SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY ON THE INSTITUTION OF BIYS FROM 1917 TO MID 30S OF THE XX CENTURY: «CLASSLESS PATRIARCH-TRIBAL OR CLASS FEUDAL SOCIETY» DILEMMA

Abstract

The article reviews the polemics among the soviet researchers upon the character of social relations in Kazakh society in the pre-Soviet era. Those works authors had different approaches regarding this issue. One group of researchers considered Kazakh society to be classless, where clan relations remained invariable and the clan was the most important and independent subject of law. Other researchers believed that the development of commodity exchange economy and different noneconomic forces led to social class differentiation into two polar groups.