In this collective scientific publication, we have attempted a systematic study of the research activities of a number of well-known pre-revolutionary Russian researchers of the colonial period of the late XIX – early XX centuries. Their contribution to the development of Turkestan scientific thought is quite obvious and logical. In their numerous scientific works, key and important aspects of the history and ethnography of the Kazakh people are studied, in particular issues related to the economic activities of the Kazakhs, their way of life and culture, and relationships with neighboring peoples. For several years, the above-mentioned researchers studied the multifaceted aspects of the life and activities of nomads, a significant place in their works is occupied by the problem of studying the economic activities of nomadic Kazakhs, they paid close attention to the study and characterization of the main breeds of livestock of nomadic Kazakhs. Based on their personal observations and trips to the Kazakh steppes, a number of well-known pre-revolutionary Russian researchers prepared and published many informative and interesting works in which they reflected key and important aspects of the history and ethnography of the Kazakh people. Of course, the rich scientific heritage they left behind will be studied in the future by young and promising researchers, and will become the national treasure of every resident of multinational Kazakhstan.