The policy of colonizing Kazakhstan in the process of joining Russia in the 19th century and resettlement of immigrants to the Kazakh steppe was carried out through the opening of external districts in the Kazakh steppe. The history of the radical colonization of the Kazakh steppe was considered unilaterally in Soviet historiography. An objective assessment of the history of the opening of external districts in Russian historiography still requires a full-fledged study. Studying the history of Kazakhstan before gaining independence from today's point of view allows to reveal the "blank spots" in the national history. The article examines the history of the discovery and socio-economic development of the external Ayaguz district in 1830-1850. The Russian administration pursued a cautious policy towards the introduction of centralized management of the Kazakhs of the Middle Zhuz, the unification of volosts and villages into open districts. During the opening of the outer Ayaguz district, local Kazakh sultans fought for power, and the territorial division of each district was revised and refined anew. On the one hand, this led to the opening of districts in the Kazakh steppes, on the other hand, to the radical colonization of the Kazakh steppes by Russia. The article examines the history of the opening of the external Ayaguz district, changes in the traditional routes of cattle breeding and ensuring the safety of trade routes between Russia and China with the introduction of Cossack troops.
The article uses archival documents of the Central State Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan and materials from the memoirs of travelers who visited the Kazakh steppes in the 19th century. The history of the socio-economic development of the external Ayaguz district in 1830-1850. was not the object of special research.