ozgerіsі" - "Changes of management" expressed the following judgments: “Historical progress is a consequence of changes in the economy", "Society has to change in an evolutionary way". Also A.Baitursynov  knew marxism, but the ideas of Karl Marx on the socio-economic system based on the class nature of the society was not well accepted by him, that’s why he developed his own ideas on this subject, which were based on the specifics of production.

It looks like this:

• Epoch of hunting;

• Epoch of domesticating wildlife, livestock management;

• Epoch of agriculture;

• Epoch of professional agriculture;

• Epoch of agriculture (manufactory-goods);

• Epoch of machines (machinery).

Akhmet Baitursynov considered the followings as motivation of evolutionary development of the Kazakh society:

• the environment;

• the population density;

• technical progress;

• achievement of other states;

• policies and laws;

• religion;

• science and its expansion;

• external influences.

A.Baitursynov believed that nomadic lifestyle could not be changed directly into the sedentary. The main driving force of the society was not the class struggle, or the division of the Kazakh society into classes, which was not observed, because it would have led the Kazakh society to disaster. In another article "The Revolution and the Kazakhs", the author noted that there had been no traces of Capitalism or class division in the Kazakh society. Consequently, under this condition the Kazakhs were not ready for the revolution, and did not want it. The development of the society was closely linked with education. In the future, more educated people would take wealth away from the less educated. He emphasized that if we were able to provide people with the most advanced ideas on new production technology and be able to actually achieve this, we would become truly independent.

Indeed, that is the main challenge confronting us, which has been emphasized by the President N. Nazarbayev in recent years.

The round table was attended by KSU professor Akilbek Shayakhmet, graduate students Nazira Zharimbetova, Oralbai Kabyl, a senior lecturer of the Department of History Akmaral Eralina, a head of the department of practical linguistics Gulzhanat Zhursinalina, and a librarian of the L. Tolstoy Kostanai oblast universal scientific library Alia Bolatova.