PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION OF A DOCTORAL DISSERTATION HELD AT THE DEPARTMENT OF TURKOLOGY AND HISTORY OF EASTERN COUNTRIES

On February 24, 2026, within the framework of an extended meeting of the Department of Turkology and History of Eastern Countries, a preliminary discussion (pre-defense) of the doctoral dissertation by PhD candidate M.T. Moryakova was held. The dissertation was prepared for the award of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree under the educational program 8D02209 – “Oriental Studies.”

The extended meeting was organized by the Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor M.Sh. Egamberdiyev, and the Head of the Department of Turkology and History of Eastern Countries, PhD, Acting Associate Professor A. Khalel.

The dissertation is entitled “Cultural Traditions of Turkic-Speaking Nomads of Central Asia in Turkish Historiography.” The research focuses on a comprehensive analysis of the cultural heritage of Central Asian nomadic peoples based on sources of Turkish historiography and addresses key issues in contemporary Oriental studies.

The academic supervisor from Kazakhstan was Professor Nursan Alimbay, Chief Research Fellow at the Ch. Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology.
The international academic advisor was Professor, PhD Evrim Olcer Ozunel from Hacı Bayram Veli University (Ankara, Türkiye).

The extended meeting was attended by representatives of the Ch. Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology (including the Department of Ethnology and Anthropology), the R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies, the Department of World History, Historiography and Source Studies of the Faculty of History, as well as the ABDI Institute for Humanities Research.

Internal reviewers included Senior Lecturer of the Department of Chinese Studies, PhD Erzhan Abdraimuly Kerimbayev; Senior Lecturer of the Department of the Middle East and South Asia, PhD Kenzhebek Tolepbergenuly Gabdullin; and Senior Lecturer of the Department of Turkology and History of Eastern Countries, PhD Erzhan Aituuly Kuanyshbayev.

External reviewers were Zhanymkhan Oshan, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of Ancient and Medieval History of Kazakhstan and Adjacent Countries at the Ch. Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, and Bolat Kudaybergenuly Smagulov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Leading Research Fellow of the Department of the Middle East and Central Asia at the R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies.

As a result of the discussion, the doctoral dissertation of M.T. Moryakova was recognized as meeting high academic standards and was recommended for defense at the Dissertation Council of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

Abeldayev Zh. 

Kyrkymbekova A.