Evolutionary changes in Russian history require comprehensive historiographical research. In particular, a new time occupies a special place, which is complex and multidimensional, which is largely due to Kazakh-Russian relations. Historical figures who opposed Russian colonialism are becoming a central figure in social and political life. Therefore, it becomes important to analyze the life, activities, and worldview of famous historical figures in order to study the features of the historical period in which they lived. The article presents a historiographical overview of the history of the uprising of the elder brother of the last Kazakh khan Kenesary - Sarzhan Kasymov. When studying this topic in a historiographical review, two stages can be distinguished. Each stage has important essential features. The first stage is pre–revolutionary studies of the late XIX-early XX centuries. The second stage is the historiography of the post–revolutionary Soviet era. The third stage is modern Russian historiography. However, in this article, the authors, relying on the problem-chronological principle, pay their attention primarily to research in Russian historiography. The scientific publications in which the issues of the protest movements of the Kazakh people, the colonial policy of the tsarist government and the personalities who led them were considered. After the introduction in 1822 in the Middle Zhuz of the Kazakh Khanate of the Charter on the Siberian Kirghiz, in 1824, after the establishment of the first districts, an uprising began, led by Sarzhan Kasymov. His personality, as well as the history of the national liberation uprising under his leadership, undeservedly turned out to be “relegated to the background” and still “remain in the shadows” in front of the bright personality of Kenesary Kasymov. However, the question arises: Kenesary Kasymov would have entered the historical stage if his brother, Sarzhan, had not been treacherously killed in 1936. Batyr Sarzhan, who managed to create a powerful center of resistance to the movement of Russian troops deep into the Kazakh steppe, must be given his due. It was he who for more than ten, namely the whole 12 years, from 1824 to 1836, held back the advance of Russian tsarism into the Kazakh steppes and the establishment of new orders directed against the traditional institutions of Kazakh statehood. It was the uprising of Sarzhan Kasymov that slowed down the introduction of a new administrative order in the Kazakh steppe. The materials of the article are based on scientific research related to the personality of the batyr Sarzhan and the history of his uprising. As a result of historiographic analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that batyr Sarzhan is a bright personality in national history, who until the last hour of his life was faithful to the idea of independent Kazakh statehood. It was he who laid the foundations for the anti-colonial identity of the national liberation movement of the Kasymov sultans, the grandsons of the legendary Khan Abylai, over a long historical period that took almost a quarter of a century - from 1824 to 1847.